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Tommywaddlers By RogueDratini Chapter 1 The dog trotted far ahead of Roberta Harris in the woods around her home. A recluse by nature, Robbie had been like that since before grade school, the first time she tried to become friends with a group of playing girls when she was 5, getting told ‘Robbie’ was a boy’s name, and was relentlessly made fun of the way kids with unlimited free time and inexperience with anything different from their narrow world view could. Like a turtle with the first sign of danger, Robbie had withdrawn herself from the world, after 20 years of living her life like that, with just enough friends that she could count them on one hand, Robbie had become accustomed to her life of solitude. It was better that way. “Scruffles!” She called out to the wiry haired mutt she called her own, “Don’t go too far!” The dog looked back at her and gave a little woof, then continued to run ahead of her. Robbie didn’t give chase, if she made it a competition, the game wouldn’t end for some time, and she’d rather stay alone in her thoughts. These little expeditions were more than just exercise for her and Scruffles, these walks gave her time to think, time to dream. With an eye out for her mutt, Robbie went back to her imagination, letting the images and pictures form in her mind. Through her inner eye, she went back to the land she had been drawn to over the last few weeks, in Niscoria, where the elven Princess was being held captive by the brutish barbarian, that the Princess was beginning to learn had a softer core that he kept secret from his tribe. They were in the throes of passion, under the twin moons of Niscoria, drenched in sweat in stables where the tribe kept the animals they had taken from villages nearby, the Princess was expecting to see more of the softer side of the barbarian, but no, instead she got the rough treatment, tossed into the hay the way the savage only knew how, his rough hands groping and nails digging into her soft, yielding flesh… Robbie was taken out of the scene by a bark. She shook her head, Scruffles had a bad habit of distracting his owner at the worst times. Shrugging, Robbie put the thought on the back burner, the love of the savage and the Princess could wait until Robbie was home again, staring at the word document she had been typing out for the past few weeks. She was a writer by trade, and through her books she sold online, she managed to scrape by a modest lifestyle, there was little glamour in it, but Robbie enjoyed her life. She had lucked out when her uncle had passed and left her a little hunting cabin in the woods, near the outskirts of a small town called Kingswood. The man had been an amateur writer too, and she had spent hours of her youth pouring over fantasy books with her uncle, who encouraged her to pursue her passions the way he never could. Robbie wished she could have one more conversation with Uncle Ernie, just one more talk about The Hobbit or The Last Unicorn, she thought of that hypothetical talk often, when she saw the cabin she inherited from him. “Woof!” “I’m coming! I’m coming! I swear, Scruffles, it better not be another rabbit!” She shuddered the last time Scruffles found a dead animal, she had to pry his mouth open just to get the disgusting thing out of his mouth and pull him away by the scruff. He found a lot of his ‘prizes’ going through the woods over the years, she rescued him when she was 18 and he was just little over a puppy. It made her sad, in a way, every time she had to pull him away from one of his prizes, it was just a little easier. A little less fight. The skip in Scruffles’ step was less pronounced, these days, he didn’t jump up to greet her any more, preferring to tap his tail on the wooden floor as his hello. Just last year, he would spring away as soon as she took him for his walks in the wood, now, he barely got further than a few yards away. Today, Scruffles was quite a ways away, Robbie would have to speed up to a jog just to keep up with him, but it was hard to be mad at his burst of energy, it did her heart some good to see him excited. She heard another alert woof farther ahead, and smiled. Soon, she’d probably be cursing up a storm, trying to pry his mouth open, with white and gray lightening up his once golden muzzle, but for now, she just had to appreciate the time she had with the mutt. The thicket was getting rougher, Robbie hadn’t been out this way before, the hunting trail was overrun with growth, weeds, bushes, trees spread wildly. Robbie idly wondered what drew the dog to this ancient patch of woods, it looked like nothing had been here in a long time. She pushed through the tangle of branches and wines, twigs and thorns catching on skin, the button olive colored shirt she wore getting tiny rips, her hair, blonde tied up in a ponytail, gathering leaves and sticks. Robbie groaned, she would need a shower after this, and hoped Scruffles wouldn’t decide this area wouldn’t become his favorite spot, or else she would have to start bring a hatchet or maybe a machete on their excursions. Through the brown and green, Robbie heard the sound of digging, paws pushing dirt off the ground, and that may have alarmed her, except, something else caught her attention. A pink, unnatural light shone through. Robbie pushed her way into a small clearing, where she saw her dog going at the source of the light. Under normal situations, Robbie would’ve called him off, grabbed him and ended this walk early, the thing she saw, sticking out of the ground, brought her to the dirt. Robbie crawled towards Scruffles and the thing. It was metal, a large round disc sticking out of the ground, surrounded by saplings and sprouts, everything around it seemed young despite the ancient grove she had to push her way through, not that that had been on her mind. Nothing was, when she peered at the metal. As the minutes passed, and darkness fell on the woods, the metal was shining bright and pink, a soft glow that reflected off Robbie’s face as she inched closer towards it. She had half an urge to join Scruffles in trying to un-bury the thing, but instead, she reached out and touched it, a light graze with her middle finger. That was enough. As soon as her skin touched the object, Robbie wasn’t in the woods. She was in a place filled with light, bright white light, with the under tones of pink. In this heavenly place, Robbie heard the most uplifting, calm music she had ever heard, like nothing she had heard before, it was other worldly, and made her feel small, but not unsafe. The music wrapped her up, a blanket of warmth that protected her from everything. A towering figure appeared before her in this place of peace and tranquility. The being must’ve been 10 times her height, a giant. A tiny part of Robbie told her to get away, run before she was in the being’s clutches, but more of her kept her planted, as she reached her hands up, wanting to be picked up and cradled by whatever it was. The sun disappeared, as Robbie came to, her swallow breathing and sounds of Scruffles digging replacing the soft music as she left the fantasy. The pink light glowed over her, and Robbie wanted to grab it again, only for a sharp pain on her thumb knock her out of it. She looked down, seeing her fist pressed against her lips, her front teeth digging into her thumb, she spat it out, though she couldn’t see the red in the pink glow, her tongue tasted the metallic flavor of blood, it and the spit running down her wrist, glancing down at it, she found her trousers dark, soaked and smelling of pee that she couldn’t remember releasing. Before she could get sucked back into the fantasy again, even though it called to her, she grabbed Scruffles and pulled him away, whining and pawing at the air, wanting to dig at the earth again. Robbie fled the growth, though she wanted to go back and hear the music again, to see what the giant could offer her, to feel the warm pink glow light up her skin again, the pink fading into the dark as she ran through the woods as quickly as she could while carrying Scruffles. The memory of that heavenly place didn’t disappear when Robbie burst into her cabin, dropping Scruffles as she shut the door. She was stuck in a haze, half way between reality and the dream. Gasping, she passed by her desk, her computer lighting up when she tripped on her office chair, pushing into the table, the word document forgotten. She went into the bathroom, falling into the bathtub, turning on the shower, blasting her with cold water, giving her just enough composure to turn on the hot water. The music kept playing in her mind, telling her to run back. Robbie laid back in the tub, staying there till the water ran cold again and a little after until the uncomfortable feeling shook her out of her stupor, and she managed to get up right, in heavy, wet clothing that she shed after shutting off the water. With the faucet stopped, she could hear the whining and scratching at the front door. “Scruffles?” She said in a hoarse whisper, like it had never been used. “Scruffles?” She said again, hushed, experimenting, it was like relearning how to talk, or possibly, forgetting. She came out of the bathroom, dripping and naked like a newborn, giving the crying dog a forlorn look before she wandered into her bedroom, the only thing on her mind the pink object in the woods and the giant. Crawling into bed, she managed to swaddle herself in her comforter, if only to keep her from running out the door and back to that clearing in the grove. Wracked with fear, she tried to shut her eyes, to let sleep and peace over take her, but it was impossible. Her eyes opened, peering at the nightstand, where her phone lay, charger connecting to it like an umbilical. In the dark room, Robbie reached out to like a lifeline, fearing if she didn’t distract herself, she’d do something dangerous, something regrettable. Her face lit up with the soft blue glow of the phone, inviting some semblance of normalcy. A welcomed anchor. She went into her text messages, and went to the top message, and only one that was a real person and not just a confirmation of a payment or a text telling her a company had a late bill. Tapping into the message, she hit the call button, and listened to it the dial tone ring. Brrrrng… Brrrrng… Brrrrng… Brrrrng… Brrrrng… Beep… “Please leave a voice mail for…” “Tim?” Robbie said in a shaky voice. “Please, pick up,” She took in a breath. “I- Scruffles found something in the woods- Please, I really need you. Please… Come get me…” The phone was pressed against the side of her face, her thumb making small movements towards her mouth. “Please,” Begging in her voice. “I don’t want to be alone…” The image of the giant lingered in her mind. The phone dropped out of her hands. She stared at the dark rectangle, exhaustion eventually making itself known to her body, as she fells asleep. Little Robbie played on the floor in her childhood home, the TV playing Barney, a dolly in her hand, she could hear her Mom talking on the phone behind her. She didn’t need to glance over, Robbie knew her Momma had an eye on her, to keep her away from mischief. The world blinked, and Robbie was floating in the pink space, her pee soaked jeans clinging to her legs and loin, ripped collared shirt messy and coming undone. Then she was back home, in a green sundress, a diaper peeking underneath and dolly in hand, she felt someone picked her up, and she turned around to see her Momma. Whipping around, she was back in the void, the giant holding her. The scene vanished before she could look up at the giant’s face, and she was in a room made of chrome, blinking lights all around her. She saw two figures standing before the giant in shadow, though they were all the same size, Robbie knew it was the giant. The figures stood tall, taller than Robbie, their skin wrinkled and blue, their face was humanoid, a mouth, a nose, but four eyes under two antenna, they had no ears, standing in silver robes. The metal on the walls began to glow pink, the same pink Robbie had seen in the woods. The world flashed, and she saw where the figures stood, now two blue blobs crawled out of the robes, caterwauling. The giant looked at them, then looked at Robbie, and began to walk towards her, the world around her rumbled and shook. The dream drifted away just as the giant crouched to pick her up. Robbie was in a different, yet similar room to the last, chrome, lights blinking around her. The blue people, of all different sizes sat in a ring around her. They whispered, only not from their mouths, but through their antenna. Nothing discernible came from the words, only thoughts and feelings. Slowly, after what felt like an eternity, the thoughts began to take shape, an understanding began to dawn to Robbie. She saw things that should’ve been impossible. Energy behaving in ways it shouldn’t, ways to make things into different things, a tree growing from an acorn and then reverting back into an acorn. Time was circular, but in a straight line, a railroad that went from one point but could be reversed. The blue people faded, and she was back with the giant. Robbie knew now, she was but a child, but ready to learn. Tim pulled into the dirt driveway up to his friend Robbie’s cabin just a little while before noon. It had been awhile since he had gone up to her place, he had become something of a shut-in since his accident, a few months ago. He parked next to the yellow jeep in front of the hill to the cabin he used to spend countless nights at, back when they were together, together. The nights blurred together, after awhile, when deadlines were far away, he and Robbie would binge on whiskey and wine together, have wild evenings together into mornings filled with pain that could only be fixed with liquid aspirin. He could still see the look on her face, when she cried that rainy morning, in her messy living room staring at the empty bottle she had spilled on herself, still drunk from the last night, a revelation of being on the brink of despair. Robbie had kicked him out, for awhile, breaking up with him, and the bottle. They hadn’t spoken for awhile after that, but eventually, she invited him back to her life, as long as he didn’t bring any drinks with him. It was slow going, after that, getting their friendship back on track, but they put the work in, and besides, Tim knew that Robbie didn’t have many others to rely on, and did his best to keep his word to not drink in front of her, though, some times, during long evenings when they would chat about writing and their lives, she knew what he was really doing when he went out to his car for a ‘smoke’. Robbie was always kind enough not to mention it, though he saw the look of concern on her face when he came back with his throat burning from the flask in his glove box. It was never easy to stay away from his mistress, liquor, but the last few months it had become impossible. He was out on the slopes, with some friends, up on the mountain one morning, a few crushed cans of beer around their camp, when Tim had put on his skis, head ringing from his buzz, nobody was paying any attention when he went down the slope, he supposed no one thought much of it when he didn’t come back the first hour, or the hour after that, but eventually, they found him, where he had tripped and fell, his face busted on the boulder painted red. His hand went up to the scar on the side of his head, his fingers idling at the spot where the surgeons had cut into to remove the cracked bones, replacing it with a sheet of metal. Robbie had apparently spent awhile with him in the hospital, though he only vaguely remembered seeing her when he woke and saw her, he didn’t remember what they talked about, still coming down on the anesthesia. Tim was pretty sure he was happy to see her, though he didn’t see her at the hospital again after that. There was a call coming from his glove box, where his flask laid. The thirst nearly over took his reasoning, before the words he heard on his voicemail came back to him. No, Tim couldn’t partake right now, not after hearing Robbie pleading for him to come. She had sounded so lost, so small, asking him to pick her up. He felt stressed, and guilty, knowing he was too caught up with drinking to even know his phone was ringing. With a sigh, he forced himself out of the car, and began to make his way up the hill to the cabin. Tim had half expected Robbie to be waiting for him outside, or at least meet him when she heard the car pull up to the make shift dirt driveway. He once tried to convince Robbie to let him put steps in, though she didn’t like the idea of him putting in the work for free, even when they were dating, she didn’t like being indebted. Neither of them made a lot of money with their work, her fantasy romance sold well enough to get by, and his mystery stories usually made enough for bills and booze, but neither had ever made it big enough to get a large enough savings for projects on a whim. The wooden door had never felt so foreboding, even the first time he walked up to it after the break up. He was worried what he might find on the other side. He tapped on it a few times, his concern growing to new heights when he didn’t hear Scruffles bark to greet him. “Robbie!” He called out, when she didn’t answer, he walked through the door. He had feared the worst, but what he saw only left him baffled. Strewn around the front of the one room cabin, were shopping bags every where. Completely random things, he saw, computer parts and wires in one bag, bundles of clothes in another, things like gardening trowel and hammers. “Robbie?” He called out again. “Scruffles?” He looked down, and picked up a package out of a bag. Pacifiers? Tim thought, what the Hell is going on? There was a commotion coming from outside, Tim rushed to it. Robbie walked out of the woods, rolling a new, but dirty wheelbarrow, a shovel and ax inside. “Robbie!” Tim called out to her. “Timmy!” He had never seen her face smile that hard and she dropped her shovel and came running at him, grabbing him in a hug that was too tight. He had been expecting something horrible, but instead it was down right bizarre. His former lover, though never concerned too much with her appearance, usually kept herself put together well, dressing like a cross between a school teacher and park ranger, as Tim thought of it, lots of sturdy pants and collared shirts, shaped flatteringly, yet modest in how practical they were. Grinning like a loon, Robbie hugged him in pink denim overalls, a green t-shirt under that, a smiling cartoon flower plastered just below the bib, and ruffled, poofy sleeves, patches of dirt everywhere. With her hair in pigtails, Tim’s ex looked like an overgrown toddler. “Ronnie?” He began hesitantly. “What’s going on?” “It’s super cool! Come on! I gotta show you!” Ronnie turned around tugging Tim towards the woods, her voice hyper and eager. “It’s the most incredible thing you ever saw, it’s going to be the biggest thing ever! Come on! Come on! It’s down here!” “Wait!” Ronnie turned around, eyes big from his harsh tone. “Slow down. I get the weirdest call from you last night, telling me to rush out here to get you, I was expecting cops or an ambulance with how strange you sounded, but I find you…” He wanted to say looking like a kid coming out of a sandbox. “Looking like you just buried a body in the woods!” “Not burying, digging up! Me and Scruffles been digging it up all morning! Since I got back from town. Oh! That reminds me…” She rushes inside and grabs a water bottle from the fridge, a bewildered Tim trailing behind her. He watches as she chugs down the whole bottle, before his eyes go down, and he picks up what he finds. “Umm, do you… Have a baby around?” He asks, holding up a bottle with a nipple on it. She shakes her head, her pigtails swishing back and forth. “Noooo.” Her smile never leaving her face, Tim was beginning to wonder if she fell off the wagon, or worse. “I gotta show you! It’s faster that way!” Robbie begins to go bounding out the door, when Tim stops her, “You know your boots are untied, right?” She reflexively leaned down to the dirt encrusted boots to tie them, only to frown and stare at them, “That’s stupid. I gotta show you it!” Tim puts a hand on her shoulder and stops her. “I’m not going to go running through the woods with you while your shoes are untied you’re going to trip and…” He feels self conscious suddenly about the scar on the side of his head, his red hair may have grown back, still, though, he feels like its the most noticeable thing in the world. “…Hurt yourself.” As he got to his knee, Tim could’ve sworn he smelled a hint of ammonia, like someone had been wetting herself. Down on his knee like this, Tim thought of a time when he had planned on proposing to Robbie, only for those dreams to go down the drain, due to his mistakes. “I umm-” He tried to think of what to say, as Robbie fidgeted with a nervous energy. “Have you been drinking, again?” “No,” Robbie said resoundingly, before adding in a quiet voice, much more like her usual self, “Have you?” That was the Robbie Tim had known and loved, the voice of a woman matured beyond her years, concerned for him. “No.” Robbie didn’t say anything else, as Tim tied her laces for her, and when he glanced up, he saw her sucking a finger, thoughtfully as she looked at his head. She gave him a smile when she saw him look up at her, patting his head. “Thanks! Can we go now?” “Yeah, I guess. Show me what you’re so excited for.” Robbie nodded enthusiastically, taking his hand and pulling him towards the tree line. He looked around, listening for the pitter-patter of paws in the woods. “Where’s Scruffles?” “He’s at the ship.” “What? Ship, what are you talking about?” “I toooold you! It’s better if you just saw it yourself. You won’t believe me if you don’t see it.” She said as she pulled him through the woods. He could’ve sworn he heard the distinct sounds of crinkling when her legs went up and down. They came to a path of freshly cut greenery, in the distance, he could hear the sounds of dirt moving. Scruffles was busy, paws sending earth flying behind him. Tim could see a bowl of water and food next to him, untouched. “Hi Scruffles!” Robbie came running over to him, pulling Tim along. She gave him a pat as he panted. Tim could see now what all the excitement was about. Scruffles was making a large hole bigger, coming out of the center of it was a weird, pink metal, rounded at the tip. Robbie gave Tim an expectant look, to him then at the metal and back again. “Isn’t it amazing?” “Umm, sure?” Robbie gave him an odd look at his reaction. “You.. You’re not doing it right,” She took his hand and pressed it against the metal. The pink glow was warm under his hand, absently, he wondered if it was radioactive. “There! See? It’s incredible!” He did feel a strange buzzing, he could only describe it as white noise in his brain. “I guess?” Tim said hesitantly. Robbie looked worried, this wasn’t the elated reaction she was expecting, her lips quivering with stress. “Hey, hey, hey,” Tim pulled her into a hug. “Don’t cry, just tell me what’s going on.” She swallowed a cry, silent for a moment, “It’s a space ship. They told me.” “Ok…” Tim said, not believing, or understanding. “’They’?” She nodded. “They told me, their memories, it’s in the ship. It crashed here, a long, long time ago. Before people.” Her eyes were wistful. “They could do so much, they knew how to make things out of nothing, like magic, and they could make things go backwards.” Tim could only pretend to get it. “Ok, then why…” He gestured towards the growing hole and dog. “The stuff inside, it’s amazing! I have to get inside.” She said, petting Scruffles. “He has to, too, don’t you puppy dog?” Tim looked at Scruffles, really looking at him. He had known him for many years now, but this was the first time he really saw him so energetic. He really was like a puppy dog. “So this thing is why you’re acting…” Tim’s words failed him, he wanted to say crazy, or childish, obsessive, but instead, out of wanting to appear kind, he just let the hang in the air. “I… I gotta see inside…” Robbie looked down at the pink metal jutting out of the ground, and leaned down and touched it. Her eyes went cloudy, the whites of her eyes gaining a pinkish hue. A giggle escaped her lips, higher than anything Tim had ever heard from Robbie before. In front of him, Robbie’s overalls darkened, yet a her smile only grew bigger. “Robbie! Robbie!” He grabbed her shoulder and shook her. With a start, she jumped at his touch, and whimpered. “Robbie? What the Hell was that?! You were in like a trance or something!” Robbie looked down and poked her crotch, Tim could definitely hear the crinkle now as more of the pink denim grew darker. She looked up at Tim with a pout, saying with a quiet voice, “I leaked…” Chapter 2 Robbie was stuck between a state of embarrassment and feeling stupid. She new she should’ve brought a change with her, then again, getting dressed was hard enough earlier. The diaper around her hips, currently dripping its excess down her legs, took her a good 10 minutes to get on, readjusting the tapes a dozen times before it was as right as she had the patience to give the project, and that was when she had a nice bed to lay on while she worked on it. Note to self, Robbie told herself, get a changing mat, and maybe something soft to lay on while she was outside. There were camping beds, right? Or maybe a sleeping bag. Ohhh, she thought to herself, then she could sleep next to the ship! “What do you mean you leaked?” She looked up at Tim, “My diapie leaked. I know, I’m stupid, I didn’t bring a change!” “Your d-’diapie’? Your ‘diaper’?!” Robbie was beginning to get irritated, rolling her eyes. “Since when do you wear diapers?” “Uhh, since this morning, I guess? It’s not a big deal, it’s just really convenient!” She lied to both of them. Honestly, Robbie couldn’t really say why she woke up today and decided she needed the diapers, or her new wardrobe that she couldn’t really afford, or the other paraphernalia. Robbie needed them, it was a necessity, and that was all there was to it. The fact that it reinforced her new mental image of herself was little more than a coincidence. Today, waking up in the soaked comforter she had managed to swaddle herself in after her shower, Robbie had many revelations, too many, she couldn’t keep all the thoughts in her head straight. Two, though, had made themselves apparent. One, the ship she had found had to be unearthed, had to be shown to everyone, and the second, and possibly more important, she was just a baby inside. Robbie wasn’t sure how she could’ve ever missed that fact. It was glaringly obvious now, of course she was just a little girl playing pretend grown up, she wished somebody had reached out and told her before it had gotten this far. That morning was such a confusing time for her, now that she knew the truth, it was so hard to balance responsibilities! She had to get dressed all by herself, feed Scruffles and herself, then had to drive to get all the stuff she was missing, that was the most nervous she had ever been on the road, even when she was first learning how to drive, and then on top of that, Robbie had to go around and do all that confusing shopping stuff all alone! If it weren’t for the ship, Robbie would’ve take a nap as soon as she had gotten padded, she was that mentally exhausted by the end. Tim gave the pink object a fearful look, one that Robbie didn’t like. He was being so weird about all this. He should’ve gotten the same revelation she had, she was positive about that. Maybe he was going overboard on the drinking, again. Would alcohol affect something like this? She wasn’t sure. “Robbie, honey…” Tim had a sweet tone on now, and Robbie smiled up at him as he offered her a hand to help her up. “Let’s go back to your place and get you cleaned up.” He said slowly. “Ok,” she said, tempted to ask him to carry her, thinking better of it when she saw Scruffles still pawing at the dirt. “But you gotta carry the puppy.” “Yea, fine,” he agreed quickly, just wanting to get Robbie away from that thing as quickly as he could, picking up the dog that whined and struggled to get out of his arms, eager to get back to his work, thrashing and scratching the man. At first, Tim was a good few steps ahead of Robbie, as she toddled behind, regretting her decisions. After a little while, Tim looked back at Robbie, who grinned at him and gave him a wave in her soaked overalls stopped and told her to walk in front of him. She was happy with the arrangement, feeling more secured with a watchful eye on her. The cabin came into view not long after, Tim keeping a close eye on Robbie as she waddled and tripped on her way on the branches and bushes on the way, worried yet glad that he came out here. He didn’t want to think about what would’ve happened if she was left on her own all day. As soon as they were through the door, Robbie started to undo the buttons on her overalls, and let the outfit fall to her ankles. While at one point, Tim and Robbie were close enough to see all of each other’s bodies, he couldn’t help but feel awkward at this sight. His ex, not caring that she was stripping in front of him and not even thinking to take off her boots. The loose, sagging diaper on her practically fell by its own weight without the overalls to support it, sliding down Robbie’s thin thighs, leaving her pale ass on full display. Robbie groaned as she leaned down and tried to take off her boots, Tim dropped Scruffles on the floor who immediately went over to the door and started pawing at it, leaving the man to grab Robbie just as she nearly tripped on her own feet. With gentle hands around her hips, he lowered her to the ground and helped her pull off the boots, overalls, and the soggy diaper. “Thanks!” Tim was taken aback by Robbie’s lack of humility, proudly strutting around her home with pee soaked loins like it was a natural part of her day. When she pulled out a fresh, white diaper and laid down on the couch to pull it on to herself, already pulling the tapes away to secure it on to herself. “Umm, I don’t know how this usually works, but don’t you need to clean yourself first?” Robbie looked down and gave her thumb a bite. “Hmm, I don’t know…” “Yeah, you’ll make yourself sore if you don’t clean thoroughly.” “Oh, that doesn’t matter!” Tim sighed. “Yes, yes it does. You’ll be complaining soon if you get red and scratchy. Fine, here.” He pulled himself over her and lifted the diaper away and laid Robbie bare. The first thing he noticed was how sparse her pubic hair was. He had always known her to be au naturale, letting her coarse hair around her mound to grow freely, but now, it was thin, wispy, and he noticed neveral light hairs at the bottom of her previous diaper, then noticed her head was looking the same too, her lush, luxurious hair wasn’t quite as full as it should be, but that was a problem to be addressed later, for now, he went through the bags, figuring Robbie had gone through and grabbed more than just diapers for her inevitable changes, and he was right, finding wipes, powder, and lotion. Robbie squealed and smiled during her diaper change, delighted in how much better it was to be changed then changing oneself. She was grinning like a fool as Tim wiped her clean, even as he grimaced when he saw the remaining hair came off with the wipe. He shook his head and started rubbing the lotion on to her, and Robbie purred like a kitten. “More!” She said delighted with the cloud of powder in the air, “More!” She demanded. Tim just shook his head, clearly not enjoying his role in this game. Finally, he taped her up, and Robbie put her hands up, wanting to be helped up, Tim did as he was demanded, and she sat up. The woman shook her padded rear, and gave it a playful smack, filling the air with the sweet smelling powder. “Wow! This is way better than doing it myself! Thanks, Tim!” She lifted herself up on her tippy toes and gave his cheek a kiss he was sure she didn’t mean to be so wet. “Don’t mention it,” He said, wiping his cheek with a sleeve. Tim meant it to, he could really use a nip outside for a ‘smoke’ after that traumatizing experience. “Oh! I got other stuff to show you!” “Umm, don’t you want to get dressed?” She looked down at herself, shirt, diaper, socks, and shook her head. “No? What else do I need to put on?” He shrugged, assuming she wouldn’t understand at this point. She turned towards her shopping bags, producing some computer parts, a light bulb, wire, and a screw driver, beginning to fiddle with them. While she did her project, Tim really observed her. While she was the skinny sort, the kind of girl who could eat a lot and never put on the pounds, she definitely was smaller, her hips were girlish, her breasts smaller, not by a lot, anyone who only ever seen her dressed probably wouldn’t notice, but Tim had a more intimate familiarity with that part of his ex’s body. “When was the last time you ate?” “I had breakfast!” Robbie replied while fiddling with the wires connected to the bulb. “Alright…” Tim still went through her kitchen, looking for something. “Robbie?” “Yeah?” Tim chose his words carefully. “I think you should tell someone else about this.” “Yeah, silly! I’m gonna tell everyone about the ship!” “No, I mean, like tell the government about this, or something. Get away from this thing, it’s doing things to you.” “But I don’t want to!” Her voice was raised, getting irritated. “The ship makes me feel good, and I like it a lot.” She sounded like she was on verge of a tantrum. “Robbie, look at yourself! This thing isn’t good for you, and you’ve only been around it for a few hours.” Robbie spun around towards Tim, her eyes watering and lip quivering. “Then just leave! I don’t need you around if you’re just gonna be a butt!” Tim considered that for a moment, then thought about how irresponsible he’d be if he really just left Robbie to her own devices. Sighing, he said, “Alright, fine, I won’t tell anyone.” Sniffling, “And you’ll help me dig?” “I don’t remember saying anything like that.” Defiantly Robbie added, “Then leave.” “Jeez, yes fine, I’ll help you with your dig.” He groaned, what had Robbie gotten the two of them into. “Aaaaand, tada!” Her previous mood faded away, showed the bulb wrapped around with the wires. “Ahhh, neat?” Tim said, unimpressed. Robbie gave him a little laugh, “I gotta turn it on, heehee.” She flipped on a switch and a glowing orb appeared above the bulb, it rapidly changed shapes to form a head, and then it opened its mouth. “Hello, Tim.” It said in a robotic voice. “What the- How’s it talking?” “The light emitted from the bulb can also cause vibrations through the air, letting it speak. Pretty neat, huh?” The head agreed, “Pretty neat.” “It can talk?” “Yup! It can think too, and do all sorts of computations. Computers take up a lot of space that can be used for other stuff, like cribs and toys, so why not just keep them in light?” “That… Makes no sense.” “Well, not to you.” “And, just how do you know how to do all this?” “The ship told me.” Robbie folded her arms, a smug look on her face. “It knows exactly how to teach babies like me the bestest kinds of ways.” Tim took a seat on an armchair and rubbed his temples. “This is crazy. Robbie, you’re not a baby, you’re a grown woman!” Robbie shook her diaper bum again, “Do I look like a grown woman, or am I justa widdle girl?” She jumped on to Tim’s lap and gave him a hug, “Stop looking so gwumpy! It’s cute and I’m now super smart! The ship told me how to do lots of stuff like that!” “This is just…” He held his tongue, not wanting to upset Robbie again and have her insist he leave. “Alright, let’s just… Get this over with. I’ll help you with your dig.” Anything to get this done and over with, he added silently. “Thanks Timmy!” Robbie wrapped her arms around Tim’s shoulders and hugged him before roughly jumping off his lap and rushing towards the door. “Wait, wait, where are you going?” “To the ship! We gotta go, before it gets dark and scary.” Tim points at her. “Don’t you think you should get dressed first?” “Huh? Why?” She looks down at her shirt, socks and diaper, not seeing the problem. Tim shook his head. “Put on some pants and shoes. Do you have your backpack- oh here it is.” Robbie gasped excitedly. “Are you packing me a diaper bag?” “Could you not call it that? Please.” Robbie stuck her tongue out. “Just- Go get dressed.” Robbie hurried along, going through her wardrobe in her room, unable to find anything that suited her current state of mind. She wanted something cute, girly, not these stupid jeans and cargo pants, where’s something flowery? She did some cute clothes earlier, but a lot of the shorts she got wouldn’t fit well over her thick butt. Robbie wished she hadn’t leaked on her overalls, those had been surprisingly perfect. Maybe tomorrow Timmy could help her shop some more. Ohhh, maybe she could find a onesie? In the meantime, Robbie settled for a flowey pink dress. “How do I look?” Robbie went out of her room and posed for Tim, doing a twirl. “Adorable,” He said dryly, finishing packing the bag with water, snacks, and a change. “Oh! Can you bring one of my baby bottles? Pweeeease?” Tim just nodded, already seeing the rest of the day was going to be long, following behind Robbie and Scruffles as they go trouncing through the woods, towards the ship they would spend the rest of the day digging. A few miles away from Robbie’s cabin, closer to the town of Kingswood, Holly Jackson was working on her schoolwork, rubbing her aching jaw. She hated her braces, always got made fun of it in school, and despised the way her reflection in the mirror. Holly and her Mom had spent an entire day at the dentists earlier just to get the stupid things tightened. She could only count the days until they were finally were pulled off. In the other room, she could hear her Mom and older sister arguing about something. Ever since Carly had come home from college, they constantly argued. Holly didn’t need an excuse to hide away in her room, but avoiding her family was certainly a perk. “It’s my dolly, Mom, get your own!” “Well I bought it so nyeah!” Holly looked up from her textbook. What was going on out there? She poked her head out, seeing her Mom and sister playing tug of war in the living room with a stuffed doll Holly didn’t even know her sister still had. “Mom, Carly, what are you two doing?” With the distraction, Mom had snatched the doll out of Carly’s hands and ran away, Carly began sobbing and chased after her. “Moooom!” She whined. “Give it baaaack!” Holly grabbed Carly’s shoulder and gave her a bewildered expression while their Mom sprinted through the house. “Carly, why are you two fighting over a stupid toy? Shouldn’t you be, I don’t know, trying to get Mom to give you her credit card or something?” Carly gasped, “You’re right! If I took Mom’s money, I could just buy new toys! Thanks, Sissy!” And ran off to grab her Mom’s purse. After a moment, Holly heard, “Moooom, I got your puuurse!” “Hey! That’s mine!” Holly, still completely confused, retreated back to her room, pulled on her headphones, and tried to ignore the insanity happening beyond her door’s threshold. Jeremy Copper was smoking his cigar on the porch, as he usually did, thinking of the past. Of his time in the war, when he got blasted by a shell and needed to get a metal plate in his head that got too cold. Of his early marriage, and how lost he felt without his wife in his life. When his grand daughter was young, and would sit on his knee and beg him to tell her stories. That grand daughter, Jenny, was inside right now, sure to him that his daughter made her come out here to spend time with her old grampy, before it was too late, or maybe just because she knew old Jeremy needed the company these days. Not that the girl had spent much time with him. 19 years old and she had no time for her grampy any more. Since coming out here 2 weeks ago, she spent more time on her phone or out in town looking for anything to do. Good luck with that, he grumbled to himself, he knew there wasn’t anything to do in this small, backwoods town, that’s why he moved out here after Gretchen passed. Just a quiet place to stay during his twilight years. Maybe that’s why Hannah had sent Jenny out here, keep her out of trouble. “Grampy?” A quiet voice called from inside. It was ‘grampy’ now? Jeremy chuckled to himself. The past 2 weeks its just been Grampa, and he was lucky to get that, the girl had done her level best to avoid him. Probably wanted something out of the old man. “What is it?” The quiet voice came back, “Can you come here, please?” “Give me a second.” He knocked the reds out of his cigar and gathered himself. It wasn’t always easy for him to get out of his chair these days. When Jeremy finally got inside, he noticed no light in the kitchen or the living room, no sounds of television or videos from a phone or anything, it was just silence and darkness. He checked the clock ticking away on the wall. 9 pm. Too early for lights out for the young woman. He groaned as he walked upstairs and towards the spare bedroom. He opened it up, and was surprised to see his grand daughter in a flowery pink nightie that used to belong to his late wife, room lit up by an old nightlight that hasn’t been used since Jenny was 5. “Where’d you dig up that old thing?” Jenny’s face, free of makeup and piercings that usually covered her pretty face, lit up. “I was looking through some boxes in the basement, and found it. It smells like Meemee.” She gave the lace collar a sniff and smiled. “And, its cute.” She gave the old man a little curtsy in it. “Oh? Feeling a little nostalgic, tonight?” “I suppose. And look!” Jenny took a weathered, aged gray bunny rabbit from the bedspread and showed it to Jeremy. “I found Hoppers!” Jeremy chuckled. “Looks like you did, I remember when your Grandma-” “Meemee.” She corrected in a gentle voice. He hadn’t heard Jenny call Gretchen that in a long time. It did his old heart some good, hearing his grand kid go down memory lane. “-Your Meemee made that for you. She heard your Ma was having you and she sewed Hopper up for days.” She gave the stuffed animal a hug and sat down on the bed. “You missing her tonight?” Jenny gave him a tiny nod, looking at the toy sadly. “I miss her a lot, too.” He walked over and gave the girl a hug, which she eagerly returned. A little too eagerly. “Hey, hey! A little more gentle, this stallions getting on in years!” She looked up at him and gave him a wicked grin, tightening her grip on him. “This is nice,” Jeremy said, giving her forehead a kiss. “Did you need anything else, Jenny?” “I want a story.” “What?” “A story.” She said slowly, like he was hard of hearing, which he was, some times, but he simply didn’t understand her request. “Tuck me in and tell me a story.” “Aren’t you a bit old for something like that?” Vehemently, she shook her head, her ponytail swishing her brown hair she’d inherited from her Ma and Grandma. “Alright, get in bed.” Jenny giggled a bit, and crawled into bed, her purple undies, strangely looking thick, on display for an instant, as the nightie hiked up a bit. Old Jeremy Copper sat in bed next to his grand kid, smelling of aftershave and cigar, telling her a story he must’ve told her a hundred times when she was small, seeing her eyes light up at each turn, and then, slowly fall, eyelids getting heavy, until he was talking to himself, gave her another tiny peck, got off the bed and tucked her in, laughing quietly as he got out of bed, when something caught his eye, in the dim light of the night light. A ripped open package he hadn’t seen in years. A pack of Pull-Ups that must’ve been in the basement for over a decade, he wondered why Jenny had brought those up, too, shrugging to himself, must’ve just been in the box with the stuffed rabbit, and whispered to her, “Good night, love ya kiddo.” And was about to shut the door when he heard a little, “Keep the door open, Grampy.” As old Jeremy left the door open, down the street from him, Erin Stowski was pacing back and forth, waiting for her husband by the door. When the door fiddled open, she rushed over and ripped it open, seeing Kenny Stowski on the other side, jumped into his arms, the bags in his hands rustling as he shared her embrace. “Kenny! I was so worried!” She sniffled. “I was soooo alone! The house got all dark and scary and, and… I missed you.” Kenny Stowski had a funny look on his face when he gave his wife a shy kiss, blushing like a schoolboy. “I missed you too. Work was so long. Do you think I should call sick tomorrow?” Erin gave him a silent nod, pushing her face into his chest. “Mhmm.” “Ok, Erin, I’ll stay home, and, and we can play all day!” Erin looked up with puppy dog eyes, “You mean it?” “Uh-huh! Look! I got us pressies!” Kenny jiggled the bags. Gasping with excitement, really looking at the bags in his hands for the first time. “Pressies? Really?” He took a box out of the bag and passed it to her. Erin took the Barbie from his hands and looked at it, a mixture of surprise and delight on her face. “Barbie! I haven’t played with her in soooo long!” She went to work ripping the box open and freeing the toy from the package. “Yeah, I thought you would like her. ‘Cause, y’know, I like you.” Blushing a little, the woman looked up at the man and bit her thumb, “I like you too.” He reached into a bag and showed her his prize. “And I got me a dino! Look, ‘rawr’!” “Awww, he’s cute,” Erin gave the t-rex in his hands a pat on the head. Kenny frowned at that. “Nooo, he’s not cute, he’s cool!” She nodded, eyes wide open and taking in the information like it was gospel. “I got a little excited, though,” He said, looking down at the toy, “I opened him up when I got in the car.” “I would’ve done that with Barbie.” Erin said, understanding completely. Looking down, Kenny smiled at the other bag in his hand. “I got other stuff too!” “What’d you get?” Erin asked, hopping down with excitement as he pulled out a two pack of pacifiers, Erin grabbed the package and ripped it open and popped one in her mouth right away, offering the other to her husband, Kenny opened his mouth and let her put it in. “Ahnd,” He said through the pacifier in his mouth, “I gawt thefe,” He showed her baby bottles, that she nodded approvingly at, “Ahnd thefe,” He pulled out plain white incontinence briefs. “You got uf pullie?” Erin said, giggling, ripping off her clothes in the middle of their kitchen. “Put it on!” Kenny pulled one out of the package and offered it up for her, putting one leg in then the other. He then took off his clothes and asked her to help him, and Erin helped her husband put his diaper on. They went to their couch, in just their diapers, playing with their new toys while watching a cartoon, Kenny, always the gentleman, let Erin pick out, even if it was a bit girly, still let the love of his life do what made her happy. And that’s how the 53 year old Principal of Kingswood High spent her evening with her 55 year old husband, the chief of the fire department. Neither of them thinking anything strange about their childish antics, too absorbed in their play time and love. Else where, Tim had a sleepy Robbie on his back, who babbled excitedly about what kinds of things she would make when she got back home, though Tim suspected she would be out like a light as soon as she got back to the cabin after a change, Scruffles whimpering in Tim’s arms, half asleep but still wanting to get back to his work in the woods. They wouldn’t know what that ship had done to the sleepy little town until morning. Until then, they walked back through the woods. Chapter 3 Tim woke up with muscles burning, a pounding headache like someone had been knocking at his door all night, and a snoring woman on top of him, her wet diaper pressed against his thigh and her hair leaving a carpet on his chest. Irritated, he pondered how to get Robbie off of him without starting the day with a tantrum, when, stirred by his movement, she opened her eyes and smiled up at him. Her pacifier still puttering in her mouth, she gave him a look and mumbled something. “What?” The pacifier fell from her mouth and she repeated herself. “Hungry.” It wasn’t a question, she wasn’t asking if he wanted some breakfast or if he would make her something. It was a statement, almost a demand, she was hungry and it was Tim’s job to do something about it. He nodded, resigning himself to his fate. “Are you sure you don’t want to deal with that first?” He pointed down past her green shirt and towards the yellowing padding between her legs. Robbie gave him a quizzical look, repeating herself, with a bit more urgency in her voice. “Hungry.” Tim nodded and pushed her off of him, brushing off the hair off of him, giving his boxer shorts a grimace when he saw a wet patch on the legs where Robbie had been laying. Robbie budged a little bit, giving him just enough leeway to get up and go to the kitchen, though, much to his chagrin, he found that she was still attached to him, her arms wrapped around his waist and following. He didn’t think she was this attached when they were dating. It had been like this since they got back to the cabin last night from digging, she was glued to him by the hip, even getting into the shower with him when he went to wash the dirt off of him, which he silently relented to, as she needed to get cleaned too, both of them bringing their fair share of dirt into Robbie’s home. “Do you want some eggs?” Tim asked the woman. She looked up at him and shook her head, and he had to wonder in that moment if she wasn’t shorter than she was yesterday, he could’ve sworn the top of her head ended at his chin, and now seemed to rest at his shoulder height. “Hmm, well I see some cereal.” He said looking through the cupboards, she looked over and saw that it was a plain brain, Robbie made an annoyed sound in her throat and shook her head. “Well, what were you thinking then?” Robbie rested her head on Tim’s arm and mumbled, “I don’t know.” Very helpful, Tim thought. “I guess we could go and grab some donuts or something.” Robbie grinned at that and nodded slowly. “Alright, but you gotta get changed and dressed first, you can’t go out like that.” She looked down at her soggy padding and dirty, crumpled shirt, giving him a confused look, “But why?” “Because people will think you’re having a mental breakdown.” Besides the fact you are, he added quietly. “But why?” “Because… You’ll feel comfier in a fresh diaper and some new clothes?” There was a playful smile on her face now, “But whyyy?” Seeing this wasn’t going anywhere productive, Tim picked Robbie up and brought her to her bedroom, dropping her on the mattress where she lifted her legs up and played with her feet, trying to put some toes in her mouth, fortunately for Tim’s sake, she wasn’t quite limber enough for the feat. In her attempts to imitate a contortionist, Robbie let out a high whistle from her butt, and Tim shook his head. “Please don’t do that to me.” He begged, not mentally prepared for any messy accidents, not at all but certainly not first thing in the morning before he even got the chance to enjoy some coffee. A giggle and another toot was his only response. Tim went through Robbie’s dressers, looking for anything that he deemed appropriate enough, finally setting on a denim skirt that he thought would be long enough to hide Robbie’s underwear and a long, white sleeveless shirt. He tossed it next to Robbie, who frowned at the choices and threw them away. “Hey!” Robbie shook her head, “Not cute enough!” “Please, Robbie, what if we found something for you to wear for the rest of the day while we’re out?” “Want it now!” She pounded her fists into the bedding, taking a pillow and throwing it at Tim, opening her mouth to let out a shriek. This was getting too much for Tim, a grown woman throwing a tantrum first thing in the morning was the last thing he needed. “You have until the count of 3 to cut this out, Robbie!” He warned. “Reeeee!” “1…” “-Eeeeee!” “2…” “You stupid, meaniehead!” “3…” The screaming continued, intertwined with insults thrown his way, Robbie felt two hands around her ankles and she was flipped on to her front side. She managed to take in a single breath, ready to scream again when she slid towards Tim, now sitting on the side of the bed, her crotch resting on his thighs, her behind feeling the cool air as her diaper’s tapes were undone. Robbie let out another scream, and a firm palm came crashing down on her butt cheeks. She gasped in shock, looking up with a pout. She sniffled a little bit as she glared at him. “Are we going to listen now, Robbie?” Her response was only to shriek again and pound the bottom of her fists into the bed. A resounding smack echoed through the cabin, Robbie let out a sob in response, fresh tears falling down her cheeks, and the palm came down again, and again, Robbie’s backside becoming red, the sobs interrupted with more screams, and the spanking continued. “Are you going to be a big girl and get dressed?” “You just mean!” She flipped her head around and spit on him, Tim shook his head and smacked her ass again, looking down to see Robbie peeing, the urine dripping down the open diaper and on to the floor. Tim gave her a harder smack, beginning to feel bad, but as the tantrum kept going, he saw little reason to stop. Eventually, the screaming subsided into small hiccups, and Tim gave his ringing hand a break and let Robbie off. Free, Robbie ran into a corner of the room, her diaper discarded on the floor, and cried into the corner, rubbing her red bottom. “Robbie…” Tim began. “I’m sorry I had to do that, it’s just…” Tim didn’t know how to continue that sentence, this whole surreal experience had him at a loss for words. Tim let Robbie have her moment of feeling bad for herself, before he called out for her again. “Robbie.” She looked back at him, her face full of hurt, ready to be angry at him, but something inside of her needed him. Robbie ran over to Tim and jumped into his lap and hugged him, crying into his chest, letting him comfort her, running his fingers into her thinning hair while saying, “Shh, shh, it’s ok, it’s all going to be ok.” A little more sniffling, before Robbie muttered something into his shirt. “What was that, honey?” She paused from soaking his shirt with tears and snot, quietly saying, “I’m sorry.” “I’m sorry, too. Are you ready to get dressed now?” She nodded, letting him lay her back down, wincing a little as her butt rubbed against the blanket and had her weight put on it. Tim’s first order of business was getting a new diaper under the girl, wiping her down, and putting some lotion on her, rubbing some on to the bruised spots. Robbie even let herself have a little giggle as she let out another fart, the smell covered up by the cloud of baby powder, and finished taping her up. With that task done, he helped her up and had her shed her dirty green shirt and replaced it with the long, white one, letting her put her hands on his shoulders for balance as he shimmied the skirt up to her waist. Robbie frowned at the outfit she was wearing, the shirt covering up half the skirt, and the hemline falling low enough to hide her padding. “I look like a big girl.” She pouted. Tim sighed, about to tell her she was a big girl, but stopped himself, just in time to prevent another argument. “You’re still very baby, sweetheart.” He told the girl, though, thankfully, in her old clothes she looked very much like her old self, even if they were quite a bit baggier than they should’ve been. The little white lie was enough to placate her for the moment, and she nodded satisfied. “Do you want a bottle before we leave?” She thought about it for a second, before nodding, and, without asking, grabbed Tim’s hand with both of hers and let him lead her out of the room, crinkling along the way. While Tim prepared a bottle of milk for Robbie, she fiddled with some of the computer parts she had gotten the previous day, “Can we bring Scruffles?” Tim glanced over towards the door, where the dog whined and scratched on it. “Yeah, we can. Maybe he’ll let himself eat if he’s away from that thing for a bit.” “Yaaay!”. Tim went over to Robbie and gave her the bottle, she looked up expectantly at him. “Hold it for me.” “No, be a good girl and drink it by yourself, I need to get changed.” She frowned again, but took the bottle without another word. Tim shooed the dog away from the door, who tried to rush through the opening as soon as he could, Tim only barely managing to get out without a runaway. Tim sighed and shook his head as he made his way down the hill towards his car. This was nothing what he was expecting. How could he? It wasn’t exactly a common occurrence to find an alien space ship that made people babies. He wish he could justify it some kind of way, say that Robbie had just became crazy and that this was all in her head, but no, the way the dog acted told him there was some truth in this insane story. He opened the back of his car, finding his bug out bag, grabbing a pair of shorts, a shirt, and some fresh boxers, thankful for the trees hiding his indecency. The door was just about closed, when he eyed the glove box, and his mouth was suddenly incredibly dry. Maybe just a little swig would help him get through the morning… But no, he shook the thought away. He had to be sober to take care of Robbie, and made his way back to the cabin. Tim found Robbie, her legs splayed out and letting her skirt ride up to show what laid underneath, one hand with her bottle in hand, and the other messing with cords. He held Scruffles back as he walked back in, sighing as he took the empty bottle out of Robbie’s mouth that she was still sucking on. “Hey!” “Hush, I’m not ready to burp you. Go get your bag, I’ll grab some stuff for Scruffles.” “Grab my diaper bag?” He sighed, “Yes, your diaper bag.” “Ok!” He grabbed a couple of bowls, one for water, the other a tupperware full of dog food, and waited while he listened in on the other room, where he could hear the sounds of commotion. He poked his head where he saw Robbie stuffing her backpack full of diapers, change of outfits, and a stuffed monkey he wasn’t sure he’d ever seen before. “You know we’re going to be out for just a few hours, right?” “Yeah, well, I just wanna be prepared.” “How about, just a few diapers and your monkey, we were going to look for new outfits for you anyway.” Robbie took out a shirt with angel wings and cocked her head at it, before tossing it aside. “Okay!” She said. “Scruffles! Get your jacket, we’re going out!” She called out to the pooch, slinging her bag over and a shoulder and skipping past Tim. Scruffles gave Robbie a confused look before scratching at the door again. “That’s right!” Robbie told the dog with a high pitched, excited tone, “We’re going out!” She took a leash off a hook by the door and hooked it on to his collar. “Sweetie, maybe I should hold on to the dog.” She stuck a tongue out at Tim, “I got him! He’s my puppy!” She said possessively. He shrugged, standing next to her ready to grab the leash with one hand, the other with the bag full of Scruffles’ food and dishes. As soon as the door was open the dog rushed towards the backyard, towards the ship, nearly yanking the lead out of Robbie’s hand, and Tim had to jump for the handle of the leash. “Bad dog! We going to town, not dig yet!” Robbie said through gritted teeth. Tim sighed and took the leash from Robbie, yanking her skirt down when it threatened to show off her diaper to the woods and world. She glared at him, “He’s my puppy,” She said with a pout, but didn’t offer anymore resistance when they began down the hill towards the cars. “Can I drive?” She asked him, to which he shook his head. “You’re no fun today.” Robbie complained. “Wasn’t trying to be,” He replied gruffly. Tim packed Scruffles and his bag into the back seat, where he saw Robbie stepping into the seat behind the driver’s. “Can you buckle me in?” Gritting his teeth, Tim told her, “Give me a second.” Coming around the side to do it, Scruffles trying to jump past Robbie to get outside, his owner taking it as him wanting to hug. Struggling to push the dog back, he managed to get Robbie buckled in and shut the door closed. “Wait!” Tim looked behind towards Robbie. “Yes?” “I forgot my paci.” “Let’s not…” He imagined himself walking through town with Robbie clinging to his arm sucking on a pacifier. “We’re going to play a game, you’re going to pretend to be as big as you can, doesn’t that sound like fun?” “No!” Tim sighed, and said, “Well we’re going to play it anyway.” Robbie gave a sound of exasperation and pushed her knees into Tim’s seat, he did his utmost best to ignore it. The drive towards town wasn’t long, going past the trees and seeing the cabins replaced by more typical homes, soon, they were in the center of the side by side small stores, people walking on the sidewalks, though Tim couldn’t help but noticed several of the stores were closed for the day, fewer people around, and many of the folks that littered the streets were behaving strangely, grown women skipping down the side walk in hoop skirts, he even saw a couple of them playing jump rope, he saw a grown man with a graying beard running around some trees with toy plane in hand. A lump formed in the bottom of Tim’s throat as he started realizing his problem was growing. “Hey!” Tim saw Robbie point outside in the rear view mirror. “Those boys have pacifiers, and they’re big! See? I could’ve brought mine, too!” Tim glanced towards where she was pointing and saw a group of older teens crowding around in front of a convenience store passing around a pacifier in a circle. Tim didn’t respond to that, looking around for any other worrisome signs that things were going wrong in town. They drove past a couple of police officers parked in front of a few stores. Officer Theresa Morgan was popping open her second jar of baby food since she entered the car with her partner Vince Garrison. “How can you eat that stuff?” He asked her. “Itsh good!” She replied through a mouthful of mush. “I don’t believe you.” She gave him a messy smile and pushed a spoon of goop towards him. “It’s true! Come on, just a little bite, it’s ‘nanners and strawberries!” He pursed his lips closed as she pounded the spoon at his lips. “Come ooon!” She coerced, “Here comes the choo-choo train!” “No, sto-” She plunged the spoon into his lips, he smacked it against his tongue. “Oh, that’s good!” Vince let the baby food rest on his tongue for a minute, thinking. “Let’s go get some more!” Theresa nodded, “See? I told you it was good! Yeah, let’s get some more! But, could you help me change first?” She poked her full diaper under her uniform. “I a bit soggy.” Vince thought about it, before asking quietly. “Do you have a spare one for me?” The car took off seconds later. Tim pulled in front of Kingswood Cafe and Bakery, holding on to Scruffles and helped Robbie out of the car. Her eyes were glued to the girls playing jump rope down the street. “Tim?” He looked at her, and then towards what she was looking at. “Come on, Robbie, you want some donuts, right? Just a little breakfast.” He tried to distract her away from the question on her mind. “I was just thinking,” Robbie continued, her thumb drawing closer to her mouth, “Maybe those girls would want to see my puppy…” Tim didn’t want the excursion to turn into him baby sitting a bunch of grown children reliving their childhoods, and made another attempt to distract her. “That’s ok, I’m sure they all have puppies at home… Do you wanna play some games on my phone?” Her face whipped towards him and beamed. Tim took that as a yes and showed her his phone, tying up Scruffles on the metal railing on the patio, giving him his food and some water out of a bottle. Scruffles started devouring the food with much gusto. The cafe smelled of warm bread and fresh coffee, and he smiled at the barista with some semblance of normalcy, until he saw she was playing with a wooden roller coaster, and the displays where the bread and pastries would normally be lined up were left empty. The worker looked up with a smile, the name tag on her apron reading April, she gave him a clumsy wave. “Hi! How can I help you?” “Umm, I just wanted to get a few donuts, but I see you’re out.” “Oh, I’m not keeping them out anymore, they get all stale and icky. What kind do you want?” “An apple fritter and an eclair. And a small cappuccino. Where are you keeping them now?” She glanced over towards the window and saw Robbie and Scruffles outside. “Oooh! Puppy! Can I go say hi? I got some doggie cookies for him!” “Yeah, that’s fine, I suppose…” April leaned down and grabbed something behind from below the till, and passed them over to Tim. “Complimentary! I made them earlier and they’re so popular, it’s great branding!” In Tim’s hands there were two lovingly embroidered, identical bibs with ‘Kingswood Cafe and Bakery’ sewed on to it, framed on a white background with yellow and brown outline with a bear in a cloth diaper and a steaming mug in its paws. “That’s… really good. You made a bunch of them this morning? How’d you do that and…” Tim looked up and saw April playing with a shining silver machine that was on the back counter, he could now see under her apron, below her black shirt the only thing she wore below was a yellow and brown diaper with the bear and its steaming mug, identical to the bib’s design. She pressed a few buttons on the machine and the platform on the machine twinkled and a cup of coffee appeared in a mug that read Kingswood Cafe&Bakery. April passed it over to him with a smile, before turning around and making the two donuts appear on the same platform. She saw him looking at the machine. “Isn’t it neat?” She asked, beaming proudly. “It’s my matter replicator, it can make anything you want. Lot’s of people asked me how to make them, I can give you my schematics if you want!” “I uhh- sure.” Tim said, unsure what was going on. April thrust a coffee napkin into his hands with what looked like crayon scribbles with a roundish shape in the middle and equations in another language into his hands. He tried to make heads or tails of it while April gave him a look of pride. “Oh! Uhh, duh! Money!” April stuck her tongue out and started counting out loud, “So that’s a cappuccino and an apple fritter and an eclair… Umm, that’s…” She held out a hand and started counting on it. “That’ll be… 3!” “That’ll be $3?” “Yes! Why? Do you think that’s too much?” She asked with a worried look on her face.\\ “No, no, that’s fine.” He handed her a $5 bill, April opened her cash register and passed Tim his change, a play dollar from Monopoly with the iconic monocled billionaire on it and a $10 bill. Tim was temped to correct her, but April’s pleased face told him just to accept it. He sighed and put the bills into his wallet, gathered up the pastries and coffee, the bibs and napkin under his arm and walked to the door. “Let me get that for you!” April said excitedly, a handful of dog treats in her hand and rushed to the door. He watched as the woman held open the door, her padded rear exposed to anyone passing by on the streets without shame. “Thanks.” Tim walked over to Robbie, still glued to he phone and playing a game involving popping bubbles. “Oh, he’s so cute!” Robbie looked up, ready to give an indignant cry of ownership over her pooch when her eyes lit up seeing April, bending over to give Scruffles some treats. “Ohmygosh! Your diapie is so cute!” April looked over at Robbie, as if seeing her for the first time, proudly whipping her apron over to show off the design, on the landing ‘Kingswood Cafe and Bakery’ with steaming cups running down it as wetness indicators. “Thankyou!” She said quickly. “I made it myself!” “You did? It’s so adorable!” April held the corners of her apron out with a thumb and forefinger holding up each side, spinning around showing off. She nodded, before saying, “Yup! I made lots and lots of stuff. Show her the bibs!” April demanded Tim. Obligingly, Tim showed Robbie the two bibs in his hands, and she could see the napkin drawing peeking out. “Timmy! Put it on me!” Sighing, Tim tied the bib around Robbie’s neck, and she grinned up at him, “Do I look cuuute?” “You the cutest baby around!” April told Robbie. Robbie smiled up at her before her eyes went back to the napkin and took it from Tim. “You made all this stuff with this?” April nodded. “That’s really smart! I can’t wait to go home and make one for me.” April bent down and started petting Scruffles again, telling him what a good boy he was. Tim took a bite of his donut while scratching his head, feeling like he was sucked into an episode of the Twilight zone, when the barista made a grunting noise. Tim glanced up at her just as the mugs disappeared from the underside of her diaper and a lump popped out from the back side. Tim looked on in horror as this adult unabashedly filled her diaper in the bright day. She sighed with relief, giving her rear a pat. “That’s the second time today.” She giggled. “You know how coffee goes right through you!” Robbie nodded sagely. “It happens. Do you want Timmy to change you? He’s gotten really good at it!” Tim shot her a look of \what are you talking about, don’t volunteer me’. April laughed again, “No thanks, one of department store workers showeded me how to make a virtual nanny and she can change me.” “Oooh!” Robbie murmured, appreciating the idea. “Does she hold bottles for you, too?” She asked, shooting Tim a look. “Uhh, I never thought about it, but probably. That’s a good idea, I think I’ll make a coffee baba and try it out now. It was nice chatting to you, bye bye puppy!” Tim was left in a state of bewilderment as the barista left him and Robbie to their breakfast. Across the street, holding on to her grandpa’s hands, Jenny Copper was skipping down the sidewalk while Jeremy Copper struggled to keep up with her. After waking up, he was surprised to see his grand kid’s wave of nostalgia didn’t waver over night, he had found her in the breakfast nook in a yellow sundress he could’ve sworn she had last worn before she hit puberty, and even then, her grandma had to coerce her into wearing it, yet here she was, sitting at the table on her knees, furiously coloring pages with crayons with her tongue hanging out. When she saw him, Jenny had leapt at him, hugging him tightly and sighing. “I didn’t think you were ever going to wake up!” “’Course I was, kiddo. Now, what do you have all over the table.” Jenny proudly put a drawing of him, her, and her mother drawn in stick figures in his hands. “Ohh, that’s really good, princess.” “Yeah, it’s you, me and Mommy!” Jeremy frowned at the word ‘Mommy’, “Can you put it on the fridge? Pleeeease?” She begged. “Umm, sure, Jen.” He sighed, putting it in between a picture of Jenny at her graduation and a picture of Gretchen and their daughter. He looked at those pictures for a second when a question was asked behind him. “Sorry, hon, what was that?” Jenny was back on the chair on her knees, know leaning on the back of the chair, looking at him oddly. “I SAID, what was that sound you made?” “Oh! I’m just grumbling in my old age, never you mind.” “Oh…” Jenny turned around and started scribbling away on the pages again, before saying, “Meemee used to make weird sounds too… Before…” She didn’t need to finish the sentence for Jeremy to know exactly what she meant. “Don’t you worry about your old Grampy. I’ll still be kicking long enough to see your own kids one day.” Jenny chuckled at that as Jeremy hugged her from behind, she reached up and gave his arm a reassuring squeeze. “No piercings today?” He asked, noticing the distinct lack of metal around her nose and eyebrows. “Noooo, I thought about it but they just look silly. Besides, the holes went away.” “What? I thought those just stayed there. Or at least, they didn’t heal over over night. Jenny shrugged, before letting out a sigh of relief. She pulled her dress up, and Jeremy could see the smiling faces of Disney Princesses looking up at them from the Pull-Ups. “I needa change,” Jenny said with a smile, poking at the wet plush. “Grampy? Can we go out and get me diapies?” “That’s… a little weird, kiddo.” She did not take that well, within seconds, Jeremy watched as his adult granddaughter became a loud water sprout, tearing up and sobbing at the kitchen table. He tried several times to try and talk her out of the thought, she was a big girl and didn’t need them, people would look at her funny, what would her Ma say, but nothing got through, until he finally relented. “Fine! Fine! We’ll go after I get some coffee.” The tears dried up and Jenny looked up at him with big eyes. “R-really?” “Yes, fine, we’ll go to the store, just… I don’t know, get yourself cleaned up.” Jenny jumped up from the table and ran upstairs. Jeremy shook his head, not understanding what just happened. He looked over at his cellphone, the one his daughter had gotten for him, and looked for Jenny’s Ma’s name and called it. “Hey, Dad. What’s up?” A voice said from the other line after a few rings. “Marisa, it’s Jenny…” “Oh no,” The other end groaned. “What’s she gotten into now? I swear, if police are involved, just let her deal with it. I’ve told her over and over to stop doing those drugs. Damn, I was hoping being out there would settle her down…” “No, no, it’s nothing like that, it’s more like, she’s acting weird…” “Like what?” “Like she’s a kid, last night she was calling me Grampy again and talking about Meemee and…” “Awww!” “No, just listen, she had me tell her a bed time story…” “That sounds really cute, Dad. What’s the problem?” “Well, I woke up to her doing crayon drawings at the table, and then she wet one of those old Pull-Ups, then had a crying fit asking to get put into diapers again. She’s really acting weird-” jenny asked behind Jeremy’s back, “Who are you talking to?” Jeremy looked behind his shoulder and saw Jenny peering at him from the doorway. “I’m talking to your Ma.” “Mommy?” Jenny looked really excited. “I wanna talk to her!” She held her hand out. Jeremy set the phone to speaker mode. “Here she is.” “Jenny?” “Hiiiii!” She said in a sing-song voice. From the other side of the line, a teasing replied, “Your Grampy was telling me you were naughty and went pee-pee in your Pull-Ups.” “Uh-huh! I wet them really good.” “Oh…” Marisa was driving during the call, completely blindsided by how that went. “I…” “Grampy said, umm, after he had his coffee he would take me to get diapies.” Marisa had to take the phone away from her ear to keep from going deaf from the squeal of joy coming from the other side. The seeds of doubt and concern were growing in Marisa. “Jenny, honey, are you feeling alright? Did you hit your head?” “Umm, my head feels funny, but like in a good way.” “Jenny…” The voice took a hard tone, “You haven’t been doing drugs again, have you?” “Nuh-uh! You told me only bad girls do that icky stuff, and I’m a good girl! Oh, Mommy, I was looking through boxes in the basement and I found Hopper! Do you remember him?” “Uhm. Hmm, I don’t…” “You don’t remember, I took him everywhere! We had a picnic with him, Grampy and Meemee, and, and, do you remember when you spilled carrot cake on him and a bunch of icky ants got on him?” “Your toy bunny?” “Yeah! Yes!” “I remember now… Jenny, honey, I need to talk to Grampy alone. Can you please put him back on?” “Ok! I love you, Mommy! When are you picking me up?” “I love you, too, baby. I’ll come really, really soon, ok? Until then, you have to listen to Grampy, and no more crying to get your way.” “Ok! I love you!” “I uh love you, too.” “I love you moooore!” “Jenny, please put your Grandfather back on.” “Not until you say it back.” Jenny played with her hair as she wore a devious, playful look. “Fine, last time, I love you too, baby, now, put your Grandfather back on.” Jenny could tell Mommy wasn’t enjoying this game. Jeremy picked the phone back up and turned off the speaker. “Do you see what I mean?” “Yeah, that was weird. Dad, was she acting weird, like are you sure she’s not on anything?” “She’s gone out to town a few times, but no, I don’t think she’s on anything.” “Ok, ok,” Jeremy heard his daughter let out a long sigh. “I’m going to come out there. I don’t know, if it’s not drugs it sounds like she’s having a mental breakdown. I’ll be there tonight, and I’ll see if I can’t get her a doctor’s appointment in the morning. Until then, Dad, just do whatever makes her happy, if she’s going to act like a baby again, just get her the stupid diapers and whatever else, I’ll reimburse you when I get up there.” “Don’t worry about that, Marisa. I’m just worried about her.” “Yeah, me too. I gotta go, Dad, love ya.” “Love you, too.” And now, here on the streets of town, Jeremy could see the issue going on with Jenny was beyond her. Many of his neighbors that he had known for decades were acting like fools. Old Tracy MacDonald that Gretchen used to play bridge with was chasing after an ice cream truck with pigtails in her hair. His fishing and drinking buddy, Terry Marrow should be out at the construction sight overseeing a project, yet there he was in the sandbox at the playground digging with a plastic spade. And he could’ve sworn he had seen the High School Principal and the Chief of the Fire Department were playing in a sprinkler naked in their backyard, when he caught a glimpse of that, he had covered Jenny’s eyes rushed her along. “Grampy, look, there’s a puppy!” Jenny pointed at the dog walking between Robbie Harris and her some times boyfriend Tim. He breathed a sigh of relief, seeing the two dressed like adults. Jeremy had known Robbie since the days she was spending all her time over at old Johnny Harris’ place. Before he could stop her, for his own shame just as much as hers, Jenny had wiggled her way out of Jeremy’s grip and ran off to see Scruffles. “Jenny!” He hollered out for her. “You get back here!” Robbie smiled at the girl. “I like your dress,” She complimented her as Jenny reached down to scratch the dog’s head. Robbie got a grin in exchange as Jenny did a curtsy, inadvertently showing off her training pants to the two strangers. “Hey!” Jeremy caught up to her and yanked down the dress. “Hi Mister Jeremy!” Robbie said to him. He blinked up at her, Jeremy hadn’t been called that by Robbie since she was small. Since she moved into her uncle’s place, it was Mr. Copper until he had told her one night at the watering hole they had known each other long enough to be on a first name basis. It was nice to have the young woman as a neighbor, she would occasionally pop on by to borrow a tool or drop off some stew that she was proud of, neither of them mentioning that she was just making excuses to pop in and check up on him. He gave her a quick once over, seeing her looking normal, but there was something off. “Tim,” She said as she tugged on the young man’s shoulder. “I wanna dress like that.” Tim sighed and said, “We’ll see what we can find.” Jeremy eyed him, he seemed to not have the screw loose like so many others in town had. Robbie smiled at him, turning her attention back to the girl. “He’s a good puppy, isn’t he? His name is Scruffles? What’s yours?” “My name is Jenny.” “Ohhhh, you’re Mister Jeremy’s granddaughter! I used to watch you!” “You did? I don’t remember… You getting cute clothes?” Robbie nodded, as both Jeremy and Tim looked like they wanted to move on, get what they came here and get out. “Uh-huh! And maybe some toys. And maybe some bubbles for baffs!” “Oh, I want bubble baths! I’m getting diapies!” She pulled her dress up again before her grandfather could stop her and showed off her training pants. “I like my Pullies, but I want real diapies, so I can be a real baby.” “Awww, don’t worry sweetie, you a real baby whether you wear diapies or not.” Jeremy blinked at Robbie, not liking that she was encouraging this behavior. “I want some cute diapies too, but all I can find are plain looking.” Robbie hiked up her skirt and showed the slightly soggy padding beneath before Tim could stop her. “Awww, they don’t have any with Princesses on them?” “Maybe they do! Let’s go see!” Robbie held out her arm for Jenny, who wrapped her own in it and they happily walked into the department store together, with Scruffles trotting along with them, leaving Tim and Jeremy alone. Tim sighed towards the old man, “Please don’t ask me to change you.” He pleaded. “You know, any other day I would sock you for that but…” He looked around where he could see the other townsfolk acting like small children. “I suppose that kind of comment is warranted today.” “Wait, you’re normal?” “Normal than most, it would seem.” “Well shit,” Tim thought about what he should say, before lamely finishing, “I think we better catch up to the girls before they get into trouble.” Jeremy nodded Jeremy had been to this Walmart not too long ago, getting ready for Jenny to join him at his home, but since then, the store had taken a drastic change. There were displays of toys as far as the eye could see, baby furniture large enough to fit a grown man, stacks of jars of baby food, now in 8 ounce size, going up and down the aisles, and strangest of all, weird piles of technology in boxes that a lot of people were huddled around grabbing them by armfuls and dropping them in their carts. Marty, a graying hair man that’s been the greeter for this Walmart for the past 10 years, normally a bombastic little man with a booming voice and warm demeanor, glanced at Jeremy and Tim, lifted his hand shyly and mumbled something towards his feet. Jeremy gave him a pitiful look as he walked away, trying to ignore the blue diaper that said ‘Walmart’ on the back. “Let me get that for you.” A robotic voice to Jeremy’s side. He looked over and saw a silvery, 8 foot high woman grab a stuffed tiger from a high shelf and pass it to the waiting arms of Barney Stivvons, a prominent restaurant owner in town, while his wife and son pointed at other toys up high and ask for them. Jeremy stared at the woman, besides the silvery skin, and the inhuman height, she looked just like a picturesque 50’s house wife, complete with prim and proper haircut done in a bob and a dress with floral petals on it, straight out of Leave it to Beaver, he jumped a little when her skin glitched out, revealing a square robot underneath before it reasserted itself. “My god!” “Don’t ask me how, but they know how to do that stuff.” “Do what stuff?” Jeremy asked Tim. “Build like, weird stuff. Robbie was making holograms out of light bulbs and the cafe owner made a machine that could make something out of nothing. It’s insane, like the woman had a hard time counting and couldn’t keep her pants dry, but could create something that would drive humanity into post scarcity era.” “That’s… something.” “That girl you were with hasn’t done anything like that?” “My granddaughter? No, I don’t think so…” “Give it time, tonight she’ll probably have a ray gun that’ll turn a pillow into a kitty cat.” Jeremy shuddered at the thought, when he saw Jenny and Robbie up ahead, going into a new section of store, dedicated to adult baby needs. Jenny looked over at Jeremy and waved him over. “Look! Grandpy!” She lifted up a big box of pink diapers with a girl around Jenny’s age modeling them. “They got princesses on them.” “Timmy, can I get this?” Robbie showed him a sailor dress covered in pictures of blue bunnies. “Tammy!” Jeremy looked over and saw a 20 something year old worker getting consoled by another coworker. “Everyone is buying all the good stuffs! I’m not gonna get anything cute, and I’ll be stuck wearing these stupid Walmart diapies.” She pouted. “Don’t worry, Margie, remember I told you about the nice girl at the coffee place? She told everyone how to make replicators. As soon as we’re off shift, I can help you make anything cute you want!” Margie sniffled, “Even… A wolf onesie and a matching diapie?” “Yup! You’ll be the most adorable wolfie ever! I’m gonna be a tiger, and I’ll have Tigger diapies! And we can stay up all night and pway!” Margie hugged Tammy, who continued to reassure her. “Come on, I think our 15 is almost over.” “Huh? We just got here.” Tammy looked down at her watch. “Uhh, what does that number mean?” Margie shrugged as Tammy ripped off her watch in a huff. “Stupid watch. Why can’t it just say what it says?” Margie, her thumb in her mouth, took a look at the watch and picked it up. “Maybe it can…” While Jeremy and Tim watch over the girls during their shopping expedition, across the town, Holly Jackson was having the weirdest day of her life so far. It all began when her older sister had shaken her awake and asked her for breakfast in nothing but a bra and a diaper leftover from a kid Holly had babysat last week. Holly had taken one look at Carly and hid her head under the blankets. “Please?” “Have Mom do it!” “I can’t! She was being a brat so I sped up the process.” Holly crept her eyes over the blanket and asked, “What do you mean?” Carly walked Holly out into the living room and showed her what remained of their Mom. Laying on the carpet was a gurgling, bald, breastless, woman chewing on a pillow with toothless gums, wearing nothing but a diaper. “Carly, WHAT DID YOU DO?!” Pearl Jackson looked up at the loud noise and started wailing in shock. “I told you! She was being a brat, and kept touching my stuff, so I made this!” She showed Holly a remote control for the TV, front opened and cords weaving towards the back ending in a big metal block. “It makes people go back to baby faster. And now baby can’t touch my stuff, can she?” She cooed at the screaming baby-woman on the carpet, tickling her feet. “She’ll probably get smaller soon, I think. Then she’ll be easier to deal with. And look, I put a diaper on her so she won’t make piddle on the floor. "What? Don’t look at me like that!” Holly was slowly backing away, hitting the wall of the living room, staring at her sister in abject horror. “Stop it!” Carly said in a bratty, warning tone, furrowing her brows at her. “You know what, if you can’t help me… Maybe you’re just a brat too…” She pointed the remote control at Holly. “No! No, I’m not a brat! You, uh, you wanted breakfast, right! I can do that! I uhh, what do you want?” Carly thought about it for a second, “I want cereal.” Holly’s eyes jumped away from the remote and back up to Carly’s face. “You want cereal?” She asked incredulously. “Yup.” “And, you can’t do that yourself?” “Noooo, I’ll make a mess.” Carly said with certainty. “Now, come on! My friend Wendy has a show in a little bit, so you gotta feed me and Mom and then dress us!” Holly went into the kitchen, under Carly’s watchful eyes as she continued to point the remote at her. She gulped as she grabbed a bowl from a cupboard and poured some cereal and milk into it and put it in front of her sister. Holly sat down across from Carly, her eyes never leaving the remote control that was still pointed at her. Holly could see Carly indeed would’ve made a mess, clumsily shoveling milky cereal into her mouth, spilling half of it on to her bra and the table. Carly seemed happy with her meal though. “Is Mom going to get better?” “I don’t know.” “Well, can you like, reverse it or something?” Carly glared at her. “I. Don’t. Know. Why? You wanna find out, baby sister?” Holly dropped the subject as she heard babbling coming from the other room. Holly started getting up, and Carly jumped, pointing the remote at her. “Where are you going?” “I’m… grabbing Mom. She needs to eat too, right?” Carly lowered her weapon. “Just be quick. I don’t like being alone.” Then why did you make something that made people babies, Holly thought to herself. In the living room, Holly looked down at her Mom sadly, before trying to pick her up. She was much lighter than she expected, her skin completely devoid of hair felt slick also weirdly sticky. Holly was never the strongest girl around, but she found no trouble picking up the over sized infant, besides all the ick factor that went into the act, like her Mom drooling on her shoulder and nape of her neck, and the fullness that was in the seat of the diaper she wore. Holly shuddered at the experience, bring her back into the kitchen, sitting Mom down, leaving her for a second before she saw her leaning one way, that Holly had to jump to grab her just to keep her from toppling over to the ground. Carly giggled at the sight, and Holly had to fight to keep from giving her a dirty look. “Can you hold her so I can grab her some cereal?” “Why? She’s got no teeth. She can’t eat solids, stupid!” Holly wanted to retort to her, but realized her treacherous sister had a point. Holly helped Pearl to the ground and went to work looking for anything she could eat or drink out of. She didn’t find anything close to a bottle, but did settle on a jar of applesauce she thought might do for now. She sat next to her Mom on the ground and opened the jar and spooned apple towards her mouth. Pearl didn’t do much to help the cause, flinging her weak arms as much as she could and wiggled her head with every attempt, making a game out of feeding her. A few attempts were successful, but most of the sauce ended up on Pearl’s flat chest and around her toothless mouth. Holly sighed as Carly laughed at her again. “Sorry Mom.” She said quietly towards the woman, for the feeding and for not stopping Carly from doing this to her. “Are you done?” “I guess…” Holly replied while cleaning Pearl’s face a wet washcloth. “Good!” Carly got up. “Now, you can dress us!” Holly looked down sadly at her Mom and picked her up again. Carly looked at her jealous, “Pick me up!” “Maybe in a little bit.” “Noo! Now!” “I can’t carry both of you at once!” Holly snapped at her. Carly looked like she was struck, and about to start bawling, her arm holding the remote slowly raising. “Wait, wait!” Holly said, lowering Pearl to the floor. “Come here…” Carly smiled as she held her arms out for Holly. Holly groaned, expecting the worst, but, much like their Mom, Carly seemed to have shed a lot of weight in the past few hours, her chest didn’t fit the dirty bra she had on, and her arms and legs seemed devoid of fat, though there seemed to be a new pouch of baby fat around her belly. Holly was just thankful for their one story home and carried Carly to her room. There seemed to be torn apart electronics everywhere, including, much to Holly’s dismay, all the cellphones the home had. Carly didn’t seem to end her creative streak at just the remote control. “What is all of this?” “Just stuff. You see that one?” She pointed at a black light connected to a laptop’s guts. “Here,” Carly grabbed a diaper out of the mess and put it under the light. A ray ran over the padding, and Carly pulled it away, and let the light trace over thin air, a copy of the diaper appeared next to the other. “It makes copies, but it can do more than that.” She demonstrated by making another diaper, this time larger and blue, then a larger one and purple. “There! Now you have something the change me into. I wan’ the blue one.” She added helpfully. Holly knelt down to her big sister laying down on the floor and undid the tapes around her waist. She supposed she should just be thankful that it was only wet, she didn’t think her Mom would be so generous. “Do you have any wipes or anything?” “Umm, I don’t think so, just use this.” Carly tossed a shirt towards Holly, who looked at it strangely, it was a concert shirt that Carly had begged for money for, now it appeared disposable to her. Holly shrugged and did as she was told under threat of being controlled. Holly tossed the used diaper in a trash can by the door and got the new one on her. “Aaaand, I want this shirt.” She showed Holly a baby blue shirt with a Baby Ducklings logo on it, the daycare Carly had worked part time at last year, now relegated to a big baby shirt. “I made one for Mom too!” She pointed at a purple one close by, as Holly helped her out of the useless bra and tossed that away too, getting her string bean of a sister into it, her arms and waist making her look childlike in the too large shirt. Holly was tempted to try and wrestle away the controller out of her hands while her face was hidden, but didn’t want any wild shots hitting her. Holly managed to grab a pair of shorts and a shirt out of her sister’s drawers, Carly didn’t seem to mind as she fiddled with more of the electronics on the ground, a180 from how she would’ve been just a few days ago, hating it when her little sister borrowed any clothes from her. They returned to where Pearl had been left, gurgling and cooing at nothing. Pearl wasn’t as kind as Carly, wiggling as much as she could during her change, but eventually the soft mess in Pearl’s pants were replaced by a fresh diaper and her flat chest was hidden by the shirt. “Is she ready?” Carly asked bored from the couch. “As much as she ever will… You really want to go out like this?” Carly looked down, “Yeah, why?” Holly giggled at her sister’s ignorance, “No reason…” “Huh, anyway…” “Are we driving there or something? You know I don’t have my license yet…” “No! I made a stroller for us!” Carly led Holly, carrying Pearl, out to the garage, where a she saw several bikes and a tarp mashed together, cords sticking out every where, forming a stroller, except the wheels from the bike were used as a floor, Holly had to marvel at how the ‘stroller’ floated a foot off the ground. “Get us in!” Carly commanded. Pearl and Carly were strapped into the makeshift seats. Holly raised the garage door and walked her and her family out into the daylight. Chapter 4 Maddie looked over her platform, hands on her hips appreciating a job well done. She had the idea for the trick last night, while she and her boyfriend were fooling around on the other side of town. After the inspiration struck her, she had Brad take her to his house nearby and spent the remainder of the night writing out the schematics for her creation to make it work. Of course, over the course of the night, lots of things changed, and she really appreciated how much Brad had helped her, like when he ran out to get her Pull-Ups so she could focus without those needless potty breaks, and the sippy cup of juice was so thoughtful, even with how many times she accidentally spilled the cup she never got a drop on her papers, and the breaks gave her a chance to get her thoughts straight. She never thought any of it was strange, even when she was laying on her back getting her pants changed, or when she was doing the same for Brad. After sleeping over, she found Brad and her weren’t the only ones in town going through a metamorphosis, finding much of the rest of the town had the same mentality she had now. Of course they were just little kids playing make believe! She was a bit disappointed on her way home, finding the effects didn’t have much hold over the other side of town, her Mom and Dad were just annoying as ever. They only had to say, ‘Where were you last night?’ and ‘Did you apply to that job yet?’ The same boring stuff they always said, they didn’t even ask her if she needed a change or she could use a bottle. So inconsiderate! Ignoring them, she spent the whole morning getting her new trick ready, and inviting as many people as she could over to see it. Maddie kind of wished she had Brad around to help her change, as she grabbed folding chairs and arranged them in front of the platform, occasionally giving her soiled training pants a tug to keep them from riding up. Maybe she could get Carrie to help her before the show started. Maddie supposed she could just do it herself, but there was just something funny about changing herself. It was… Uncouth. But then, the first of her audience had appeared. Her aunts, uncles, cousins that lived close by, her Mom and Dad shuffled out to the back, arms folded and grumbling seeing their family drive in and sit down. Not wanting to make a scene, they sat down in the front row, chatting with everyone. It was probably for the best, as folks from the other side started joining the crowd. Maddie waved as Brad toddled into the yard, wearing a darling pastel blue onesie, his padded crotch filling his girlfriend with feelings of jealousy, why hadn’t she thought to go full on diaper? At this rate she was liable to leak. No time to dwell on that, as a scared Holly Jackson pushed Carly in just a shirt and diaper next to a similarly dressed Pearl, hairless and staring into space. A few of Brad’s friends followed them on to the grass, most of them sucking on pacifiers, wearing shorts that left little to the imagination on what was under, onesies like Brad’s, or shortalls with snaps on the crotch. With butts, padded and otherwise, filling the seats, and all eyes on her, Maddie announced to the crowd, “Thank you for joining us everyone! I appreciate the turn out on such a short notice!” She called out from the two foot high platform. There were a few polite claps from the front of the audience. “Well, I’m here to entertain you with my…” She pulled a pink wand with a white tip from her sleeve and waved it, a cloud of smoke appeared, from that, Maddie pulled out a chair, sitting down in it backwards, wincing slightly when she felt the squish of her Pull-Up made a line of pee roll down the back of her thigh. There were a few more polite claps, “Magic and subterfuge!” Maddie clapped her hands and the chair beneath her transformed into a flock of doves. She waved her wand with a flourish and it became a sword with a glimmering silver handle, lifted her head up and put the blade down her throat, pretended to choke on it, then shoved the hilt and handle, continuing to ‘gag’ on it, then ‘puked’ up a bouquet of flowers. “And now, if my lovely assistant could join me?” Carrie rushed from the house in her fancy pink leotard, joining her on stage, smiling at her sister before taking a shocked look at the crowd, especially those in the back, before getting distracted by Maddie thrusting the flowers into her hands. She looked at Maddie, an unsure, nervous smile on her face now, her sister plucked an unseen switch on Carrie’s back, with a flourish, a series of hologram flamingo wings sprouted and unfurled from behind her. “Let’s give a round of applause for my lovely sister, Carrie!” Another round of polite claps, as Carrie stared at the Littles in the back. She was about to stage whisper something to Maddie, when she spoke again. “Now, I’d like to unveil my new act, the Vanishing stage!” She pulled the curtain and gently pushed her in, returning the shower curtains to their position, waved her pink wand, and a plume of smoke appeared from the center. At that moment, Maddie felt a twinge from her bladder, and let loose in her training pants she was already swimming in, in front of her family and friends, flooded herself, her filled Pull-Ups springing a leak right away, lines of wet rolling down her fishnets. Her Mom jumped up out of her seat, “Madison Winona Weinen! Did you just pee yourself in front of our whole family?!” She marched up the stage and grabbed her daughter’s ear. “How dare you embarrass me in front of everyone?” “Mommy! Oww!” Maddie’s top hat fell in the struggle, reaching up to grab her Mom’s wrist. Maddie gave her Mom a glare, retorting, “Well this wouldn’t have happened if you just asked me if I needed a change when I got home!” “What what what?! ‘Change’? What are you…” Her eyes glanced down at Maddie’s waist, and a light poke told her her concerns were correct. “Why are you wearing a diaper?” “It’s a Pull-Up, Mom!” Maddie rolled her eyes. “I- P- You are too much right now. Carrie, you get out here this instant! This show is over!” She pulled the curtain away, revealing an empty stage to everyone. “Carrie! You get out here, now! I swear, your sister better not be wearing a diaper too. This family is well beyond the diaper days! Carrie!” She stomped her foot on the platform. “Well?” She turned towards Maddie, only now really seeing the people in the back seats. “Carrie!” She called out again. “She’s not there!” Maddie said in between grunts of pain. “Of course she’s there…” Maddie was released and her Mom banged on the bottom. She saw a hatch and released it, finding an empty space underneath. “Madison, where is your sister?” “She’s gone. It’s magic!” She put her hands together and slowly pulled them apart, a rainbow forming between the palms. Her Mom gave her another dirty look. “Where. Is. She?” “I don’t know. The teleporter…” “Teleporter? That’s even more ridiculous than you wearing a stupid diaper! Maddie, find her!” “I really can’t she’s gone. 40 million light years away on a planet in the Omega Sector 8 galaxy… Carrie Weinen found herself on the soft pink carpet in a strange, dark room. A door went vrrrr sliding open. A giant creature came in, standing on two legs, wearing a pink robe, with tentacles for arms, a plumage behind it’s back and its face taken up by an elephant like trunk. It like a loud trumpet sound out of its trunk, and in seconds it was joined by a larger version of it with tusks in a green robe. They made trumpet sounds back and forth between each other, taking glances at a cowering Carrie, shying away from the pair, before hitting a large structure on her back. She looked up and saw a table with long bars stretching towards the sleek, blue ceiling. [What is it, Trrplt?] The tuskless creature asked her mate in their trumpet speech. The tusked creature, Trrplt stepped over to Carrie and picked her up in thick tentacles, she cried and screamed, squirming trying to get away from it. [It… looks like a baby, Hhhghl.] Hhhghl looked over her mates shoulders, [Why does it look like that? It’s nose and arms look so weird…] She put a tentacle over Carrie’s nose, it twitched at the touch, and she screamed again. [At least its gas sacs seem to work.] [Oh! Arrgh!] Trrplt held Carrie away as she peed in fear. [It leaked all over me!] Hhhghl took Carrie away from him and held Carrie close to her chest. [Don’t be mad, the poor thing can’t help it!] To Carrie’s terror, the creatures tentacles went towards her crotch and popped the buttons open, revealing her blue panties. [Oh, who would put this little guy in these thin things?] Carrie screeched as the tentacles ripped her underwear away, she’s seen too much hentai to not know where this was going. [Oh, now it’s {poor thing}, just a second ago you wanted to squash the thing.] His mate let out a high trumpet sound to hush him. “Please, please, please, don’t hurt me!” Carrie whimpered as Hhhghl laid her down. [What are those sounds you’re making? Little one? Don’t be sad, Mama Hhhghl will set you right!] Carrie shuddered as she felt something wet wipe down her crevice, looking down to see a white sheet in the tentacles. She only marginally felt better when she saw the thick pillow like thing brought up to her, enveloping her privates. It was soft and squishy, almost marshmallow like. [There, there, child. That’s better! No more leaks on Papa Trrplt!] She picked Carrie up and held her close to her bosom. [Oh its so cute! Can we keep it, Trrplt!] [I don’t see why not, we have 14 in the egg clutch, what’s one more mouth to feed. Besides, it’s…] Trrrplt rubbed a tentacle up against Carrie’s cheek. [It’s kind of cute. 15 is my lucky number anyway.] Carrie could only whimper as the strange creatures looked down at her and rubbed their tentacles all over her. Back on Earth, the Weinen’s and their in-laws were looking around at the Littles in their yard. Maddie’s Mom had grabbed her husband. “Find Carrie, before she turns into one of them!” Maddie’s Dad gathered up the family and had them start searching the neighborhood while he got into his car and drove to the police station. Maddie went up to Brad and gave him a kiss. “How was the show?” Brad just gurgled and drooled a little. “Oh pooey! I was gonna ask him to change me!” Carly called up from her stroller. “Oh! Holly can change you!” “Please don’t volunteer me for this…” Holly said quietly to the back of the stroller. Maddie’s Mom stomped over to her. “Oh no you don’t! You can stay in your pissy pants until your sister is found!” “I already told you! She’s gone! I don’t know where she went!” Maddie said, exasperated. “THEN GO FIND HER!! I DON’T CARE HOW LONG IT T-” The woman’s screams were cut short as a ray came from the stroller, enveloping Maddie’s Mom. Her dark hair rapidly fell out in her hands, her opened her mouth to scream as one by one her teeth fell out. Maddie looked out with mild amusement, as did the rest of the Littles, only Holly stared at the sight of the woman with the deflating chest falling to the grass crying as her jeans became dark with wetness. Before long, the adult baby forgot what she was crying about, and began rolling in the grass, her discarded hair clinging to her shirt. “She always was a meanie head.” Carly said as she put away the remote in her diaper. “Holly,” She commanded, “Go change Maddie.” Holly gulped and went to do as she was told. A few hours later, Robbie dropped her bags on top of the shopping bags from the previous day, sighing satisfied with today’s shopping trip much more than the previous day, Walmart carrying adult baby supplies made her trip much more worthwhile. She could hear Tim outside, calling after Scruffles, surely going towards the dig site. His owner just smiled, she’d be with him soon. She dropped the stupid skirt hiding her pretty diaper, her shirt falling to cover half of it. Robbie was fishing through the bags, looking for an appropriately cute outfit to wear for digging when Tim came in, barely acknowledging Robbie as she pulled out onesie after onesie. Tim collapsed on the couch, his wrist covering his eyes. “What do you think?” Tim took his arm away and looked over at Robbie. “Huh?” “Well, do you think bumble bees on green or bears on blue?” She showed him two onesies, putting them in front of her body one after the other then back. “I… Don’t know, which ever you want.” “Hmmph!” Though Tim had closed his eyes again, he knew the pouting face Robbie was making in his direction. “Don’t give me that… Robbie, come on, this has been, a lot for me. Let me just take a nap, I need a break from all this baby stuff.” “Fiiine.” Tim could feel a ‘but’ in there, and looked up. “What?” He snapped. Robbie pressed the tips of two fingers, suddenly feeling shy. “Can you change me?” He groaned as he sat up. “Lay down.” A little while after, Tim was laying down for a nap, and Robbie was skipping through the woods, in her brand new bee onesie and a fresh booty. Her boots crunched over the twigs on the ground as the day’s events so far played by in her head. Jenjen, after her Grampy changed her into her new diaper and clothes, albeit grumbling the whole time, Jenjen had made arrangements for a playdate. She had been really excited when Robbie had whispered to her about the special thing she had found in the woods. She found Scruffles already at the site, digging away. She admired her work for just a moment, the hole was getting deep, the tip of the ship now hanging above ground as high as Robbie was tall, the oval shape of the rest of the ship emerging from the broken earth. It was beautiful, and made Robbie feel tingly as she got closer. Soon, she felt she would be able to go inside. The afternoon sky gradually darkened, as the long summer day dragged on, occasionally Robbie could hear yelling out in the woods, but her and Scruffles paid little attention to that. All that mattered was the dirt flying to the woman and dog, trivial matters like the yelling, where Tim was, what that full feeling in the back of Robbie’s pants was. It all just fell by the wayside. There was some rustling by the edge of the grove as the sunset, and a flashlight beam fell on to Robbie. She looked up, expecting to see Tim, but instead, she saw Mr. Weinen and several people from the Sheriff’s staring down at her, no staring down at the ship. Mr. Weinen opened his mouth for a second. Almost as if by compulsion, he asked, “Have you seen my daughter Carrie?” “No.” “What is it?” That seemed to be the more pertinent question on his mind. Robbie held up her hand for the man, without hesitation he took it and crawled down into the hole. The Sheriff’s deputy’s all followed down as Robbie guided Mr. Weinen towards the ship, and pressed his palm against the metal, the others following suit, their eyes lit up in revelation, just as Robbie’s had, as she hoped Tim’s would. One by one, they looked back at her. Robbie held out a shovel as the night took over, soon, the woods were filled with the sounds of grunting and shoveling. Chapter 5 Would anyone blame Tim from needing a moment away from this strangeness? Though Robbie seemed like an infant, she was much more independent than what it first might seem. Sure, she might need help changing out of a dirty diaper, and yeah she might have a little bit of a hard time in the dark, but deep down she was still an adult. Who would blame Tim for needing a break from being a surrogate father for his ex? That’s what Tim told himself outside the dive bar on the other side of town. He already drained the last of his whiskey from his ‘emergency’ flask stashed in his glove compartment, and he needed that last few shots to really feel anything, to give his mind a break from this anxiety. He sighed and got out of his car. Who would blame Tim? Besides Tim of course. As he walked down towards the blinking neon light that told him and everyone else that yes, Mulligans did sell Budweiser, just like every other bar in America. Hazy memories from a life time ago danced in Tim’s head. The countless nights he and Robbie would spend at this bar till they closed it down, the times he and Robbie would pretend to be a yuppie couple from Portland or Augusta and quiz the unamused bartender what spirits and libations they had on tap and stock, only to get the same thing they always did, a tequila sunrise for her, well, a whiskey sour for him, well, that would progressively turn into less sour and more whiskey during the evening, until it would suddenly transform into all sour, the bartender’s subtle hint that it was time to get out of here, and if it wouldn’t be an inconvenience to him, perhaps grab that off-key woman he came in with currently doing a disservice to Billy Joel over at the jukebox. He remembered those nights filled with laughter from him and Robbie. He probably missed that most of all, more than the permanent drinking buddy, or the sex, or the person who would gently nudge him in the morning and remind him he needed to go do such and such, go see so and so, though he had to admit all that was nice. It was the laughter he missed. Tim came into Mulligans through the perpetually dirty, stickered mark screen door that needed both an oiling and a new hinge, and found himself in an empty bar. He glanced over his shoulder at the blinking ‘OPEN’ sign in the window, and took a few tentative steps towards the bar. “Hello?” He called out. He heard some shambling from behind the bar, and old Lenny stood up from beyond where Tim could see, his red and black plaid shirt the same as it ever was. “Oh, hey Tim! What can I get for ya?” Tim sighed in relief, old Lenny, always old, in spite of the fact he was what, just a year or two older than Tim himself, new Lenny was a cook in the back. Tim idly wondered if there was a kitchen in the back. He could go for a greasy burger and under cooked fries. “Whiskey sour. Well… Oh Hell, go ahead and give me a good one. Make it Jameson.” Lenny nodded and made the drink before Tim’s eyes and placed it in front of him. “Umm, Lenny, I can’t help but notice you just placed a glass of milk in front of me.” “Ahh, yup, I see the problem.” Old Lenny dropped a lemon wedge into the milk. Tim pushed the glass away from him. “Lenny, you see that green bottle right there?” He pointed at the space just above Lenny’s head. “I’m going to need you to give me that bottle.” “Uhh, I don’t know, Tim.” He gave a mock gesture to lift up on his pointy toes and reach up towards the bottle, Tim could know see the plaid diaper, red and black squares marking the drooping padding up and down. “That’s pretty high up there. I need some help getting it. Tim sighed, and got up and went to go around the bar to retrieve the bottle, and probably run out as soon as he can before he ends up changing Lenny. “Oh that’s ok, Tim, you sit down. Mommy! Oh, Mommy!” Tim heard a whirring come behind the rickety doors separating the front and the back, and bursting through the double doors came a 7 foot tall mechanical horror, one moment looking like an Amazoness and a 50’s house wife had blended together, and then the illusion would fall, revealing the mismatched machinery stacked and bound together with metal clams at the end of its tube arms, and the looking like came straight from hydrolic equipment straight out of a garage, and then the illusion was back, a giant topless woman, with miss Candace Greenbriar, the new server nosily sucking from the teat of the giant in just a sagging brown diaper. Poor Candace, Tim thought, she was from out of town and was just here to make a little extra money before heading to community college. She would get called missing by tomorrow, and maybe her old man or mom would come a callin’ for her in the morning, and end up trapped here, sucking the teat of robot next to their kid, then someone else would come looking for them and end up stuck in the same trap, and then someone else would come, then someone else. The mess suddenly seemed exponential to Tim. “What is it, dear?” The Amazoness asked Lenny. “I was just…” Lenny looked at the empty nipple on the other side of Candace and visibly a line of drool fell from the corner of his mouth. “I was jus’ playing bar with my friend and he wants that bottle.” He points at bottle above his head. “I already told you, that’s grown up juice, no touching, Lenny.” She- It, glanced at Tim and he saw her eyes shine red, scanning him up and down. “And just who might you be, little one? Come here,” It said pleasantly with a smile, “Let’s get you properly dressed.” Tim sighed deeply, backing away towards the door. Lenny called out to it, “Mommy, Mommy, is it my turn yet?” He motioned towards it’s chest. “I don’t know if your sister has had enough. But let’s get your new little brother dressed properly first.” It unlatched Candace from the teat and she was gently placed on the ground. Candace groaned, clutching her head, letting out a milky burp. “Uggh, my head!” She looked down at herself, at just her soggy diaper at her hips and little else to make herself decent, and made an ‘eew’ face. She made a movement as if to pull herself up from the ground, only to look at her legs, “Oh God, I can’t…” She tried to move her legs, only managing to wiggle them a bit. “Oh, God, I can’t walk!” She sobbed out, then looked at Tim backing away from her new ‘Mommy’ and held out a hand towards him, as though he could help her, and let out another burp, this time sending white spittle all over her chin and front, then Tim could see a new look in her eyes, a lost one, as she giggled and let a little more of her bladder out into her padding, a puddle of pee spreading from her center, and the girl playfully put a hand out to it, and put a heavy palm sending it spraying out on the wooden floor. Tim ran out of there then, and never looked back. Marisa Copper had been trying to call her Dad over and over again on her way into town, with no luck each time. In between calling him, she haphazardly checked her phone, looking at the confirmation email for the psyche evaluator, making sure it was still there. She felt helpless, like she had when Jenny was first born and had to spend those few days in the incubator while her Mom had gripped her shoulders and told her she wasn’t helping by wearing a foot path in the hospital tiles. But Marisa couldn’t help it, she was a woman of action, she liked to be doing things, and doing nothing just sent her anxiety through the roof. And really, what was driving but a fancy form of waiting, sure, she was ‘technically’ doing something, but she was still just sitting waiting for her destination to be there in front of her. Marisa only really noticed the town of Kingswood when she stopped at red light. There were a few lights around, but at 8 pm, where was everyone? It was like everyone in town was stuck inside after a curfew. There wasn’t another car on the road, no one in the shops in the small town, no one at the windows. Marisa put her phone down and looked around at the crossroad after the light turned green, and noticed the cars parked crookedly in the parking lots, doors to stores held open to let any riff raff in, she felt eerily alone, looking towards the woods, towards where her father and daughter and waited, and slammed her foot on the pedal and sped through the town. While her head had been thumping and feeling odd since Marisa had first entered the town, Marisa wasn’t in the state of mind to notice, she was back to being that young mother staring into that damn incubator. During that day, she hadn’t realized she was starving until her late boyfriend had shoved a burger into her hand. Again, the concern of her Jenny overruled her own needs, even when those needs were currently atrophying her mind. Through the trees, she saw a beacon of light, her parent’s home, her old house. Images of Jenny running through her old room when she was small ran through Marisa, showing her Mom her old toys. Marisa couldn’t help but flavor the memory with jealousy now. She pulled into the driveway, leaving the car running. She knew she had to grab Dad and Jenny and leave right away, but the why of that was fading away. “Jenny?” Marisa screamed out from the porch, forgetting herself in her excitement. From inside, she heard a high pitch, “Mommy!” And a pounding going through the well lit house. Marisa’s daughter came tackling her from out the front door, wearing nothing but a onesie covered in pink butterflies, and holding her tight, Marisa could hear the rustling of the diaper she wore under that. Once again, a pang of jealousy hit her again, out of nowhere. “Mommy, Mommy! I missed you soooo much!” “I missed you, too…” Marisa, with some effort, pushed Jenny, JenJen away and looked her up and down. This wasn’t right, her 19 year old daughter shouldn’t have snot running down her nose and clamoring for another cuddle with her Mommy, she shouldn’t have the scent of pee coming from her or look like she had taken up coloring her forearms with water color paint. She shouldn’t be acting like an overgrown 2 year old, and Marisa should say something about her state, but all that came out was, “You look so cute!” Marisa wasn’t sure why she said that, but it was true. JenJen looked adorable. JenJen had a funny look on her face then, like an idea was bubbling up inside her. “Do you want me to show you my new clothes?” Marisa found herself agreeing, and being led by the hand into her girlhood home. They stepped into the warm light, and for a second Marisa was expecting to smell her Mom’s cooking coming from the kitchen, but that was silly, she had been gone for many years, for the first time in a long while, that old wound made her feel melancholy. The kitchen table was covered in bags, fresh clothes that Marisa found adorable, pictures and paints that were, frankly, sloppy, Marisa’s daughter had spent years practicing her artwork, and here, with the loose stick figures, she could see her daughter’s regression on full display, she briefly thought of the oil painting of JenJen’s Dad she had painted Marisa when she was 16 for her Mom’s birthday, a scant 3 years ago and yet it felt like a life time ago. Marisa looked through the clothes, a fluffy, white one piece pajama caught her eye, a hood that looked like a unicorn, the mittens fashioned to look like hooves, if was mesmerizing, and Marisa’s mental image of herself now wore it. “I’ll be right back.” JenJen said, and Marisa simply raised a hand to show she heard. Her gaze was drawn towards the open pack of diapers on the table. Marisa picked up one of the thirsty absorbent padding, happy safari animals playing on letter, rubbing a finger against the cartoon giraffe that grinned at her. She felt like, maybe, she should step into her Mommy role, call JenJen back and put it on her, the silly girl was clearly ready for a change, and would probably love to have her Mommy give her the baby treatment, and yet…. She thought about putting it on herself, feeling a bit guilty, she was the Mommy not the baby, but the idea of shedding her business skirt and blouse and putting the padding around her was overwhelming. Marisa didn’t realize she was sucking her thumb with the arm with the pajamas wrapped around it, the other hand holding the diaper, when JenJen came back. “Mommy…” Marisa looked up with a dreamy look on her face and screamed. Standing behind JenJen was her, Marisa, only huge, at least 2 feet taller than Marisa, and wearing an old fashioned dress suited for a house wife. Marisa lost all maternal instincts and fled under the table, away from the horrible uncanny monster. “Oh, she scared. Nanny, would you look like this?” “Very well, baby.” The room filled with a low blue light, and a familiar voice said, “Come here, little Marsy!” Two hands crept under the table and grabbed Marisa, she cried out in fear until she saw the face of who was holding her. “Mama?” Marisa looked up at the smiling, youthful face of Gretchen Copper. All thoughts of running away replaced with an unspeakable joy at the sight of reuniting with her Mommy. Her arms fit perfectly around the robot’s neck. “Let’s get you out of those icky big girl clothes, and get you into something more age appropriate…” Marsy was laid down on the table, her clothes thrown off, and the safari diaper put under her, only for her to wet it before it was even taped on. Her sister, JenJen, baby Marsy didn’t know if she was the big or little sister, but Mama said JenJen was her sister and Mama was always right, held up some toy keys above her head as she enjoyed getting covered in her new diaper, pajamas, to finish the transition into Marsy’s new life as a baby, side by side, JenJen and Marsy sucked from the chest of her seemingly reanimated Mama. With the machine distracted, Jeremy crept out of the locked room, where he had been hiding since that crazy machine had appeared and declared herself ‘Mommy’ of the house. He gave himself a second to look forlorn at the state of his daughter and granddaughter, currently lost in the bonding experience that should be reserved for real mother’s and their infants, he went through his home as quietly as he could, seeing Marisa’s car outside, exhaust fuming from behind, ready to drive. Jeremy felt like a coward, leaving his family in the midst of that crazy machine, he could only promise he would be back to save them, one way or the other, as he got into the car and drove away. Holly Jackson was getting the cherry on top for the worst day of her life. To watching her Mom get reduced to a giant baby that didn’t seem to recognize anything was going on, living under her sister’s threat of getting the same treatment and treated like a slave, to the horrible situation at the Weinen’s place, and now, she watched as a line of robots stomped down the road, their eyes red in the dark, one by one, they separated and marched towards each house. She gulped when she saw one approaching her own home. Carly was currently at the table, munching down on chicken nuggies and macaroni and cheese, much to Holly’s dismay, mostly with her fingers. Pearl was curled up on the couch, sucking on the corner of the blanket Holly had given her after a diaper change that left Holly feeling depressed, having lost her rock and role model in Pearl. Carly, that brat, was happy to play in her used diaper, and Holly hoped she got a rash. That was a few minutes before she heard the unannounced guest barrel through the door. Pearl had woken up, giving a rough cry from the startling noise the robot nanny made. Carly came into the room, face, chest, and hands covered in cheese sauce and ketchup. “Huh? Wha’ goin’ on?” She had asked Holly with a mouth half full of food. The robot’s eyes look at the Jackson family.. In a robotic voice it said, “Scanning: 3 babies. Note: One baby not dressed APPROPRIATELY.” Then its voice softened, “Come to Mama sugah, she’s gonna get you feeling juuust right.” Before Holly could flee, she was trapped on the floor with the robot looming over her, she tried to call out for help, but on her left was a giggling Carly and on her right was Pearl staring into space, only mildly interested in the commotion was apart of. Holly’s shirt and shorts were shredded off of her, Carly could only laugh at her sister’s embarrassment, the idea that it was her own clothes getting ruined didn’t occur to her. When Holly whimpered, the nanny’s response was the plug her face hole with a pacifier, the rubber bulb pressed against her braces in an uncomfortable way. Holly was down to underwear, her pink panties and red bra ripped away from her shrinking frame, her limbs smooshing against her body as tightly as she could. Tendrils appeared, slithering out from the belly of the bot wrapping Holly’s wrists and ankles, a blue padding dropped next to Holly’s side, out of the corner of her eye, she saw happy sheep on a field. She tried to scream, tried to object, cry out her protests, “Hush, sugah, you’ll be right as rain in just a second, let Mommy get your dressed.” The padding was unfolded, looking like she could use it as a blanket and placed under her rear, Holly squirmed as a metal prong squirted a cool lotion on her, and colder metal ball rubbed it into her. Carly’s chortles playing as the soundtrack to Holly’s torment. A powder was thrown at Holly’s loins, and the pillow like underwear was taped on. Next, Holly was shoved into a pair of bloomers, spotless white frilly undergarments that Holly was sure her thick padding would rip apart as soon as she moved the wrong way. Holly was stood up and a blue dress was thrown over her head, lacey with a built in apron. Finally, a bonnet was tied around Holly’s head and under her chin. Holly didn’t need a mirror to know she was a dead ringer for Little Bo Peep, and wouldn’t look out of place with staff and a trio of sheep. “There we go, cute as a button!” The robot complimented the mortified Holly. “Me next! Me next! Me next!” Carly tugged on the robot’s arm. “I should say so, messy girl, let’s get a clean diaper on you and get you comfy.” Holly stood still, looking down at the new clothes attempting to tie a new identity to her, one where all of her maturity was discarded. Her hand raised, to tear off this ridiculous, tight dress, throw that stupid diaper right at that robots stupid face, but lowered her hand, sensing that would only lead to a worse result. She inwardly sighed, and looked around, before noticed the robot’s full attention was on Carly, squirming and giggling playfully as she was cleaned head to toe under a fresh diaper. This was her chance to escape. She could just sneak out the back and get away. A coo from the couch caught Holly’s attention, and she mournfully saw her bald mother wiggling and crying for attention. An idea to grab Pearl and run away came to Holly’s mind, just to be dropped. No, she’d have to make the run alone. She could… come back, maybe with the army, maybe they could reverse whatever Carly had done to Pearl, fix the town and everyone… She turned, and as silently as she could, crept towards the door in the kitchen. These thoughts weren’t helping anyone, and really, standing still only pushed her escape farther away. A glint on the table caught Holly’s eye. She could spare a moment for a small detour, right? She grabbed the remote control and pointed it at Carly, and hit the button, then turned and ran away. The giggles turned into a newborn’s wailing behind Holly’s back, as she ran into the backyard, the remote tucked into a sash around the dresses hip, and disappeared into the night. Tim jumped into his car and squealed his tires on the pavement and sped off, not looking back, trying to forget Candace’s face as whatever the robot and that damned ship overtook her. He put a hand over his face, wiping his brow of sweat, glancing back at the road, just in time to come to a screeching halt. In the middle of the road was a miserable looking young woman in a blue dress, barefoot with something metal on her waist. Holly waved to the driver in the car, calling out, “Help! Help!” Rolling down the window, Tim stuck out his head and called out to her, “Get in, quick!” From the brush on the side of the roads, one of the robot nannies came out towards the street. “Oh no! Did widdle baby get lost? Come to Mommy, honey, she’ll get you-” From the other side of the road, a black sedan came crashing into the robot, leaving a dent in the hood. Jeremy came stumbling out of the car, his hand pressed against his bleeding head. Tim looked at him, then at the girl who seemed shell shocked. He would’ve given them a moment to get there bearings, but from behind Jeremy, who was slowly making his way to the girl to make sure she was alright, or maybe to ask for help, he saw the robot bend the hood away from itself, and turn towards Holly and Jeremy. Tim drove up to them and opened up the passenger door, “Hurry!” Holly grabbed Jeremy by his side and helped him into the car, slamming the door shut before opening the backseat and jumping in, but before she could close the door, one of the robot’s retractable hands had gripped her wrist, trying to pull her towards it. The robot’s holographic facade was flickering fast, it’s false face and body disappearing and reappearing showing the machine for what it really was, black ooze dripping from it’s center. “Where ArE y-y-y-you GOING shweeweeweetheart?” It said, it’s voice glitching out, its sweet voice fading in and out. Tim grabbed Holly’s other arm, and slammed his foot on the pedal. The robot made a hideous sound as it’s body scraped against the pavement as they sped down the road. “Hold on, hold on!” Holly pleaded, her hands gripping the seat in front of her with white knuckles, Tim wasn’t sure if she was telling that to him or herself. After a few minutes of hearts beating, the resistance outside fell away, and the screeching disappeared behind them. The lost arm of the robot still gripped Holly’s forearm, squirming and leaking black fluid all over the side of her blue dress. She ripped it off of her and threw it out the door before shutting it. “Holy shit.” Holly breathed a sigh of relief as she slumped into the back seat. “Jeremy?” Tim asked the man next to him, giving him a shake, only to find him knocked out cold. “Fuck…” He swore under his breath. He sped down the road, towards out of the town limit, heading to the nearest Hospital around, over in Derry. Chapter 6 Holly nervously looked out the back of the window as the dark trees in the woods sped by in the night before disappearing as the cars lights made them vanish into the shadows. Holly never enjoyed being in a closed off town, the city was always more welcoming to her, with things to do and more than the few dozen people her own age she could hang out with. She vaguely recalled the last time her and her Mom had a fight about her going off to the city for a concert, how vicious she was with her words while Mom was just trying to keep her from being out too late around a bunch of strangers in the middle of the night, she was just trying to keep Holly safe, and her last look of her Mom this evening, cooing and rolling around in just a diaper under the care and whims of one of those machines, only left her feeling worse. She looked down at the awful outfit she was wearing, the baby blue dress she was adorned in, wanting to rip it all off, but settled on taking off that stupid bonnet on her head, struggling with the knots for a few seconds before finally freeing her chin from the stifling string. Thinking of her Mom stuck in her diapers reminded Holly of her most immediate issue, she tightened her legs under her dress, the crinkling plastic telling her the easiest solution. Carly hadn’t let Holly out of her sights all day, she never had the chance to use the bathroom, and the burning strain on her bladder was becoming more for the stressed girl to bear. Up in the front seat, Tim was shaking Jeremy, trying to keep the old man from drifting into unconsciousness that he was bouncing back to only to get shaken up by the driver while they sped down the road towards the nearest city. Holly wanted to reach out, try to keep Jeremy up, the person who actually saved her from that awful robot, instead of running away and leaving her entire family in its grips, even if one did kind of deserve it, but it was too much for her to keep her concentration intact. She squirmed and blushed hearing the crinkle her butt made. Was it too much to ask for to keep just this? Already she’s had her family taken from her, Holly’s freewill controlled by an older sister who acted far below her age, and her own dignity was striped away from her. Was keeping her own bodily autonomy too much of a request? The tiny spurt that warmed the absorbent core on her crotch said yes, she was asking too much. Holly opened her mouth to ask to pull over, only to shut it as Tim split his attention between shaking Jeremy and keeping his eyes on the road. Her legs pressed together tighter did little to help, those few drops did nothing to alleviate her needs. A squeak escaped Holly’s lips, as the flooding pee filled the diaper around her legs, she covered her face in the darkness of the backseat, the contents of her bladder too much and coming out too quick for the padding, and tiny trails slipped through the leg guards and drifted down Holly’s thighs, just to get the skirt of the childish outfit damp. Finally it was over and Holly was left in her cooling shame, grinding her teeth, feeling like an immature brat who couldn’t stay dry on a long car ride. For a split second, she wished for the innocence of the rest of the town, just to make herself feel better. The next few moments were eerily silent. Holly just sat in the back, eyes locked on the dark road ahead only illuminated by the headlights in front of them, occasionally the silhouette of Tim blocking her view as he tried to vain to keep Jeremy up, though he had little luck in the endeavor. And Holly sat in her cooling shame, her diaper quickly becoming ice cold and uncomfortable, and it was officially her diaper now. An idea floated by her mind, to cry and scream, maybe get the ‘grown ups’ up front to pull over and change her, and she’d just stick her thumb in her mouth and pretend she was a baby like the rest of them, but she couldn’t force herself to do that, apparently she still had her pride to lose. Maybe she could just take the diaper off and fling it out the window, but then she would be making the whole car reek of her embarrassment. So Holly Jackson sat quietly in the back, twiddling her thumbs, as the street lights of Derry, Maine came into view, and she sighed in relief as the ride was almost over. It didn’t take too long for them to park into the hospital parking lot, where Tim leapt out of the car and rushed to the passenger side door to help Jeremy up, who had long since fell silent. Holly got out too, after a second of hesitation, she almost wanted to stay in the car and be alone, not have anyone see that this young adult, just getting out of High School looked more like she was off to a toddler’s birthday party, went to Jeremy’s right side and wrapped his arm around her shoulder while Tim was on the other side doing the same as they walked Jeremy into the brightly lit receptionist area of the hospital, the sticky padding making a horrendous sound that Holly was sure anyone nearby could hear. The hospital room was a breath of fresh air of mundane, a few people scattered about, sitting in the rock hard plastic filling out paper work or just idly staring at their phones, something Holly was dearly missing at the moment, all just passing by the seconds waiting for their turn to see a doctor in the dead of night. Holly let out a long gulp as the nurse at the desk in front of them gave Jeremy a good once over then what felt like a judgmental glance at Holly and her strange outfit, dressed like Mary looking for her lost little lambs, and for a heart pausing moment Holly was sure the stranger knew that Holly was in dire need of a change, before she pushed the notion away, no, she thought, it was more likely this looked more like some kind of weird sex ritual, an older man coming in with a considerably younger couple, the girl dressed very strangely, the man soaked with sweat. She couldn’t imagine what the receptionist thought as she handed Tim a clipboard with papers while she called over a male orderly to assist Jeremy to the backrooms. Tim collapsed on one of the many hard chairs that littered the waiting room, glancing at the pages asking for information he had no way of honestly answering, letting it fall down on the chair next to him as he processed what had happened and what to do. Holly looked at the chair next to him, inwardly shuddering at the thought of sitting next to him, not wanting her telltale crinkling behind, or the scent of what she had down in the humiliating garment to become known. She turned away, and began to walk away. “Wait, where are you going?” Holly turned around and gave the older man a cautious glance. Holly had occasionally seen Robbie Harris’ boyfriend, a man around 28 and 10 years Holly’s senior, around town, though less lately, she recalled seeing him and Robbie in the grocery store, giving him a quick look while her Mom gave her a gentle nudge and chuckle, easily noticing the way a mother would when her daughter liked the way a man looked. Back then, Holly thought her Mom calling her out on a schoolyard crush was the most traumatizing thing that would ever happen to her. She used to drive past Robbie’s place, stealing a glance at Tim, with his brown, curly locks, his thin, muscular frame, thinking of how he was a writer and probably the sensitive type, which she never considered incredibly attractive but on him it fit well, infinitely more mature then the boys her age, she would fantasize about stealing the man away from her quiet, shy neighbor, and letting the man teach her the ways of love the way an older man could show a young girl, let him strip her of her naivety and clothes. But these were the fantasies of a lonely girl from a small town where her peers were boys she had known since she was in Kingswood Tots Daycare when it was actually natural for her to have accidents under her skirt, never would she have imagined Tim actually sitting down in front of her looking lost and desperate, needing her help. Her eyes fell on the scar on his face, she had never noticed it before, seeing him only from afar, and wondered what it was from. Briefly, Holly considered asking him to help her with her problem. Maybe he would let her call him Daddy in a supply closet… She shook away that perverse urge and got her head back in the game. “Oh, I just need to use the bathroom.” “Alright, when you get back, can you help me with this stuff? I only know the guy’s name is Jeremy Hopper-” “It’s Copper.” Holly corrected offhandedly. “I could maybe tell you his address, not much more than that. I think he has a daughter somewhere?” There was a look of relief in Tim’s face, and the realization dawned on Holly that Tim probably thought she was just like any other resident in town, based on her outfit. “Umm, yeah, maybe we can ask to see the old dude’s phone and try to get a hold of her, or his granddaughter…” “The granddaughter isn’t going to be any help. The last time I saw JenJen she was carrying around a handful of crayons and coloring books, excited for a playdate with Robbie.” “Oh, Robbie is- like them too…” Holly’s hand absently brushed against her hair, pushing it behind her ear. A long sigh, and Tim looked down. “Yeah…” “My Mom and sister got like that too… One of those weird robots came into our house and dressed me like this.” She found herself quickly explaining. “They, uhh, my sister- I was taking care of Mom and Carly all day.” “Oh…” Tim’s face grimaced, before adding. “I’m really sorry.” Holly shrugged, feeling like she had to play it cool, momentarily forgetting about the itchy fabric on her crotch. “It’s not like it’s your fault.” His face turned a pale color, “Umm, yeah.” Holly’s intuition was nibbling her brain, telling her something was strange about his response. “Do you know something about all this?” Holly hadn’t meant to make it sound so accusatory, but her suspicion was rising and didn’t mind the offending tone coming out of her mouth. She took a step towards the sitting man, only for the rustle of the diaper under the bloomers to sound off, Tim gave Holly’s waist a glance, and she blushed realizing he had heard it too. “I-” She turned away quickly. “We can talk about what we know when I get back from the bathroom!” Holly rushed away, only hearing a small, “Ok,” coming from Tim on her way out. She briefly looked at a hallway with a sign that had stick figures, one plain and one with a triangle for a dress, the universal sign for restroom and headed down there. As she walked down the hallway, the smell of disinfectant and hum of lights over head felt otherworldly, passing by men and women in scrubs, chatting with each other about things outside of work and cases, she glanced down at the feet of the stockings she wore, slippery against the clean linoleum tiles, dark with dirt from her running earlier and her walk on the pavement outside. She felt extremely self conscious of her movements, big and tiny. Holly passed by some more doctors, nurses, and orderlies, and then one or two more, and then she seemed to be alone in the hallway, a seemingly endless stream of unmarked doors on her left and right, she looked behind, wondering if she had missed the sign for the bathrooms, only to be met by the same sight as what lay before her, nothing but an endless hallway of doors, no one in sight. The sound of laughter came from ahead, echoing down the uniform hall, making Holly jump in surprise. Holly looked ahead in a start, eyes looking everywhere for anything that seemed out of the usual against the backdrop of endless identical doors. Cautiously, she took a few steps forward, looking around for anyone, to ask for help, to break the monotony of doors, to not feel like she was going insane. Maybe that was it, maybe Holly had gone crazy, that made more sense then getting woken up by her sister ordering her to change her pants, or see her Mom acting like a newborn, getting attacked by a robot that dressed her like a toddler in a pageant, getting saved by her neighbor that she barely exchanged more than pleasantries with and her crush. This fantasy enveloped Holly like a warm blanket, it was far more comforting than the cruel reality of what she experienced today. That was it. Holly was out of her mind, and that’s why she was in this hospital now, she was acting crazy and her Mom and sister and driven her to Derry to get her checked into the psychiatric facility at the hospital, she wasn’t really in Little Bo Peep’s dress, sliding around on dirty stockings down this liminal hall, she was in a soft padded room in a hospital gown with the grippy socks, pacing back and forth. That made more sense to Holly’s exhausted mind. But the laughter that echoed down the hall shook her away from that welcomed image. That laugh… It wasn’t something that Holly could make up. The chuckling came again, longer. It was more than berating, something more than making fun of someone, it was deep and primal, some how, there was a hunger in the notes of the voice that was letting out that laughter, something Holly couldn’t understand or rationalize, and worst of all, though she couldn’t see the source of the laughter, she knew it was aimed in her direction. Whatever was making that sound, it was all for Holly’s sake, like it wanted Holly to be afraid. Suddenly, Holly felt cold and clammy, just like her sodden diaper, she felt heavy, each step was an effort. The lights above her flickered, then one by one turned off, starting from the light farthest from her, turning dark with a spark, the warm coils in the rod ceiling lights glowing red, then orange, then turning to nothing leaving a ghost of its image in Holly’s view. She quickly looked behind, seeing the darkness approach her from both sides. Frozen like a deer in headlights, Holly found she didn’t have the strength to move, until she was taken by the shadows. Then… She was illuminated once again. Just one light above her lit up, and only one door around her, one that thankfully had a stick figure wearing a dress. She sighed in relief, and let herself in. It was like any other public restroom Holly had ever been in. A row of closed off stalls, a row of sinks with a nurse in front of one of the mirrors fixing her makeup humming to herself, what sounded like to the tune of ‘Mary had a Little Lamb’, a handryer to her left, and a changing table with large metal dispenser for tampons and pads… and diapers? With every size from newborn up to adult extra extra large. Holly thought that was strange, but told herself it was probably just for geriatric patients. That was it. Though her mind couldn’t help but nag her that any elderly patient probably just got changed in one of the rooms. And who was moving an old lady on to the adult size changing table in here? She let the worried feeling float away, and walked towards the stalls. Holly was hoping for a little more privacy, a bathroom she could lock and be alone. In her time babysitting, she had learned how loud tapes could be when ripped away. Holly had no interest in the stranger in here knowing what she was doing. But maybe she could hide away until she was done, and then get out and give herself a wash from the sink, already she could tell that she had been in this damp absorbent underwear for too long, her delicate skin feeling raw from the exposure of acidic material the diaper had become. She looked at the first stall, and thought grimly, yup, just like every restroom ever, there was an out of order sign on it. And the next one too. One by one, she went down the doors, each one having the same sign on it. “Need some help, sweetie?” A soft voice came from behind Holly. She flipped her body around to look around towards the nurse, her face hidden by the back of her head, curls of red locks growing wild like vines behind her, her scrubs not like the rest of the staff in the hospital Holly had seen so far, pink bottoms and the top white with colorful polka dots all over it. Probably just from the pediatric ward, Holly reassured herself. Just from the pediatric ward. The woman picked up a tube of lipstick and began to apply it, making loud smacking noises as she evened it out. “Yeah, heheh, I guess this bathroom is just for makeup now, huh?” Holly gave an unsure laugh. “Could you show me another bathroom I could use or….” She let her words hang in the air. “Why, dear?” The question surprised Holly, and before she could answer, the nurse continued. “I could change you out of that wet diaper.” She offered. Holly looked down, startled. Was it that obvious what she was wearing? Was it the crinkling, or was it that she looked like a lost little girl? How could she have known? She looked down at herself, before trying to save face. “I don’t know what you mean…” Holly said with a face almost as bright as the nurse’s hair. “Oh, of course you do, ~darling~,” The nurse said with with a sing song lilt, setting aside the lipstick, before swinging her head around. Holly screamed in fright. The woman’s face was made up to be a clown’s face, stars around her eyes, one red the other blue, white face paint plastered all around, round red nose above a black smile around her lips, a widening, open grin revealing yellowing sharp rows of teeth. The lights flickered, and when the room was lit up again, the nurse clown was reaching towards her with claws out stretched. Holly had never had a fear of clowns, never needed to shy away from them, but this surprise meeting made Holly learn that the term ‘shit myself’ wasn’t just a colorful turn of phrase. Holly felt her bowels let loose as her mouth let out a shriek of fear and confusion. The lights flickered again, the clown growing closer with each illumination, Holly pressed her back against the stall door, lowering herself down, shrinking herself, her knees against her chest and her bottom lowering to the tiles below, the warm mush squishing against herself everywhere that would normally make Holly sick, but she couldn’t focus on that as the creature drew near. One clawed finger outstretch towards Holly, gripping the collar of her dress, and ripping it down, the sound of fabric tearing filling the room only drowned out by Holly’s own sobs. The creature in front of Holly laughed, the same sound she heard earlier, and it seemed to grow, towering over the quaking girl, taking a finger, starting from her neck, ran it down between her collarbone, down the center of her rib cage running over the bump of her sternum, scratching her belly till it come to her belly button where it fell into the divot briefly before continuing down her soft waist and finally coming down to the soiled diaper, hanging discolored between her thighs, running a nail against the plastic, rustling it, where it fell apart from the center. It was like falling, letting the despair consume her. Holly Jackson had never before felt so small, so vulnerable. She was like a caged animal, in the grips of this strange clown monster that took over everything in her sight as it ran in claws around her whole body, laughing manically, several more hands coming out of its sides, running down her flesh, leaving small scraps and tears, ripping her skin like it was made of the same cloth the dress had been. This was much worse than the robot. There was a low pounding in the distance, but the low sounds of laughter the monster made, laughter that sounded more like growling with each utterance. The pounding continued, before the creature leaned down and whispered into her ear: “That was fun, there’ll always be a place down in my nursery for you, down there. Come give us a visit any time. We all float down there. Hahahaha.” The creature gave its nose a honk before licking Holly’s ear as the pounding continued in the distance, before the light turned off a final time, and lit back up, and Holly was alone, sitting on the floor of the restroom with someone knocking on the door. “Hey! Kid, you in there?” Tim’s voice came from the other side of the door. Holly closed her eyes, before answering. “Y-yeah!” She did her best to collect herself, tried to tell herself it was all a hallucination, but there was a tug on Holly’s wrist, she opened her eyes to see a red balloon tied to her wrist. She looked down at herself, she was now wearing a pink party dress, short, with tall, white socks ending just below her knees, with polished black Mary Jane shoes buckled on her feet. She could feel it, but Holly took the hand with the balloon tied against and raised her dress up, and saw the pink diaper underneath it, fresh and dry, it might have been a relief if not for the harrowing experience she had go through to get it. The tape on top of the diaper had what looked like a fair, with a circus tent, a Ferris wheel, an elephant, and worst of all a clown that seemed to be juggling. And balloons everywhere. In the picture, running down, or floating up the diaper, colorful dots of yellow and blue and red and green. Holly blinked and for a moment, the Ferris wheel spun, the balloons rose, and the clown waved at her. She violently shook her head and the image went still once again. Getting to her feet, she heard, “Kid!” Coming from the other side of the door. “One second!” Holly called out, looking at her reflection in the mirror. With her frown, she looked like a girl pouting at a party, a bright pink cardboard hat ending with a point and a silvery tassel. The weight in her left hand became known to Holly, and she looked down at it in the mirror, seeing the heavy, blue diaper she was just wearing. Her lips curled in a sneer at the discolored brown padding, and chucked it into an open trash can by the door. She went to the sink, turning on the faucet with a wave of her hand towards the automatic sensor and splashing water on her face. From down the pipe, she heard the echoes of laughter, and jumped away from the sink, running towards the door, her hands and face dripping. On the other side of the door, Tim stood there, waiting, just for Holly to come barreling into him, huffing from shock. “Hey! Hey! What’s wrong?” “I! Uhh- I-” Holly struggled to put into words what she just went through. She looked around, seeing the waiting area just 10 feet away from the bathroom door she was standing in front of. Nurses and doctors all giving her concerned looks. “Where have you been? You’ve been gone for 3 hours, I was looking everywhere for- Weren’t you wearing something else? Where’d you get that?” Tim tapped at the balloon. Holly grabbed the hat on her head and threw it off, giving it a little stomp for good measure, before desperately trying to untie the balloon at her wrist, before Tim grabbed her wrist, and did it for her. The balloon floated up, we all float down there, the words whispered in Holly’s mind as she watched the balloon ascend, before popping at the light, a shower of confetti raining down on her and Tim, the staff of the hospital giving the two bewildered looks. Tim looked like he was lost for words, before stuttering out, “Uhh, Jeremy is up… We all have to talk. Come on.” With Holly’s wrist still in his hands, he tugged her towards the waiting area, she looked back as the shoes she was given go click-clack on the tile, looking at the confetti on the floor, feeling like she was going crazy once more, as she heard in the distance the cackling of the clown. Far away from trio, at the Kingswood gym, another person safe from the effects of the ship in the woods, got out from her office. Ginger Ann Thistle had been in the quiet town for awhile, ever since she had gotten done with her tour with the Marines, honorably discharged after a piece of shrapnel flew into the back of her head. The doctors had said that it had been a miracle, any further in, and she would’ve been a vegetable or worse. Ginger would’ve said that it’d be a miracle if she never had the stupid piece of metal lodged into her cranium, she never felt more at home than being on the line, and being among brothers. She had always been an outsider, too masculine to befriend many women, too feminine to be one of the guys, always stuck in the middle, an outsider, and that was only on the surface, deep down, there was another reason Ginger felt like an outsider. Ginger had an eye for girls, she loved watching the girls in her gym, but being a lesbian wasn’t what kept her alone, it was what she wanted to do with them. Like when she was a child, playing with her baby dolls, she wanted to take the girls that ran on her treadmills, lifting weights, doing their stretches, sweating while listening to their music, drinking from their trendy water jugs with pleasant affirmations on them, Ginger wanted to grab each and everyone of them and put them on her lap and baby them, replace those water jugs with giant baby bottles, turn off whatever silly ‘big girl’ music they were listening to and make them listen to nursery lullabies, no more yoga just tummy time, and of course, rip off those silly revealing tights each one wore and diaper them, dress them in onesies. It made her drool, just the thought. Some times, Ginger did get a girl interested in her, would lock up the gym for the night and pull the blinds, lay her down on the padded bench her patrons did their weight lifts on and get them diapered up, drag her equipment from the center of the large room and put together a playpen for the girl, oh, Ginger would let her date ‘help’, but she would always tell her little one for the night, “No no, let Mommy do that, that’s too complicated for a baby.” She’d say with a wink and give the girl a bottle. Then she’d have a photo session with the girl. She would tell the girl it was for Ginger’s private use, but it was more of an insurance policy, no one would tell Ginger’s little secret if they were worried about their embarrassing secrets getting out. Yesterday, it had felt like a dream come true, waking up in her apartment, finding her neighbor, a cute woman maybe a couple of years older than Ginger, drawing on the walls in crayons in just a white, lace nightie top, with a big padded bottom sticking out from under her. Ginger had known the woman for years, seen her boyfriends come and go, come and help her if she needed any help lifting up anything, she was a straight lace girl who would never think about anything adjacent to adult baby, let alone play in the halls with a diaper on full display. Ginger was salivating at the thought of having a new baby girl when she approached her, when her neighbor’s date came out of her apartment, dressed even less than her, the man only wore a diaper and had a handful of markers in his dirty grip. Ginger rarely ever played with baby boys, but Hell, if it meant playing with her neighbor she’d give the man the best day of his life, when a sound from outside distracted her. Ginger had looked outside, and saw her dreams turn real, streets filled with men and women playing, acting like children, a thick cushion around each of their bottoms. She ignored her neighbor and her play mate for the moment, and went outside, finding so many lost little ones, so many of her friends and neighbors, needing someone to look after them, women Ginger had fantasized about for years coming up to the ‘grown up’ and asking to help change them. Ginger’s cup truly runeth over. For hours, Ginger had played with them, setting up her playpen in the gym, this time not bothering to pull down the blinds, she let everyone in, the barista down the street came in and wiggled under the baby gym Ginger had set up, a couple of girls just getting off their shift from Walmart asked Ginger to replace their garish Walmart logo diaper off of them then proceeded to play paddy cake with each other for hours, the High school principal and her husband had come in, and Ginger set up a blanket for them to wrestle around with after getting those ineffective Pull-Ups off of them and getting them into something more appropriate. It was the best day of Ginger’s life, and she had the photos to memorialize it. She had taken a little break in her office, admiring her pictures on her phone, eating a light lunch when they had come. Giant women coming into her gym and collecting the little ones and taking them to God knows where. She wanted to stop them, but something told Ginger if she stepped in fron of them, she’d be the next one modeling diapers and onesies, so she hid away, getting into her office closet when one of the women came in and looked around, a light came from eyes scanning the desk with Ginger’s computer and phone on it before leaving. When Ginger got out of her hiding place, she crept out of the office and looked outside, seeing a line of the giant women outside, some occasionally flickering and their disguise vanishing to reveal the cold mechanical exterior that lay underneath. Ginger shuddered at the thought of those things having their hands on her little ones. But she hid away again. Stay in for the night, she thought, and maybe come morning, she’d be able to help herself to one or two of the women, get out of town, and have her own little girls to play with and doll up as she saw fit. Maybe she’d even grab her neighbor. Though the barista was pretty cute, the way she had babbled on and on about the little toys she had made. She’d grab both of them and run off, start a new gym somewhere else, somewhere where the winters weren’t so cold. Florida, maybe, she could just imagine her two girls playing in the backyard in the kiddie pool in their swim diapers during the warm summer now. Her fantasies had lulled her to sleep. A little ways away, Robbie Harris, with a team of excavators around her, looked at the sleek but dirty ship with wide eyes, as the hatch opened up in front of them, pouring warm, pink light around them. The bell at the front door jingled. Ginger shot up, momentarily fearing the return of those giants, before she heard a quiet, “Hello?” A familiar voice. Ginger raced to the main room of the gym to see a regular standing at the door, staring at the toys and adult baby gear scattered around the floor. Ginger’s eyes went up and down the tight curvature of Alice O’Duff’s form, the purple leggings with a galaxy motif leaving little to the imagination, the black sports bra under the gray hoodie that zipped up. The 24 year old had been coming to Ginger’s gym for years, she hadn’t seen Alice in a few weeks, gone off on a cruise vacation where Ginger could see she had gotten some sun by her tanned skin. Ginger was about to go off trying to explain away all the strange things around the room, when she saw Alice put a finger in her mouth and kneel down to push a toy truck with her free hand, smiling when the gears inside it made it rush forward by itself, she clapped as it went ahead, not minding one hand was covered in drool. “Having fun?” Alice jumped to her feet, hiding her hands behind her back. “Oh! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to play with your toys without permission…” She shuffled a foot nervously, looking like a kid getting caught doing something she wasn’t supposed to. Ginger drank in the sight of her, Alice, a tall, toned woman with her abs on full display below her small, pert chest, looking like a little girl who got caught with her hand in the cookie jar. “That’s alright, sweetie,” Ginger said, her gaze lecherously going up and down Alice’s form. She gently took Alice’s wrist and lowered them both to the ground. “You can play with anything you want here.” Alice’s eyes lit up wide and bright. “R-really?” “Really.” Ginger replied, placing the toy truck into Alice’s hands. “You can do anything you want with them.” The other woman looked unsure, looking down at the toy in her hand, before saying something that made Ginger melt. “Pwomise?” Gleefully, Ginger told her, “Promise.” Alice took the truck and began to put it on the rough carpet, rolling just the front half of it before a thought came to her head, then raised it up, looking at it for a moment, before lifting it up to her lips, and biting one of the rubber tires. “You are such a silly head!” Ginger chastised Alice, her fingers jumping towards Alice’s bare sides and begun to tickle her. “No-o-o!” Alice fell to her back, begging Ginger to stop with little feeling. “Stwoooop!” She said in between fits of giggles. “Stwoooop-oh!” She looked down at her bottom, and Ginger stopped, looking down expectantly too. Between Alice’s thighs a tiny trickle came, before letting loose into a flood. Ginger looked at Alice’s face, seeing the wave of emotions flash on her face, first curiosity, then came the look of concern as phantoms of memories when the girl was potty training and taught that peeing her pants was wrong flooded her thoughts, finally landing on the feeling of disappointment, of being a bad girl. The sobbing came now, as Alice’s face twisted ugly, contorting the lines of her pretty face and furrowing her brow as she let large tears run down her face, messing up the make up the big girl Alice had carefully applied to herself earlier, ready to look sexy while she worked out, ready to show off her tan lines and be the envy of every woman in the building, now relegated to Ginger’s new baby. Ginger raised the girl up, “Shhh, shhh, honey, oh, it’s ok,” She reassured her, rubbing her back and the tight ponytail Alice’s hair was tied up in. “That’s ok. You’re alright.” Alice, not quite getting control of her emotions, but settling into a calm as Ginger hugged her, Alice returned the embrace, resting her chin on Ginger’s neck, her sobbing hushed when her lips found a lock of Ginger’s hair and begun to chew and suck on it. Ginger felt the tug of her hair. “Now you stop that.” She chastised lightly, pulling away, Alice making pathetic noises, wanting the embrace to last. “I have something for you. Just wait here.” Alice was left alone, looking around at the colorful toys all around her, idly grabbing the toy truck, and was about to put it in her mouth when strange thoughts came to her. She glanced at the baby gym nearby, and opened up the side where the batteries laid and tore into it, pulling away parts of it and grabbing cords and wires. When Ginger returned from her office, hiding something behind her back, “Ohhh, Alice doll, I got a surprise for yooou!” She looked at Alice and the broken baby gym. “Oh, you! What did you do baby? I suppose that’s one toy we won’t be taking with us, is it?” “Look!” Alice showed Ginger the truck, now with batteries tied to the bottom of it with cords. “Oh yes, you got some batteries on your toy, don’t you?” Ginger said with a condescending tone. “I don’t think it’ll roll very well, though…” Alice let go of the truck, and in midair the lights turned on and hovered in the air before doing a lap around the girl, who clapped and awed at it, the state of her trousers completely forgotten. “I- uh, hmm.” Ginger looked at the truck zipping around Alice thoughtfully. The gym owner thought of the funny stories the little ones had told her yesterday, the barista with the matter making machine, and of the robots that marched through the town. It was all over Ginger’s head, but, maybe it wouldn’t be too bad of an idea grabbing some of their toys with them. It might be worth a pretty penny. “Aaaalice!” Ginger put a pause on that idea, “Do you want to see the surprise Mommy has for you?” Alice stopped clapping and looked at Ginger with wide eyes, giving her a slow, certain nod. “Ta-daa!” She showed the wet woman in front of her the purple, star covered diaper in her hand. “It’s not as pretty as your tights, but they’re cute, don’t you think? Do you want to try them on?” Alice thought about it for a second, she was supposed to be a big girl, right? But, there was the growing feeling telling her the opposite, she was a baby, and what did babies wear? Wordlessly, Alice nodded, she did want to wear the diaper. Her diaper. She was putting her hand down her waist line before she was stopped. “Ahh ahh ahh! Do little girls undress themselves, or do good girls wait for their Mommy to do it for them?” Alice nodded, agreeing but… A naughty smile appeared on her lips. With little time to stop her, Alice was shimmying her leggings off, before they got caught on the fashionable tennis shoes, before she started lowering the white, cotton panties with the yellow stain down the center of the bottom below a blue ribbon, all the while giggling like a loon. “Oh my!” Ginger grabbed Alice’s hands. “We have a naughty baby on our hands!” Alice could only let out a devious laugh. “Bad giwl!” “Not that bad.” Alice was told, Ginger pulling down the underwear the rest of the way, pulling the tights and panties away from shoes inside out and tossing them, no concern about the mess that would be left in the abandoned gym. For one last time, Ginger lowered a girl down on the bench and unfolded a diaper and stuck it underneath her butt while Alice had her legs splayed. Over the last day, Ginger had discovered the delicious difference between changing the diaper of a woman playing pretend baby and a woman who was genuinely regressed. The pretend babies might playfully cover themselves, make it into a flirtatious ritual, ‘Oh Mommy, that’s cold!’ They would object when Ginger would wipe them down, but Alice just giggled and wiggled as the cold cloth ran down her front, pretend babies would just fold their arms, comfortable with being pampered as Ginger blasted a puff of baby powder on them, but a girl like Alice would look at the powder fascinated, her hands went down to catch the white powder, and would laugh and smile as she smacked herself letting the white stuff fly off of her before clapping her hands trying to get the flying powder to happen from her hands. Finally, diaper changes with pretend babies had little movement other than the girl trying to be sexy as their Mommy worked, wiggling her butt, they had patience and would wait for Ginger to dress them with little movement, Alice on the other hand was electric, while this was fun and new to her now, she still wanted to get up, run and play, just discovering a naughty streak she hadn’t felt in decades, running around nakey had a devious, welcoming feeling to it. Several times, Ginger had to hold on to Alice’s hips and tell her to stay still, only for more wriggling to be her answer. Ginger helped the baby up as Alice studied her new underwear, poking and prodding it experimentally, standing up and waddling around, trying to press her thighs together as she frowned. Ginger grinned at her handy work, before finding a purple onesie and chasing after Alice with it and shoving her into it. Alice went back to playing as Ginger worked on preparing a diaper bag for her girls. Calling for her new baby to take her hand, they were going to go grab some friends and toys for Alice to play with. Smiling as Alice gripped her hand, Ginger thought to herself, triplets wouldn’t be too bad… Lana O’Duff, Alice’s real sister slammed the door, rubbing her sunburned skin, not happy that she was back home, and heading into her work at the Kingwood’s Tots Daycare center. Traffic was nonexistent today, which was a blessing to Lana, her head ached, like she was nursing a hangover, she wished she would’ve skipped work to go to the gym with her older sister, watching over some screaming kids was the last thing she wanted to do, but she sighed and let it go. She needed the job. Lana was pleasantly surprised to see the spaces in front of the daycare empty, maybe she forgot about a holiday and people would mostly keep their kids home today. A nice, light day of cleaning would be nice, some nice chatter with the coworkers about her vacation would be nice. She might even get to play with the toys! Wait… Lana stopped herself before the double glass doors of the center. Where had that thought come from? “Noooo,” Lana whispered to herself. “I don’t need to play with any dumb baby toys. I’m a big girl!” Lana reassured herself, while opening the doors and letting herself in. She frowned at unlit front. “Jeez! Gone for two weeks and the place falls apart!” She went into the main hallway separating the class rooms, nearly tripping over a toy truck not dissimilar to the one her older sister was currently chewing on a few blocks away. “Damn!” She kicked the toy away before opening the breaker box at eye level, far above the reach of any of the small kids that usually were running through this place. The power whirred on and the lights above flashed on, the computer turned on up front, and Lana went to check on it. “Hmmm…” Lana took a look at it thoughtfully, “No one’s been signed in at all yesterday… Did we get shut down?” A sound came from the back, something like blocks knocked over. Lana didn’t like opening, or closing, generally being alone in this building creeped her out. She didn’t believe in ghosts or anything, but still, there was something unnatural being around empty cribs, unattended toys, small tables smelling of freshly applied disinfectant, and more than that, it felt like something was always staring at Lana. Shrugging, Lana went towards her room. She usually watched over the two or three year olds, though the scheduling was pretty loose, if someone needed a day off, Lana might get shuffled off to the infant to 1 year, or 4 to 5, though she was pretty happy with where she was. 2 year olds didn’t too much minding, sing a few songs with them, do some arts and crafts, maybe show them their colors, make sure they get to the potty in time or change them if not, keep them going until they would for certain drop when nap time came. She entered the room, posters with cartoons telling kids things they certainly wouldn’t be able to read, or recognizable figures, an alphabet that wasn’t really for learning hung up on the wall as foam symbols with upper and lower case that were there more as decoration, Lana dropped her purse on the teacher’s desk, sighing as she sat down, rubbing her head. This headache wouldn’t go away. When she looked down, she saw a Pull-Up sitting on the desk, Ariel with her fish tail smiling out at her. Lana grinned at the image, tapping on the soft plastic of the training pants. Ariel had always been her favorite Princess. Feeling the texture of the underwear under her nails, a strange impulse took over Lana. It wouldn’t be too bad to try it on, right? She grabbed the training pants and was about to the bathroom that was attached to each room when she heard more noises from the center. Lana hesitated for a minute, Pull-Up in hand. She gave the childish underwear a look. Would she be a bad girl for trying it on? She thought a big girl like her shouldn’t be wearing things like this. “No!” She said quietly. “I’mma good girl, I’m just trying them on so I know how the kids feel, that’s being a good daycare worker. Gotta make sure they’re comfy, right?” Feeling justified again, Lana snuck into the bathroom, looking around one time before closing the door. Inside the small room, Lana looked at her reflection in the low hanging mirror, her dark hair flowing down ending in curls, her soft blue shirt with the center’s logo on the uselessly small breast pocket, under a loose, flowy white skirt, she gave herself an admiring, happy with her tanned skin, though… she doesn’t remember the shirt being so tight, her admiration turned to judgment, putting a hand on her stomach, feeling guilt of breaking her diet on vacation, she definitely should’ve gone to the gym today, certain that she’d pack on an extra two or three pounds on. Then, she looked towards her other hand and saw the Pull-Up and remembered what she was here for. Before she was interrupted, or found out, heart pounding, Lana loosened the strap on her skirt and let it fall to the floor, hopping out of her pink underwear just as quickly, her bronze skin ending just at the bikini line, and stretched out the Pull-Ups with Ariel’s approving face and slipped one white shoe into a leg hole and the other, pulling the training pants up her thin legs and up the thighs, ending on her crotch, completely hiding her tan lines better than she would’ve thought, letting a sigh of relief out, feeling right as rain. She gave her reflection another look. Though the only thing that really changed was the missing skirt and the absorbent pants that were barely thicker than her actual underwear, the vibe was completely different. The uniformed shirt might as well be telling people she attended Kingswood Tots Daycare rather than worked there, the Pull-Ups fell more appropriate around a girl who spent too much time around the pool or beach, probably running away from Daddy who wanted to put her sunscreen lotion on her, than a sexy young woman trying to catch the eyes of a man she might call Daddy in the bedroom. Lana grinned at her reflection and put her hands on her hips. “I’m a big kid now!” She smiled, really feeling like it. She wasn’t a silly baby that wore diapers, like Alice, she giggled, Alice probably wore diapers, not Pull-Ups like Lana, cause she’s a big girl, although… She looked down at the padding, pursing her lips. How could she say she really knew what they felt like if she never ‘used’ them? Just a little wet then she could take them off and toss them in the diaper pail in here without anyone being the wiser. Lana strained, pushing herself, but it was weird, the warm Pull-Ups only felt like it was getting colder. She looked at the potty, duh! Lana thought to herself, she was such a big kid she couldn’t just make herself go standing up like a baby, she had to sit down on the potty to feel comfy. Opening up the porcelain lid, Lana plopped down and tried to wet herself again, but didn’t feel anything happening. That’s weird, Lana said to herself, I was sure I had to go… Oh! Poking the front of her Pull-Up she found it was drenched. When had that happened? Maybe the Pull-Up was a good idea, and she should find another one… Delicately, she grabbed her skirt and brought it up to her waist and snapped the button on the side. Just gotta grab another Pull-Up before anyone gets here… “Hi Lana!” In front of the door to the room stood Mrs. Grayworth, in her tucked in uniform over a black skirt that was much longer than Lana’s. Lana gulped. It was fun playing pretend little girl wearing training pants, or was it big girls who wore training pants? The idea was getting mixed up in Lana’s head, but in either case, she didn’t want the owner of the center to find Lana in a wet Pull-Up. What if she said Lana couldn’t be a grown up teacher any more? Or worse, what if she said Lana wasn’t big enough to wear training pants anymore? Lana imagined her and Alice laying on a playmat gurgling and cooing in messy diapers, and shuddered. Though, another half of her thought that might not be so bad. “Oh, hi Mrs. Grayworth…” Lana reflectively hid her crotch in behind her hands. “How are you?” She forced a grin. “It’s Gabie, actually. It’s okay… but no one showed up to play today.” She looked around sadly at the empty class room. Lana gulped again, keeping her front covered, as though Mrs. Grayworth had x-ray vision and could see the state of her underwear. “I’m sorry, Gabie. I’ll play with you.” Gabie’s face lit up. “Really?” Gabie took long steps towards Lana and grabbed her hands. “Yes! I know exactly what I wanna play, come up!” Lana found herself dragged towards the 0-1 room, baby dolls were all over the floors, blocks partially stacked with more surrounding askew, soft chewing toys everywhere, and a pile of stuffed animals that Gabie jumped into. She patted her lap while giving Lana an expectant look. “Umm… What do yo want me to do?” Gabie rolled her eyes. “Sit on my lap.” She said with a huff. Lana did as she was told, feeling awkward sitting on the knee of a woman that was her size, but didn’t want to be ‘fired’, whatever that meant. Lana knew that being ‘fired’ was a real threat, maybe it meant she would get set on fire for real for real. She certainly didn’t want that. “Ok! We’re playing house and I’m the Mama and you the baby!” Gabie explained, smiling from ear to ear. “Nooooo,” Lana groaned in protest. “I don’ wanna be a baby, I’m a big girl!” “It’s just pretend! It’ll be fun,” Gabie insisted. Lana thought about it, worried, it did sound fun, but still, she didn’t want to be a baby. “Fiiine, but I get to be Mama after, alright?” “That’s okay with me, now…” Gabie grabbed her employee by the waist and lowered Lana into her arms. “Rock bye baby on tree top…” The rocking motion, awkward as it was considering the women’s similar stature, still did feel nice, Lana decided to play along, soon enough she’d be the Mama after all, and plopped her thumb in her mouth. “Googoo gaga,” she cooed around the digit in her mouth, only playing sucking on it, until suddenly she wasn’t playing, and really sucking on it with enthusiasm. This house game wasn’t too bad at all! Gabie praised her, “Good baby!” Lana beamed up at her. She liked being a good baby… Big girl, she liked being a good big girl, she corrected herself. “Time to check the baby,” Gabie stuck her hand up Lana’s skirt. “Uh oh! Baby had an accident, time for a fresh diapee!” Lana sat up and jumped off her boss’s lap. “Nuh-uh!” She slowly backed away, feeling unsure now. “Don’t want diapee!” Her voice was rising as her emotions became more erratic. “Baby,” Gabie pointed down on the floor. “You lay down for a changey if you don’t want a spankey!” “I don’ wanna!” Lana stomped her foot as hard as she could, a few toys falling off a shelf from the shuddering floor. “You being a bad girl!” Lana opened her mouth and let out a shriek in anger. “No! Good girl! Big girl!” She screamed out in defiance. She stomped one foot then the other and repeated, slapping her open palms against her thighs. “Big girl! I’m… Look!” Lana pulled up her skirt revealing the Pull-ups with Ariel’s saturated body, swimming like a real mermaid. “Training pants! So I’m a big girl!” Gabie stood up, getting red faced too. “Yeah well I’m wearing diapees and I’m the Mama so even Mama’s wear diapees!” She lowered her skirt, showing the thick padding underneath her uniform onesie. Taking a deep breath, Lana studied the diaper. She wiped away her angry tears, still puffed up from her tantrum. “You pwomise I stiww be a big giwl if I wear diapee?” “Pwomise!” Lana took a few uncertain steps towards Gabie, lowering her skirt with a blush. Gabie grinned, taking Lana’s hand and lowered her down to the ground. “And baby need a bottle!” Lana felt a nipple get thrust into her mouth, she blinked in surprise looking at the bottle cross eyed. Cold air rushed against Lana’s damp nether as the sides of her Pull-Up were ripped away. Irritating, but as the warm cream rushed down Lana’s throat, she found herself ignoring all matters of discomfort. Gulp after gulp, Lana sucked down the liquid, each swallow was easier than the last. Time blurred together, and Lana forgot whatever she was upset about. She felt patting on her bottom. “All done!” Gabie declared. “Baby looks like she ready for a nap.” Lana nodded. Baby was feeling sleepy. The empty bottle she was sucking on was taken away from baby, she whined in protest, wet strings of saliva spat out as she said, “Ma baba!” Baby was just seconds away from crying out when a pacifier was shoved in her mouth. “Mommy’s special formula is so good, isn’t it Baby?” Gabie lowered the rails to a crib, taking baby and helping her inside. “Don’t worry, all the Mommy’s will be here soon. And you’ll get picked up and brought home, and always be a good baby!” Baby was put in a crib with other babies, Lana’s former coworkers, women who had been working here for years, silently sucking on pacifiers, staring up at the mobile spinning above with dreamy expressions. Baby had one last big girl thought, what are they all staring at? Before looking up, and seeing the spinning colors becoming baby’s whole world as she watched them twirl around, everything else faded out of existence. Maddie Weinen showed her hat trick to her audience, her Mommy turned sister who could do little more than move her head and use her diapers, her boyfriend turned baby brother, and of course, the only one clapping at the mechanical rabbit appearing from the top hat, the robot Mommy that had arrived last night. New Mommy never told Maddie her tricks were stupid or pointless, always clapped and told her they were good tricks and Maddie was a clever girl for thinking of them. Her old Mommy still let out some protests, some times, or new sister rather, she was always whining about something, but better Mommy assured Maddie that the baby was just cranky, or hungry, or messy, Maddie believed her, of course. When she looked into the eyes of her baby sister, she couldn’t see any remnant of the old mother Weinen in there, still though, Maddie couldn’t help but miss her old baby sister, wherever she was. Her new brother wasn’t too bad. Her boyfriend was always the first to support Maddie, and even in his current state of mostly trying to suck his toes he had eyes for Maddie, she smiled and waved her hand at him in his fuzzy blue onesie with feeties and mittens. New Mommy said that Maddie had a matching pink one just for her, but Maddie wasn’t quite ready for that, Maddie would have to drink Mommy’s special formula, and something told Maddie if she did that then there’d be no more tricks, just trying to eats her feets and drink more babas, with way more wet diapers. Speaking of wet diapers, Maddie poked the sodden diaper under her leotard. “Mommy, I needs a changey.” “Of course, baby girl.” Maddie was laid down right in front of her former Mom and boyfriend, unconcerned as she was revealed right in front of them as the machine took care of her diaper, she was even given a rattle to chew on while Mommy took care of her needs. In the middle of wiping Maddie cleaned, Mommy paused, her eyes flashing red. In a strange voice, she said. “It’s ready…” Quickly, Maddie’s change was finished, and Mommy gathered up the two little babies and took Maddie by the hand with a third appendage that came from the side. “Be a big girl for Mommy and keep up, dear. Or, you can have your special baba now and Mommy can carry you.” She offered. Maddie shook her head. “Not yet.” The robot nodded with a smile. “That’s ok, as soon as we’re there, you won’t need that anyway. Come along, children.” Maddie and her family were led out of the Weinen home, the streets were covered in the robot Mommies, each one with handfuls of adult babies and holding the hands of others, each one being led in the same direction, towards the woods on the outskirt of town, were it was glowing pink. Maddie and the others were led towards Robbie Harris’ cabin, and what lay past that. “You bastard!” Holly Jackson slapped Tim’s face as hard as she could, eyes wet with tears. “You knew about all this and you didn’t do anything to stop this!” She spat out, accusingly. Jeremy sat up in bed. His head still ached, in spite of the pain pills he was given. He gave the young man a pitying look. “Come on, Holly, no one could’ve expected anything like this to happen.” Holly gave the bedridden old man a glare before looking away quickly. Turning her attention back towards Tim. “You could’ve stopped this before it began!” Her anger was spiraling out of control. Her hand lifted up again, ready to strike Tim again. “My Mom and sister are fucking babies because you let your girlfriend do what she wanted!” Tim stared between his feet, not sure how to respond. Jeremy had patiently sat and listened to each part of Tim’s story, and while he was angry too, he couldn’t help but feel more anger at himself, for leaving Marisa and Jenny there. He thought Holly felt similarly, having left her own behind. Holly groaned, sitting down, clearly ready to hit something else, but in that party dress she looked more like the birthday girl who didn’t get the exact present she wanted. It was strange, though the car crash was a blur, Jeremy could’ve sworn she was wearing something blue…. “Hurting each other isn’t going to help anything.” Jeremy said decidedly. “We have to do something to fix this.” He began to rise, but quickly two sets of hands were on the thin fabric of the hospital gown, pushing him down. Finally speaking up, Tim said, “I’m not sure there’s anything to be done, maybe bomb that ship or something, because based on what both of you said those weird robots are all over town, maybe we can call the government and try and get them to drone strike the ship.” “No!” Jeremy and Holly said in unison. Jeremy went on, “My family is there, there’s no way I’m letting anyone throw explosives while they’re there!” “Yeah! There has to be something else…” Holly added. “Well, I don’t know what to do. Even if we get outside help, the second they get into town they’re going to go baby brain anyway, I don’t even know if the skies are safe anyway, for all we know if a bomber flies over that ship they won’t be pissing their pants and asking for a snack from HQ.” Tim looked down again. “No, no, no,” Jeremy mused, “If anyone official is brought into this, their first thought is going to be how to use that thing in the woods. The three of us, we know we’re not affected by it. What if, I don’t know, sabotage it? Grab some gasoline and burn the fucker to the ground.” “You mean the two of us,” Holly motioned to Tim and herself. “There’s no way you’re getting out of this bed any time soon, and we don’t have time to wait around.” “I don’t know if gasoline is going to do anything anyway. That thing apparently crashed from outer space, that thing is built to last.” “Well, what if we didn’t have to destroy it?” Holly said, rising from her seat, scratching her chin. “I told you guys about that teleporter Maddie Weinen built, what if we threw that in there and sent the ship somewhere else?” Tim thought for a moment, “That could work, using the stuff the affected made while under the ships effect… That’s probably our best bet but, can we even use that thing? Listen, there’s a bunch of those matter replicators in town, what if we made some bombs with those, real bombs, not gasoline, strap it to the ship and blow it up from the outside. “Hmmm…” Jeremy rested his face in the palm of his hand. “No, no bombs!” Holly insisted. “The teleporter is our best bet.” “Wait,” Jeremy said, “I agree getting that thing out of there as quickly as you can is for the best, but it might be better to have a backup plan. We don’t even know if you can get that thing to work, or if Maddie Weinen is around to help you.” Holly huffed, “Fine, when we get back to Kingswood, I’ll get the teleporter, and you,” She shoved a pointed finger into Tim’s chest. “You get plan B.” Tim held up his hands, “Can you even move that thing by yourself?” She put her hands on her hips, “Just because I’m dressed like a little kid doesn’t mean you get to treat me like one. Maddie Weinen could put it together by herself, how hard could it be?” Tim bit his lip. “Then… we need… Listen, I hate to say it, but if we don’t do this…” “We’re going to.” Holly said with determination. “Yeah, we’re going to try our best but, Jeremy,” He looked towards the bed ridden older man, “If we don’t contact you in a day, you get someone on the phone, get someone to help. If… If Kingswood is a lost cause,” Holly tried to interrupt him, only to be shushed by Jeremy. “If Kingswood is a lost cause,” Tim continued, “You have to get someone to do something about it. We can’t let everyone in the country, or worse, end up, you know,” Jeremy and Holly both thought of all the people, including their families, stuck in a state of perpetual infantilization. “Alright.” Jeremy agreed. He gave both of them his phone number, and they both took a second to find the hospital number, Tim programming both numbers into his phone, Holly writing them down on scraps of paper, sure that she would find a phone somewhere along the way. Tim and Holly gathered themselves, preparing to leave, “Good luck, kids.” Jeremy held out a hand. “Thanks,” Tim said, “Get better old man.” “Jeremy, thanks for running that bolt bag over for me.” Holly said sincerely. “That was probably the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me.” “No worries, kid, stay stay out there.” Tim and Holly walked out of the room side by side. Holly felt something heavy in her pocket, looking inside, she saw Carly’s remote. Whatever that monster that attacked her earlier and put her in these clothes had apparently decided to let her keep it. She shuddered thinking about using it, thinking of what it did to her Mom and Mrs. Weinen, but, before the end of this, she might have to use on someone herself. Walking out of the hospital, Tim took in a breath of fresh morning air, walking towards his car, he glanced at the dark stain on the passenger seat. Holly looked at the blood stains Jeremy had left there last night, and decided to sit in the back. The car whirred to life, and the pair drove towards the city line. As they approached a sign that said, “Leaving Derry, come back soon!” A clown holding a bundle of balloons waved at Holly, pointing at the sign, laughing as the car drove past. Chapter 7 The morning light was bright and blinding on Tim’s eyes as he sped down the alarmingly empty road. As though people instinctively sensed the danger in going to Kingswood, they seemed to be staying away en masse. A sign was approaching. ‘Kingswood ~ Population 3871 ~ Always Growing’. More like shrinking, Tim thought grimly as he and Holly passed by the sign. He took a second to glance back at his companion, half expecting to see the young woman asleep, but only saw her staring out the window. Opening his mouth, he swiftly closed it. Unsure of what to say, what are people supposed to say in situations like this? Sorry your family got turned into over sized infants? My condolences? At least you’re not drooling on a pacifier right now? The silence was heavy now that he was aware of it. He was tempted to turn on the radio just to have some noise, but resisted the impulse. Turning his attention back towards the road, he stopped thinking about speaking for the moment. Until. “Ahh…” A quiet sigh came from the backseat. “You doing alright, kid?” Tim was surprised by the words out of his mouth, he was sure that he had nothing to say. Holly gave him a look of irritation before looking back outside. “No, obviously. I was going to be out of this town, soon. Y’know?” She watched the trees flash by in the window. “I was accepted to Bates College, I was going to be the first Jackson in my family to go to college in 3 generations.” The brag sounded hollow. “I wasn’t going to be like Mom or Grandma and get knocked up as soon as I got out of high school. But, I guess we’re just destined to deal with babies.” “Hmm,” Tim said noncommittally. Another sigh. “Who could’ve imagined I’d just be dealing with my Mom’s and sister as my babies? I kind of wish I could just take off, forget about them. Go live my life, but, I can’t help but worry about them.” “Yeah-” His eyes went towards the glovebox. “You’re stronger than me.” “Huh?” “Well, I just,” Tim could feel his mouth dry as his impulses screamed at him to open the glove box. “I didn’t stay. For Robbie. I ran away as soon as I could.” There was a hesitation, “So did I.” “That’s completely different. You took off after a crazy robot busted in and tried to regress you. I ran away because I needed a drink.” As they got closer to the town center, they pass by empty homes, doors crushed open, cars pulled by the side of the road, lights left on to let the batteries die, the streets deserted without even a cat or dog roaming. “Ha! I could use a drink after all that too.” “Aren’t you too young?” Holly scoffed at the notion. “Don’t be ridiculous. I’m 18, it’s not like I’ve never had a drink before. Didn’t you party at my age? Besides, I feel like I’ve aged 10 years after all thi- Oww!” There was a sharp pain in Tim’s head, he closed his eyes, gripping his head with his hand, the other white knuckling the steering wheel. The sensation came suddenly, without warning, a feeling that was like listening to nails on a chalkboard rearing through his mind. In the back, Holly was clutching her head with both hands, knees raised and crying from the pain inside her, vocalizing her pain much more than Tim, grunting as the pain became unbearable. It was like worms crawling out of the dirt, wriggling to the surface of Tim’s mind. Words squirmed under his conscious. Words that took root, words that grew into feelings, branching out to belief. The pain was easing back, wrapping him up. Timmy felt silly. What was he doing? The road looked funny as it sped in front of him, and something else felt funny in his pants, a gurgling sound came from his belly as the front of his undies became warm and wet, pee spurting from his special parts and running down his shaft and balls, soaking his undies and pants. A bubble burst as a fart trumpeted from his backside, causing a silly, muffled giggle coming from the back. Timmy looked back and saw the other baby sticking her knuckles as far into her mouth as she could, her diaper on full display under her party dress with her legs open and her knees up, slouched crookedly in her seat belt. CRAASH! His eyes off the road, Tim’s car collided with the abandoned car in front of him. His chest rammed into his seat belt then the steering wheel, and more than that, the pain in his head was back, making his thoughts feel like they were on fire and wrong. A groan came from Holly. Grunting, Tim looked back, Holly with the bridge of her nose getting massaged by two fingers, “Ohhh, poopie, ugh, I mean shit!” She moaned. She looked towards Tim, “What happened?” “I don’t know- It’s getting worse,” Tim rested a palm on his trousers, immediately regretting it feeling the wet material. “Damn it, I crapped myself.” “Yeah, uhh, I don’t feel too fresh down there too,” Holly admitted with a blush. Tim un-clipped his seat belt, grimacing as he got out of the car, feeling the warm mush ooze down his backside, feeling bruised by the impact. Holly got out the other side, trying her best to pull down the hem of her dress. “I don’t know how much time we have, we have to hurry.” Tim said, averting his gaze. Holly nervously chewed on a nail. “Should- should we still split up? Maybe we should stick together, if we get like that again, maybe we could, shake the other out of it?” Shaking his head, Tim gave his car one last forlorn look before looking around, seeing the Walmart close by. “No, go get that thing, I’ll try and go with me plan.” Frowning, a look of anger returned to Holly’s face, grounding her a bit, “I still say blowing up the ship is the wrong thing to do. Look around, this place is empty! You know where everyone is? That damned ship! You’d be placing explosives right next to my family, friends, everyone I’ve ever known! Robbie too…” She added, hoping that would jostle Tim out of the plan. “When you were all baby brained, how did you feel?” “What?! I- what does that have to do with anything?” Tim cleared his throat. “I know I felt like nothing, just silly little Timmy without a thought or care in the world. That’s not me, that wasn’t anything like me! I wouldn’t wish that on anybody. I know what I have to do, so- If you disagree with me, you’d better run off and get your teleporter, because if I don’t see you at the ship, that’s the only plan I’ve got.” Tim began to walk towards the large store. Holly gave a huff in Tim’s direction, then proceeded towards the Weinen house. The Walmart was as bright as ever, yet ominously empty as Tim scrambled over abandoned piles of adult baby paraphernalia left scattered all over the department store. Even in the quietest hours in the dead of night, Tim had never seen the store so still. Not a soul but his own was in here. With every movement Tim could feel the squish of the mess in the back of his boxers, hastening his quest to get a fresh pair of clothes. He passed by many piles of toddlerish pants and shorts that would do in a pinch, but had a hard time letting go of his dignity to go that route. He kept going towards the center of the store where the men’s wear would be, having to walk around carts filled with toys, baby food, and changing supplies. It seemed like the last patrons of the store had left in a hurry, and with all the strewn goods all over, not without a few tantrums did they leave. Tim sighed coming to the desired area, even this section of the store was touched by the warped mind virus that had affected everyone else. Racks that would’ve been filled with hoodies, shirts, jeans, cargo pants have been altered to be more babyish, plain shirts replaced by onesies adorned with trains, cartoons, and dinosaurs going ‘rawr’, pants that had buttons on the crotch and legs for easy changes. Even the signs desplaying the latest fashion had been altered to fit the new reality, models that used to have happy or stoic men now showed them playing with toys on the floor in shortalls or grinning in a onesie and fresh bib in a high chair with a decidedly artificial hand reaching out with a spoon full of goop. He was certain, though he hadn’t given the store too much of scrutiny, those pictures hadn’t been up there yesterday. Tim looked around and grabbed a pair of the least offensive pants that he could find before moving on to hopefully find some new underwear. He didn’t have too much luck in that area either, where there were once boxers, briefs, and whitey tightys along with everything in between, now his options seemed to be between Pull-Ups and diapers decorated with balls and motorcycles and more masculine subjects, though he couldn’t help but recoil at the sight of a motorcycle with a face smiling at him waving with stick hands, right next to more unisex options that featured teddy bears and happy suns and moons. A tiny voice inside him whispered, even big boys can wear diapers, Timmy! He violently shook away the thought, considering just going without underwear, but decided against it as more childish impulses ate away his reservations. Tim looked over his shoulder one way then the other, before dropping trow then and there, disgusted by the contents of his pants tossed them away. He grabbed a pair of wipes and started to clean his butt and thighs. He thought of the first day Robbie had spent, did she feel as embarrassed as he did diapering herself? He thought about his ex lover as he ripped open the package of the plainest Pull-Ups he could see, a light blue pair with gray thunder clouds all over it that he could at least pretend to just be briefs, only with a bit of extra cushioning, and no dick hole, he supposed the men that wore these weren’t really expected to make it to any potties, of course they weren’t, he thought as he slid them over his sneakers and up his thighs, they’re just there because big boys like him could still run and play! “Wait, no, I’m not a ‘big boy’,” He tried to reassure himself, “I’m a grown up- an adult!” Though the feeling of it being a lie grew inside him. Feeling a sense of shame, he wrestled up his new pants and made his way out of the store. As he approached the the exit, a glint caught his eye over in the food section of store. Down a familiar aisle, unmolested by the change, a bottle of cheap whiskey laid on the floor of what used to be the liquor aisle, now changed to be full of pouches of pureed food and yogurts that could be sucked through a straw. Tim slowly approached the bottle. Looking down at it, he felt his thirst again. Leaning down, he snatched his prize, not minding as his childish underwear was shown to the air, even with no one there, he couldn’t help but feel a little insecure at the top of it peeking just above his waistband. He twisted the cap open, and let the amber liquor fall down his throat, feeling an immense relief. The little voice in his head chimed in again, it wouldn’t be too bad to just sit here for a minute and take a drink, Robbie was with her friends, and they could play soon, and Holly was a big girl, she could do her plan and everything would be fine, and if not, she’d be little soon and would be able to be with her family just like she wanted to- Tim chucked the bottle down on the hard tile floor, glass shrapnel flying as it shattered satisfyingly on the ground, wiping his chin with his sleeve. Even with that little bit burning his throat, Tim could feel his inhibition etched away by his worst impulses and the growing feeling of being Little. “Heeellooo?” Tim froze as he heard a sing song voice call out to him. “Is there a lost Little One in heere?” Tim looked over the 8 foot tall giant woman come into view, grinning down at him. It looked down at the shattered bottle on the floor, scanning it. “Did someone try something he didn’t like? Don’t worry honey, Mommy has something much tastier for babies like you, just come here!” It commanded Tim. For a second, Tim felt like he should just stand there, raised his arms up and accept the inevitable, before turning around and sprinting through the aisle. He heard the machine giggle to itself, “Awww, does Mommy have to chase her little scamp? Come over here baby boy!” Tim threw down as much as he could into the path of the machine, full carts, displays of jars of baby food that left puddles of goop all over the floor, getting to the end of the aisle he turned left, barely giving the machine a glance to see if it was abated by his attempts to stall it in any way, only to see it stomp through the fallen carts, glide easily through the dropped food without a care for stepping into the glass. “Mommy’s gonna get you!” It called out to him, eyes glowing red briefly. He sprinted down the back aisle, in between the freezer section and next to an array of cheeses, he was about to turn down the cold aisles when the machine crashed through one of the refrigeration units, sending sparks, glass, and bits of metal everywhere. “Heeeere’s Mommy!” “Fuck!” Tim did an 180 and sprinted towards the back of the store, he jumped through a pair of double doors towards the employee area looking everywhere for an exit, pallets full of crates and boxes of goods scattered everywhere in between shelves full of stock in the gray, concrete laden floor, his eyes darting around for shutters for delivery, the sounds of stamping metal behind him telling him his time was running out. A steel door with a dingy window welcomed freedom, Tim hurried over to it, each step the thin padding between his legs an unwelcome reminder that he should just stop running, let Mommy pick him up and take him to all his friends where he could sit down, Mommy would probably even let him have a drink from her boobies like little Candy Greenbriar, he would be happy and not have to concern himself with anything. Tim was running from this slippery slope just as much as the rampaging machine behind him. He gripped the metal knob just as the robot entered the back area. “There you are Little One! Are you all done playing chase?” Tim jiggled the knob faster, growing frustrated at much resistance the old and worn door was giving him, given how banged up and worn the sides of it were, it must’ve been decades since it’s been replaced. The sounds of heavy footfall was getting louder behind him. “Coooome heeere!” It was steadily approaching him, he looked over at it, crouching down, ready to lunge like a tiger, with a yelp, he jumped away, letting it crash through the door, leaving a hole in the plaster around the door, like a Looney Tunes character. Tim side stepped through the hole, as the machine gathered itself and searched around for him. Sprinting, Tim made his way towards the front of the store, his sneakers making splat sounds on the pavement beneath him, soon joined by stamping as the robot began making its way towards him again. Teeth gritting, sweat was pouring down his face, heart was pounding in his throat, adrenaline was burning through Tim as each move he made was dictated by instinct. Reaching the parking lot, he hopped into a parked sedan, locking the door behind him as the robot reached him. He was climbing over the center console just as the robot ripped the door off it’s hinges and grabbed his shoe. Slipping his shoe off, he jumped out the other side and zigzagged around other parked cars as the robot struggled to free itself from the sedan. Tim couldn’t help but feel like a toddler running through the parking lot with a missing shoe, like he had lost it during play. Each step lopsided and awkward, his left foot falling lower than the other as he made his way towards a brick wall separating the property from the smaller businesses. He jumped into the first building he ran across. An old barber shop was what he found as a sanctuary, he cringed as the bell above the door jingled as he came in. He hurried to the back, past the waiting area and the row of chairs through a heavy curtain separating the employee area and the floor. He peeked out the curtain, at the large windows towards the street as the robot came into view, looking everywhere for him outside, calling out and cooing for him. “Ohhh baaaaby!” It called out, “Come out, come out, where ever you are! Mommy has a treat for you!” It yelled out trying to tempt Tim. He ducked down, trying to make himself a small target while the machine stalked down the road. Tim sighed, sitting on the floor with his back to the wall, feeling the sweat on the back of his shirt, and with horror, found the padding around his crotch also damp, hoping that it was just the sweat the made his back moist too, or else he was further gone than he thought. He wrestled his last shoe off and left it as he went back to the front, the smell of aftershave choking the air around him. He looked around for anything he could use to defend himself, settling on a straight razor that he knew was really only in his hand to make himself feel better. The old barber shop had been there for over half a century. Tim had come in here a couple of times while seeing Robbie. The white haired man that ran this place usually taking the customers, occasionally having help rotate in and out over the years was a kindly sort, usually reserving just small talk for Tim, but always had a lot to say to Robbie when she came in. The more practical sort, Robbie had been coming to this barber shop since she was small, preferring it over the newer hair salon down the street, Tim remembered Robbie and the old barber chatting for hours, as she always let other customers go in front of her, as she helped the doddering fella with sweeping while talking about the goings on in town. Tim tried to forget about the woman Robbie used to be while making his plan. The Kingswood Cafe was only a few doors down from the old barber shop, but he was sure he could still hear the robot outside. He knelt down next to the chairs in the waiting room, his socks getting dirtier and dirtier with every step on the linoleum. Tim had to bite the inside of his cheek to ground himself when he saw the toys in the corner, the buzzing in his head compelling him to pay attention to the toy roller coaster in the corner with colorful wood pegs, the icon of the kiddie waiting area that brought Tim back to walking into doctor’s offices with his real Mom as a kid and playing while they waited. Sighing, Tim grabbed the bell from above the door, gently and slowly, pulling it away and setting it down on a pile of magazines and newspapers next to the door and let himself out as silently as he could. He thought about the people playing on the streets he saw, people running around playing tag and catch, the girls skipping and laughing, as he stepped over a lost jump rope. Looking around, he couldn’t help but feel like he was in a ghost town, with the empty cars on the road, stores that would normally be bustling by this time in the day. Kingswood felt like a shadow of its former self, and Tim had a sad feeling that this change would be permanent. Walking on to the patio of the cafe, Tim could hear the distant trudging of the machine close by, reminding him that the monster on the loose was still searching for him and his time was precious. The bean smell had mixed with a strong odor of baby powder, neither of which would be too offensive on its own but combined like this made it feel perverse in a strange way. On the counter was a free sample of Kingswood Cafe and Bakery diapers, with its mascot bear with a steaming mug plastered on it. There was a horrible impulse to try it on in Tim’s head, but ignoring that, he walked around the counter to his goal. For a moment, Tim was confused by the sleek silver machine in front of him, trying to remember what April did to make the machine work, until it clicked in his mind. Staring at the matter replicator, he realized that he couldn’t just tell it to make an explosive, he had to show it an example of one first, but there was a short cut he could use. Tinkering with the machine, Tim intuitively knew what to do, incredible secrets were leaking into his brain, stacking up, becoming too much to allocate attention to anything. Tim wanted to go through everything in the place, take apart every piece of electronic and make it better, bust open the TV take the circuits and make machinery that the Earth has only ever dreamed of. His mind was filling up with ideas and possibilities and would’ve been laughable to him only a few days ago. No, he couldn’t just make a whole sale grenade out of nothing, but when everything is made of an element, of atoms and protons and electrons, life and everything around it was built up of legos. Fiddling with the machine for a few minutes, he came away with the start of his bomb, a simple detonator in the shape of a silver stylus and a black rod, only for the door to open behind him. “Hello, sweet boy!” The robomommy said, walking towards the counter. “Was baby looking for a sweet drink? You know Mommy has everything you need, baby boy,” Tim looked at the first explosive in his hand, and back to the machine approaching him. Tim had to think quick and grabbed the diaper off the counter. “Momma,” he said in the smallest, most pathetic voice he could manage. “Timmy needa changie…” He held out the diaper to the machine, metal tendrils came out of the sides of the machine over the counter, grabbing the diaper and continued to reach out for him. “Mommy is very, very proud of you for telling him, now…” A steel claw gripped his wrist and started pulling him towards it. Tim saw the diaper inch towards the center of the machine, gulping, he dropped to the floor and hit the tip of the stylus, the explosive hidden inside the diaper going KRRRBEWM! In the machines hands, vibrating the whole building, sending dust, wood, and metal everywhere. Tim got off the floor, coughing, covered in dust and debris. He looked around in a panic at the wreckage of the cafe, scanning for… There! He pulled out the silver machine out of a pile of wood and sighed in relief as he saw it was intact, before a more pressing issue became known to him. There was an ache, a sharp pain, as Tim looked down and saw a piece of the robot’s arm lodged in his shin, a large metal tube coming out one leg and into the other. He swore. “That’s one bad booboo…” Holly walked through the empty streets of her town, passing by the same homes and buildings that had become a familiar backdrop all of her life. She had been playing down these streets since she was wearing diapers the first time, went on many playdates on the very road the Weinen house was on. She tried to ignore the squelching feeling that had been between her legs since the horrible signal had begun to finally affect her, with every step reverberating through her body, her braces tingled between her teeth, and put the memories of childhood out of her head. It wouldn’t do to dwell on thoughts of playing when the urge to skip and sing were increasingly easy to fall to. Distracting herself, she thought of her future. She could still attend college in a couple of months, go through all that, find a boyfriend (not a Daddy, she firmly told herself), go get a job with real responsibility, start a family of her own. She ran through fantasies over and over again, stopping periodically when some fantasies began to drift towards her getting diaper changes or going to a daycare. Holly stood in front of the Weinen house, picturesque as it always had, the light blue home the epitome of suburbia, complete with immaculate lawn and beautiful garden Mrs. Weinen had spent countless hours tending to only marred by tacky flamingos and cutesy ceramic garden gnomes, trying not to picture Mrs. Weinen getting turned into the babified version of herself by the remote that hung heavily in sash around his waist. She gave it one last look before walking towards it, stopping dead in her tracks when she heard a giggle. Turning her head, she saw the owner of the gym in town dragging around a woman in a space themed onesie. Holly studied the woman for a moment, taking in how normal she looked in her tights, and tank top, though she couldn’t help but notice the stretchy material around her crotch looked a tad darker than the rest. “Oh! I thought we’d never find you a little sister, Alice! Hi, sweetie! Are you lost?” Ginger waved at her, approaching Holly with the girl in tow. “No, I’m good with whatever- all this is,” Holly motioned with a hand. “Leave me alone.” “That’s not what your clothes say!” Ginger said with a manic look. “Just come to Mommy and she’ll take you away, she’ll take care of everything from now on!” She promised, her eyes filled with lust. Holly scoffed, “Seriously?! You’re what? Going to tell me I’m asking to be babied based on what I’m wearing? You’re a creep!” Ginger frowned, not expecting this kind of resistance from the girl in the pink party dress. “I- Come on, princess, Mommy can see you need a change from here. Is your pretty diaper supposed to sag under your cute dress?” Pointing at the other woman’s crotch. “I’d worry about yourself if I were you. You look like you need a change more than me. Why don’t you go find one of the crazy robots and go get a ‘Mommy’ to change you, hmm?” The idea put a halt to Ginger’s advance towards Holly. “M-Mommy?” The idea seemed to bounce inside her head. “N-no! I’m the Mommy, and you’re the baby!” She decried the idea shrilly before resuming her approach towards Holly. Alice was looking back and forth between the two. “Listen, I don’t have time for this. The more time we spend in the place the worse we’re going to get. Just go! I’m busy.” “N-no… I’ve been waiting for this for too long! I’m going to finally be the Mommy to real adult babies, and you’re coming with me whether you like it or not.” Ginger lunged at Holly, grabbing her tightly. Struggling, Holly tried to get away from the crazy lady, only to realize the other woman was considerably stronger than her. Pulling a hand away, Holly swung her hand outstretched, digging her nails into Ginger’s face. “Oww!” Ginger cried, clutching at the scratches on her cheek, “You little bitch!” With no thought, Ginger threw a fist at Holly, impacting at her eye. Holly fell on to the grass, gathering her wits as she could feel her right eye begin to swell, saying, “T-that’s a bad word!” She pursed her lips for a second. That wasn’t what she meant to say. In the quick tangle and blow to the head, the childish thoughts had begun to take over Holly. She could feel her mind slowing, wanting to give into the baby inside her. “You little brat!” Ginger glared at Holly kneeling on the grass in front of the Weinen home. “You are going to get such a spanking!” Yelping, Holly got up and ran to the front door, slamming it shut behind her and quickly latching the deadbolt. Seconds after she could hear the knob jostled then pounding on the door. “Let Mommy in you brat!” Holly let a sigh out, letting herself fall down on the steps on the staircase in front of the door, about to turn away when a garden gnome came flying through the bay windows, a shower of glass raining down on the white couch in front ot it. A shriek came from Holly as Ginger climbed through new opening, Holly could hear the girl in the space onesie cry from the street. Glowering, huffing, Ginger let our a shriek, “You come to Momma now!” She leapt from the couch towards the stairs that Holly was crawling up as quickly as she could, only for her ankle to be grabbed, pulled, dragging her towards the crazed woman. Holly cried out, banging her chin against the steps. Her dress was pulled up, and the first of many hits came to her butt and thigh, sending a smarting pain up Holly. Holly had been spanked one time in her life, she had been 3, running after her older sister, laughing and swinging a hard plastic wiffle ball bat around acting like she was going to be beat her big sis (she probably was, but remembering this she couldn’t quite recall her intentions) when wildly swinging she had busted a glass cabinet that had been handed down by her Mom’s grandmother. Her Mom, furious at first, left her alone in her room for an hour while Holly had cried it all out and Mom calmed down, when her Mom finally came, explained to her how important that heirloom had been and how her carelessness had ruined something that Holly or Carly or maybe one of their daughters was supposed to have one day, then, as cooly as she could, Pearl Jackson had put Holly on her lap, and spanked her. Then Holly spent the next hour feeling sorry for herself in her room, rubbing her sore bottom. That first smack from Ginger brought Holly back into the mindset of that little girl, filled with shame and pain, tears were filling her eyes as Holly brought a knee up and sent her scratched up Mary Jane shoe right into Ginger’s face. “Ahhh! Bad baby! Bad baby!” Ginger pounded her fists into the carpet, her tantrum telling Holly that she was losing her own fight with the signal from the ship, but as Ginger got up, leaving a new wet trail on the carpet from where she landed. Holly’s hand went towards the sash around her waist before she fully grasped what she was doing, pointing the remote at Ginger and fired. She watched the beam hit the woman, causing her to stop where she was crawling on the stairs, her hair falling out in tufts, her boobs shrinking to nothing and body filling with fat as she turned into an oversized baby. Ginger wailed out in confusion, while Holly stepped over her, trying to ignore the new warm sensation that was in her diaper. The bright sunshine outside was dizzying as Holly tried to get her bearings, walking off the multiple sources of humiliation that warmed her under her dress, squinting through her steadily worsening black eye to see the platform that she had seen Carrie Weinen vanish from yesterday, before Holly had known even more shit could hit the fan. She pulled the parts of the wooden platform away until only a small round dish about three feet in diameter, connected to a bluish steel box with dials and knobs that Holly wondered if they were only for decoration. “Mommy acting funny.” Holly turned, seeing Alice standing by the backdoor. Turning back to examine the dish and machine, she called out to the girl, “She’s not your Mommy. She’s just some pervert that got a taste of her own medicine.” The girl frowned at this, Holly tried not to pay too much attention to her as she focused on wrapping her head around the strange machine in front of her, finding it surprisingly easy to figure out the more she studied it. It was far from anything she should understand, but as the seconds went by, and the ship’s signal affected her more and more, Holly realized she it was all so simple. With the machine in between her legs, her diaper sticking out from her splayed stance much more than a clear headed Holly would’ve liked, she was taking apart the dish and box with one hand, her off hand was getting slobbered on as she sucked her thumb. Alice had taken a spot on her knees not far from Holly, at first curious what she was doing with the machine, occasionally looking back towards the house where her former “Mommy” was wailing from. She fidgeted in her spot, the tedium wearing down her diminished attention span, until a naughty thought crossed her. Crawling over to Holly’s spot, her palms and knees becoming green from the grass, Alice knocked the machine out of her hands. Holly whipped her head back, crying out, “Hey!” Her lips quivering, ready to start bawling. With her tongue sticking out, Alice gave a taunting, “You’re it!” Smacking Holly with a grassy palm before crawling away. Holly glanced at the box on the ground, knowing she should be working on it as fast as she could before… Try as she might, Holly couldn’t remember what the deadline was, in fact, the whole reason for working on the teleporter was becoming a distant memory, and with a giggle, she started crawling after Alice. The two girls crawled after each other in the yard, going in between chairs that had been left there yesterday, hiding behind pieces of the platform, trading back and forth ‘it’. Holly lost all concept of time, her inhibitions and plans becoming dust, all that existed was this moment, until she heard something coming from the house that knocked her out of her daydream like state. “Oh you poor thing! Let Mommy get you dressed. Silly thing, you are a mess!” One of the robots, and so close! Holly glanced back towards the machine, and tried to stand up to run to it, only to forget how to for a moment. She struggled to stand, her legs bent and bowed, pigeon toed, Holly fought to keep from screaming as she waddled towards her goal like a real toddler. “And I see we have two more lost Little Ones!” Holly glanced over and saw the giant in a green dress holding the bald Ginger in a fresh white onesie furiously suckling at the robot’s teat. “Come here, sweetie, are you hungry?” Alice squealed and crawled towards her. Holly turned her attention towards the machine she actually wanted, each step she took felt like it took a monumental effort. She fell inches away from the teleporter, scampering towards the last distance on her hands. Reaching out to grab the dish, a revelation dawning on her as it was finally in her hands, she ripped the box apart, finding the key component that would enable the teleportation. The back of Holly’s skirt was grabbed just as a tiny glass vial was in her hands. Holly let out a squeak looking up at the towering figuring, holding Ginger in one arm and Alice in the other, a probing tendril snaking underneath her dress, giving her padded rear a squeeze, Holly let out a gasp as a mushy mess smashed against her crotch. “Uh-oh! Did someone leave Mommy a stinky surprise? Did she?” Holly blushed, one hand reaching down, she hadn’t realized she had messed during her playtime, she struggled against the shame and the urge to give up, lashing out with her whole body trying to get away from the robot while keeping the vial in her grip. “Nuh-uh!” The robot said in a sing-song voice, “Now’s not the time for play!” More tendrils came out from the machine’s sides, pinning Holly down. Her previous experience in her home came back in a flashback as she was held down, her privates feeling the refreshing cool air as the diaper tapes were ripped away. Warm tears were slowly cascading down Holly’s cheeks while she whimpered as the robot cleaned her up, Holly’s butt felt the warm grass beneath her for a second, and then the cool cotton of a fresh diaper replacing it, a few sobs escaped Holly’s lips while the robot (Mommy) finished it’s (her) job. Holly’s muddled thoughts becoming more erratic by the second, her panic overwhelming her focus. “Someone’s a cranky pants! Mommy know how to fix that!” Holly watched as Ginger was lowered from Mommy’s chest, and to Holly’s horror she was raised to replace her. Holly’s face brushed against the artificial sack of milk, her mouth adjusted towards the nipple, tears still flowing, Holly found herself automatically latching on to it, warm cream filling her mouth before she knew what she was doing. She whipped her face away and spat out the sweet concoction, it ran down her front, covering her chin and neck, before her head was pressed back to the boob. Once again, as soon as her lips tickled from the nipple, her baby side, growing stronger by the second, latched and the cream filled her mouth, a metallic hand keeping her from moving her head away again, Holly desperately tried to keep herself from swallowing any of it, but eventually a choke came from the back of her throat and she let a rough, heavy gulp go down. As soon as that first gulp hit her belly, Holly could feel herself slipping away, her sucking became more steady, and her goals becoming a loose idea. With precious few seconds left to her, Holly reached towards the holographic skin of Mommy, feeling a strange buzzing on her arm as the light tickled her skin. She felt a tangle of cords inside, blindly fumbling inside until she felt a connection, then let her hand relax and fell out of the machine. Holly let herself become absorbed by drinking, in the distance, she could hear Alice greedily gulp and suck just like she was, and Ginger mewling. After an eternity, Holly was pulled away, fresh dribbles of cream falling from the corner of her mouth, she blinked up at the afternoon light as she hiccuped. Lazily, she squinted up at Mommy who smiled down at baby Holly, pushing her up to a shoulder and giving some light patting on baby’s back until she let out a burp, and let a dribble soak into her diaper at the same time. Baby giggled a little at the sound she made, cooing in comfort. Gripping the fabric of the dress Mommy wore, Holly’s tired eyes began to falter. “Alright ladies, let’s get you back home!” Baby heard as she settled down for her nap. Tim hobbled on the dirt path up towards the cabin, a tote bag on his shoulder from the cafe weighing heavy on his shoulder, passing by the wreck doors of the Jackson home, the eerie stillness of Jeremy Copper’s house, and many more like them. Grimacing with each step, Tim left a trail of blood from his weeping wound, but there was a silver lining to his pain and slowness: he was grounded, he still felt the siren song that called to him, telling him to end his resistance, but it was drowned out by the pain he felt every time his leg moved. In front of Robbie’s cabin, a large path was made, Robbie’s jeep pushed to the side, based on the tire tracks, it was literally pushed, leaving deep gouges in the earth and two large dents on the doors. The dirt had been stamped flat, some of it had been gone around the cabin, trampling the green grass flat, others had gone through the home, making it look like a twister had hit the place. The couch had been flipped upside down, cabinets were opened and emptied, it looked like the living room had been turned into a make shift changing station, a large blanket and several diapers and changing supplies piled up ready for use, the kitchen counter lined up with dirty bottles and empty jars of baby food and… On the counter was bottle of whiskey, tied to the neck with a piece of twine was a note with Tim’s name of it. Tim grabbed the note and the bottle and begun to read it. “Sorry I missed you, Timmy, and you get got dragged into all this. I don’t know if you’re ever going to see this, but I had to say byby goodbye one last time. The dig is almost done, and it’s getting hard to tink to know words good, had to write this quick. I think mebbe maybe it was wrong to try and fix you, even if it was for a good reason, its hard for me to turn back now two, so I ask one of the Mommy’s to leave this hear for you, I hope you get it. Have a good life, Timmy, maybe we’ll see each other again, one day, but I’m not sure I’ll be able to recog know you. -I always love you, Robbie” Tim looked at the note, next to Robbie’s name was a wet mark where it looked like she left a kiss, though it was hard to tell without lipstick, and over the margins were little doodles, with flowers and hearts, a stick figure with ‘Scruffles’ helpfully identifying it. Tim walked over to the back window and stared out, with the bottle in one hand and the note in the other, letting the bag hit the floor. Towards the woods, in the direction of the ship, he could hear the sounds of many people. He looked down at the bottle and wondered about Robbie, wondering if she could ever bounce back from all this, or if anyone else could, or if even he could. With a sad look on his face, he twisted the cap open on the bottle and took a large swig, only to swear when he felt his crotch warm. “Shit!” He pulled away his pants and watched helplessly as his Pull-Ups soaked up his uncontrolled pee. Tim slumped down against the wall, head on his knees, listening to the distant voices, occasionally filling his mouth with more burning liquor. He could wait here, one of those robots would be around eventually, right? It would be so easy to give up here. Glug, glug, glug. The damage was already done. Maybe Holly would be around soon, her plan was better anyway. Glug, glug, glug. He felt his Pull-Ups warm more, and felt a dribble escape the boundaries of the thin incontinence undergarment, soaking into his babyish pants. Glug, glug, glug. At this point, he should just stick himself into one of those diapers and be done with it. He failed, he was a screw up, with his bum leg there was no way he was getting anywhere close to the ship without someone stopping him anyway. Besides, if Robbie was there, would he really have the stomach to… Glug, glug, glug. For awhile, he sat there, in a pool of his shame feeling sorry for himself. “Heehee!” From outside, he heard a giggle from a woman, Tim got off the floor, and saw a robot in a green dress, carrying three girls, one of them in a distinctly familiar pink party dress. Oh no, Tim thought to himself, Tim got up, waddling towards the backdoor of the cabin, his leg on fire slowing his pace, and saw the robot disappear into the trail. Head buzzing from the signal and whiskey, he remembered poor Candance, and in her place imagined Holly. The kid didn’t deserve that. The bottle slipped from his hand, spilling its contents on the wooden floor and followed, only grabbing his bag as an after thought before running (hobbling) after them. As quietly as he could, Tim followed the robot in the green dress, holding a girl in a space onesie in one arm who cooed and reached up for the robot’s face, in a tendril below her, a bald, flat chested woman dimly waggled her arms, not appearing to be in full control of her limbs even more than the other babified people, and then in the left arm, Holly snored, one leg hanging over the machine’s arm, a smile on her dreaming face. Tim felt sick at the sight, and promised himself, if nothing else, he would get her away from here, gritting his teeth and ignoring his pain as much as he did the wet, squelching that was soaking his pants. The sounds of people grew louder as they approached where the dig site was, and soon, where there was once trees, Tim saw the clearing around the ship had grown exponentially larger, it looked like an outdoor concert venue, a sea of people everywhere, for every 10 one of the robots, he saw playpens scattered around holding the denizens of the town playing inside, bassinets built out of the newly fallen cribs holding dozens of people, several tents were around too, though Tim couldn’t see what was going on in them. He watched as the three girls were deposited in the nearest playpen, Tim found it easy to join the crowd of people unnoticed, passing by people of all ages, some of them wearing only diapers, others with short shirts and dresses that barely went below their waists, a few lucky people got to have their padding covered by shortalls, shorts, or skirts. As Tim passed by them, he realized the distinction between those in the playpens and those outside, everyone out could stand and waddle a bit, while the playpens were reserved for crawlers, nobody seemed to wander away where ever they were placed. Tim snuck into the playpen where he saw Holly was laid down on a blanket, she was up at this point, and staring up into the sky, reaching up for the clouds that passed by and wiggling her legs, gurgling sounds coming from her throat. Tim got on his hands and knees and slowly crept near her. He knelt above her, and looked down sadly at the independent young woman he had only met the previous night, once clearly ashamed by the childish outfits she was forced to wear and showing concern for her family, now wriggling about, giving anyone with a mind to look a flash of her diaper, that is when she wasn’t inadvertently hiking up her dress herself to show it off, a disgusting film of flaky white cream coated the front of her dress, her chin, and corners of her mouth. Holly gave Tim a toothy grin with her braces on full display when she noticed him staring down at him, before a bubble blew from her mouth, popping and sending the simple girl into a fit of giggles and kicking her feet up and down. “Kid? You in there?” Tim gently said, a look of concern flashed on Holly’s face, a look of recognition, before she looked up towards the sky at a passing cloud that caught her attention. “Holly?” Tim shook her shoulder a bit, Holly frowned, her eyes squinting like she was about to cry out. As a last resort, Tim pulled back his hand, and sent a slap right into Holly’s cheek. “Oww! You dick!” Holly said, turning her body away from Tim, holding her cheek. “Oh, thank God, Holly!” “Oww,” Holly repeated, getting on her hands and knees. “That hurt!” She gave Tim a hurt look, her lips pouting, “But thanks, I- that was awful. But, not? It was like being empty and full at the same time…” Tim put a hand gently on her shoulder, “Holly, you gotta focus, we have to get out of here.” Holly shook her head. “I- don’t know if I can,” She looked down at her legs disappointed. “I don’t think I can walk any more,” She said with a look of fear at her legs. “I don’t think I’m much of a walker, either,” Tim said, motioning at his bum leg. “Shit!” Holly swore, “What happened?” “Not important right now, I guess,” He hoisted the bag on his shoulders, “Plan A then…” “Wait!” Holly grabbed Tim’s arm. “Please, don’t, I got the teleporter, the robot that got me, I don’t know where she is, but she has this green dress, and she has blondish hair, it’s in her, please, just try and get rid of the ship that way, all these people, you don’t know how many people will get hurt, please!” She pleaded. “I’ll try my best-” Tim was grabbed from behind, looking up to see one of the machines, one in a red dress with floral patterns, pulling him up, sticking a cold hand down his pants. “Oh my, I thought I saw a baby boy in need of a change. And what happened to your leg? Oh, we’ll have to get you all cleaned up!” As Tim was carried away, Holly called out after him, “Please Tim! Don’t-” She disappeared as Tim was taken through the sea of people. Tim was taken to one of the tents, the sun was creeping towards the bottom of the skyline, there was a wait in line for a row of changing tables where men and women were stripped of their padded prisons, some of them babbling towards their ‘Mommy’s’, others sucking loudly on pacifiers or bottles. While they waited, Tim’s Mommy sprayed his wound with a nozzle from one of its tendrils, making him wince in pain while it was covered in a wrap. “Shh, shh, baby, it’s alright, Mommy makes it alllll better, see?” Tim wanted to complain, but it did feel better, though he wasn’t a fan of the kisses it put on his hurt leg. “Is someone hungry?” Tim watched the machine slip the front of its dress away from a breast and bring him towards it as the line edged forward. Thinking quickly, Tim shoved his thumb into his mouth and loudly and dramatically started sucking on it. With concerned eyes, he scanned the tent area, numerous robots were all inching along in line, each with a Little one in their arm, until he saw it. Holding the girl with the space onesie, the robot in the green dress. He kept his eyes glued to it. Tim was laid down on a soft bed like surface, and his pants were torn off of him. He idly wondered if he was ever going to wear pants again, as the Mommy told him, “Oh my, I don’t think this big boy is ready for training pants. Diapees are much comfier anyways, you’ll see!” Tim asked himself how many people who came here wearing Pull-Ups were told that same thing, though they probably didn’t mind as much as he did. A probing hand with no care for Tim’s privacy and dignity wiped every inch of his underside, he shivered in discomfort, while keeping an eye on the green dress the whole time, doing his best to ignore the embarrassing situation that was going on below. “Did someone have a poopy? Who thought it was a good idea to put this baby boy in Pull-Ups after that?” The machine asked eyeing a brown mark on the used wipe before disposing it. You wipe yourself in a Walmart in a hurry and see how thorough you are, Tim bitterly thought to himself, the whole time keeping his thumb firmly in his mouth before his ‘Mommy’ had any more bright ideas of filling his mouth with anything else. A fresh diaper was placed beneath him, his ‘Mommy’ decided her ‘baby boy’ needed a little extra care as others patiently waited in line, it rubbed cold lotion into his skin, making sure to rub it into every crease and crevice, Tim had to bite his thumb just to keep from swearing at it. Finally, he was doused with talcum powder, making him smell like a real infant before he was taped up. Eyeing the offending new underwear, Tim experimentally tried pressing his legs together, only to find he couldn’t get his thighs to meet. Inwardly he sighed in discontent, and went back to keeping an eye on the green dress. Alice was apparently in less dire straits in her pants, by the time Tim was being done being changed, she and her Mommy were already joined the crowd. He fought to no avail to get out of the robomommy’s grip so he could follow them, but was only brought into the crowd, before his squirming finally let the Mommy deposit him in one of the playpens. He saw an older couple cuddle with each other in nothing but their diapers, he thought he recognized one of them as a fire fighter that he occasionally saw at the bar, and his wife that he thought had something to do with the local school. Nearby them, he saw the barista from the Kingswood cafe playing with a teddy bear that looked like the one from the cafe’s logo, he blushed thinking of mess he left her work and avoided eye contact with her, though she seemed to be in her own little world. He snuck out of the playpen, keeping his tote bag tight against him while walking on his hurt leg smarted, but he persisted on the trail of the robomommy. Tim felt silly, avoiding them for nearly a day, and now he couldn’t get the attention of one. Pushing through the adult babies who offered little resistance, he finally saw his target, the Mommy who was kneeling down tickling one of the Littles. Creeping up on it, he tugged on it’s dress. It turned around and gave him a big smile. “Yes, baby? What can Mommy do for you?” Tim despised the condescending tone it made towards him as it stared down at him. Mustering up all his acting chops, Tim put his hands behind him and wiggled his hips back and forth the best her could trying to look like an innocent boy, not too difficult considering he was dressed like a toddler. “Mith Mommy,” He said with a very pronounced lisp, “Will you pwease take me to da ship?” Tim felt two arms grab his waist and lift him up. “Of course, sweetie!” As he was carried to the center of the field, Tim wondered where Holly could’ve hid the thing inside the robot, or how he was supposed to know what it was when he saw it. Taking a deep breath, Tim plunged his face inside the robot’s chest, his head buzzing through the hologram’s light. He saw it almost right away, a tiny vial filled with blue liquid, whitish bubbles floating inside like a lava lamp. A hand was on Tim’s head and he was pushed out. “Silly baby, that’s not how you get a drink!” The robot chastised Tim, leading him towards her nipple. He turned his head as far as he could, reaching his hand into the machine. He twisted and turned his head and hand, one trying to feel for the vial, the other avoiding being fed like his life, or maturity, depended on it. The soft fat of the artificial boob was pressed against his face, it was all he could to keep himself from opening his mouth when the nipple was brushed against his face he had to bite his tongue till he tasted blood to keep from giving into the urge to drink, the closer he got to the ship, the louder the child inside his mind screamed at him to give in, the buzzing in his head growing louder, it was maddening, it felt like an eagle screeching between his ears that grew louder and louder. With his resolve tested, the Mommy only got more insistent, pushing his face into her. Opening his mouth, he clamped down with the strongest bite Tim could muster, but this only made Mommy laugh at his antics, “Tsk, tsk!” She clicked her tongue. “Baby, you know you can’t hurt Mommy!” Tim said disapprovingly, just as Timmy’s fingers wrapped around the vial, he felt ashamed. Why was he trying to hurt Mommy again? He was being naughty. Looking down, feeling like a bad baby, his mouth was pushed on to the nipple, and he had a gulp of it before the revile hit him in the gut, a mixture of his shame and the cream mixing with whiskey turning into vile concoction. Timmy let go, before the acid come out from his belly, he let it all out. A mixture of disgust and fear of nearly being gone completely pumped the adrenaline inside of him. With his one good foot, Timmy braced it against Mommy’s chest and pushed himself away. There was resistance at first, then Timmy fell to the dirt, scampering away from Mommy’s grasp as she reached down to grab him. He crawled forward, between the legs of other Littles and Mommies, towards the warmth that he could feel, his hand tightly gripped around something while the weight of the bag on his shoulder dragging him down. Finally, a warm pink light hit Timmy’s face. Looking up, Timmy saw the sharp and round curves of the metal sphere, the warm pink lights emanating from each curve, only a small amount of the bottom still below the ground. Lights flickered on and off all around the ship, a large opening hatch beckoning towards him and all the Littles that surrounded the ship, some crawling into the ship, others sitting mesmerized, a few crying for anyone to come, slowly these people were gathered by the Mommies in the area and carried into the ship. The pink embraced Timmy, making him feel small and safe, one with everything and isolated. Baby Timmy was just a speck of dust in the grand scheme of everything. In the face of majesty, he only wanted to plant himself into the dirt and cry for his Mommy to come and grab him. Yet, he persevered, for Holly, for Jeremy and his family, for the people of Kingswood that would be relegated to a life of perpetual infanthood, for Robbie, and for himself: Tim crawled forward towards the entrance. His legs left the warm ground and fell on to cool metal ascending into the ship, at first, he was blind, only knowing to keep going forward by the echoes in the dark, the soft pitter-patter of hands and knees on the metal, other, heavier footsteps of the Mommies. He could hear the Mommies coming and going, though they had a considerably easier time in the dark, able to maneuver around the Littles heading inside. They passed by Timmy, the phantoms in the shadows, seeing him but leaving him be, knowing he was always stuck on his path. Soon, a little at the end of the tunnel appeared before him, and with it, silhouettes of others in front of him. Timmy’s eyes strained at the blinding light in front of him, and by the time he reached the large opening in the ship, he had nearly lost himself again, the pain in his leg, tongue, and the scrapping of the glass vial in his hand and the rough weight in the bag keeping him focused on his task at hand. Like the the outside, the large oval shaped room, the size of a theater hall was filled with sleek metal, flickering lights, and the bright pink that radiated from every surface that made Timmy feel dull and heavy, each inch he took more effort than the last, and on the walls, Littles everywhere, sucking from artificial teats like the ones the Mommies had, only they were strapped into strange seats with wires going into their bodies, rows of men and women up and down the walls mindlessly sucking the strange cream while some sort of energy was being taken from them, Mommies helping new Littles into the seats before leaving for more of the batteries, each new addition making the pink light shine brighter. And in the center, there she was, Robbie, nude saved for the diaper on her waist, hair thinning to a fine wisp that barely covered her head, belly big, on the lap of the biggest Mommy Tim had seen, he had to squint at her, for a few seconds, she looked just like the other Mommies, but if he looked closely, he could see a different shape, just as maternal but far more alien, the shape the Littles that came before would see as ‘Mommy’, blue and many limbed, a face that belonged to a creature closer to a cephalopoda than an ape, this was the original Mommy, connected to the ship on a throne with wires and tubes strapping her in place, the machine all the others were copies of sent into the minds of all that touched the ship’s signal. “Oh, Robbie, what have they done to you?” Tim asked himself with a heavy heart. The original Mommy seemed to look up at Timmy as he crawled in, and smiled at him kindly. She pointed at him, and two of the smaller Mommies grabbed Timmy and carried him towards her. “Timmy, at last, we’ve been waiting for you. You’ve been in my little Robbie’s mind a lot.” The original seemed to speak directly in Timmy’s head, it had to push its way into his mind but it still broke down the door regardless of how much resistance there was. One of the Mommy’s grabbed Timmy’s bag, with a look of shock, he clung to the tote the best he could, like a child getting his favorite toy taken away. “N-no! Mine! Stop!” He said desperatley. “Ah ah! Those aren’t toys for Little boys like you, sweetheart,” The original whispered loudly inside Timmy’s head. “Bring him to me, Robbie will be so happy to have him back.” Timmy struggled as he was put on to the original’s lap, Robbie seemingly to pay no mind to him, lost in her task of endless drinking. The original gave his hair a light brush before he was plugged into the breast in front of him. Within seconds, Timmy seemed to be on another plane, in a way, he was still vaguely aware and connected to his body, but it was like his mind was free flowing, bouncing up and down the ship, becoming part of the loud song the ship sang out, one of the orchestra of Littles and machines that made up the choir. It was hard to keep himself separated in that instant, it would be so easy to lose his individuality, just be another baby on Mommy’s lap. He was somewhat aware that his body was on auto pilot, sucking on the strange cream, wiggling about in quick, jittery spasms. There were dim lights all around him, growing dimmer by the second, that he could feel as the other Little’s minds, when their lights would be extinguished, Timmy intuitively knew they would be lost forever, and when that happened, the machines would replace them with another, each light gone would increase the range of the signal. Yet, there was one light that burned brighter than all the others, and wasn’t growing dimmer, right next to Timmy, Robbie, he could feel her, touch her mind, or her soul, or whatever these lights were. She wasn’t going out, it was almost as though she was being kept the way she was to set the frequency, [Hello?] Timmy reached out to the bright light next to him. It felt like waking someone up, giving them a nudge to tell them to it was time to move. [Timmy?] [Robbie?] [Timmy,] Robbie thought, or said, or maybe felt was the best way to describe this communication, Timmy had no frame of reference for how this soul to soul communication. Robbie felt a perverse amusement at this thought, knowing instantly how he was feeling. Then, she got sad. [I’m sorry.] She thought, dwelling in despair. [I didn’t mean for all this to happen. It just all felt so good, and everyone else felt good, I thought it was nice for everyone.] It was tough, but Timmy managed to move his physical body, and after a struggle, grabbed Robbie’s hand and held it. [I know, it’s ok.] [Mmmm…] A wave of comfort came from Robbie. [That feels nice.] And it did, the passing of comfort passed between the two back and forth enveloping them in a safe pleasure. [You were tricked, highjacked, Robbie. You couldn’t help it. But I can.] Before Robbie could ask him what he meant, Tim opened his eyes, staring into the original Mommy, one hand still in Robbie’s, he reached into the mechanical parts that made up Mommy, and found a loose wire, wrapping it around the vial of blue liquid in his hand. A flicker of electricity zapped the vial, and the entire ship shook. Finally satisfied, Timmy fell back, not physically, but all his maturity and sense of responsibility become untangled from his being, and Robbie, feeling Timmy’s release, joined him, as the ship and everyone on board vanished from the Earth, reappearing in a distant corner of space. Epilogue- Holly Jackson woke up from a dream, where she was just a happy baby, staring up at the sky as the sun set while a scruffy looking dog, her tummy aching and turning. She sat up, struggling a bit, looking down and to her dismay seeing a well used diaper strapped to her hips. All around her, she saw the people of Kingswood groaning and huffing, waking up from their own stupors, others, to Holly’s pity, she saw could barely move their heads. And, of course, the robots that had brought each and everyone of them to the empty clearing stood still, a hollow reminder of what they had all survived. A few of them, including Holly followed by a happy Scruffles, a shaken Marisa Copper holding her daughter Jenny Copper by hands and tugging her away from the ground of confused people, Alice and Lana O’Duff having found each other in the chaos also following them. As the night fell, those who left wandered the dark trail to the best of their ability, until they saw a cabin. Taking the lead, Holly barged in and immediately grabbed a phone and called for the authorities, as vague as she could, told them there was a huge emergency in the Kingswood forest, and to send as many medics as they could. Of course, she wasn’t taken too seriously, but still, an hour later, a whirring stream of red and blue whites appeared outside the cabin, and Holly told them there were a lot of people in the woods that needed help. By that time, Holly, Marisa, Alice, and Lana had raided Robbie’s wardrobe and put on whatever clothes fit them the best, Marisa Copper tried to get her daughter to get into something more than the onesie with the pink butterflies, only to find the still baby brained Jenjen didn’t mind her attire, if anything she didn’t mind wearing nothing but her diaper and even then, Marisa had to fight her adult daughter to keep it on Alice and Lana took off immediately after they got dressed, though Holly suspected they probably regretted that soon after, as both her and Marisa, feeling like they were in their right minds, still found their bottoms soiled and in need of the diapers that had laid scattered around the home. Holly gave Jeremy Copper a call, and Marisa, realizing who Holly was speaking to, demanded the phone, had a very confusing reunion over the phone with her father, while Jenjen kept tugging on her arm demanding to speak to Grampy. Over the next few hours, helicopters and EMS poured over the area, and soon after that, men and women in black suits appeared to interrogate everyone involved. Holly, as one of the few who could both talk, and probably the only one with the full story, was stuck in a facility for days. Many of the other residents of Kingswood became hospitalized or institutionalized, There seemed to be three categories for the survivors of what was called the Kingswood incident, the first, like Holly and Marisa and a few others with metal in their heads or had come to the town later, would spend the rest of their lives mildly incontinent, and, though they would be hard pressed to admit it, would sometimes have dreams and fantasies about being adult babies, for Holly’s part, in nearly every relationship until she found a husband, would try to get a boyfriend to eventually diaper her, and when she finally had her husband, would make their basement a secret play area for her. Then, there were the cases of those who spent most of their time on the outskirts of the signal, Maddie Weinen for instance, would spend the next few years of her life failing to regain her potty training completely, and trying to regain her education, mostly not recalling any of her previous life, though she still occasionally tried to show the nurses, doctors, and other Littles her magic tricks, and occasionally she asked where her sister Carrie was, she and a few others like her were allowed to stay with extended family, or they were left in the care of specialized facilities. The final category were the worst off, like April, who spent the rest of her life in a research facility, where, when she wasn’t being tested or prodded, spent her free time running her play cafe, giving her stuffed animals cups of tea or coffee (empty cups) with her partner Mista Bear, in this category, she was lucky that she could still speak a few words, even if the majority of them were names of drinks. Or the case of the Stowskis, Kenny and Erin, though they were nonvocal, and could barely move their bodies, would throw full blown screaming fits if they were separated, to the point that the nurses that ordered a special crib to keep the two of them. Jeremy Copper had been reunited with his family after he left the hospital, leaving his family’s home to live with his daughter and granddaughter, both who had become much clingier since the Kingswood incident, and while Jenjen would usually be the one asking him for a change, some times, in the middle of the night or first thing in the morning, Marisa would ask her Daddy to help her into a fresh diaper. Holly never got to see her Mom again, her, Mrs. Weinen, and Ginger having been taken away after the agents had learned of the remote control and confiscated it, though, her sister Carly was given into Holly’s custody to her initial dismay, but quickly found Carly to be a shy and quiet girl, glued to her sister’s side as much as she could, and fairly obedient, except save for bath times, where Carly would rather run around the house naked. When Holly eventually did marry, Carly started officially calling Holly and her husband Mommy and Daddy. What happened to Robbie, Tim, or any of the people on the ship was left unknown, left to wander the cosmos in the cold vacuum of space, lost but at least together. The End (Bonus Epilogue) (A request that's not my usual fair but I had some fun with it, fairly graphic sex scenes, enjoy!) In the dark reaches of space, far away from the nearest star system, a ship lay silent, save for the light sucking sounds and occasional wails of men and women. In this ship, in the main compartment where robomommies would zip around tending to their charges, adults who had the unfortunate fortune to end up trapped here and in their own minds, past the blinking lights and machines whirring, on what could generously be called the lap of the original Mommy, a man and woman perpetually sat, sucking at the breast of the original. Timmy had no clue how long they had been there, time had lost meaning, his moments were cycles of feeding, only pulled from Mommy for a few minutes for him to get a new diaper, perhaps the occasional glancing touch of his partner, Robbie, lighting up his nerves when a hand would touch a thigh accidentally, when her unused arms spasmed and her flesh would fall on to his chest. The only freedom them had, a ball of energy that was their minds floating through the walls of the machines. At first, Timmy had retreated into the darkness that was his own mind, most of the time when his ball would travel outside of his earthly body, the alien sensation of his mind or soul vacating his body would be too electrifying, too overstimulating, like being trapped in a pitch black box then getting dropped into a sea of lights. But- He was going insane, reliving memories that he had begun to doubt even happened. He needed a, for lack of better phrase, a breath of fresh air, and his mind wandered through the walls, towards a familiar entity, his neighbor, and former lover. His ball of energy touched hers, a knock on the door, and the invitation was accepted. Timmy’s jaunt into Robbie’s mindscape was at once both incredible in how familiar it was, and terrifying, jumbles of memories flashed inside Timmy. He experienced the memory of Robbie learning how to ride her first bicycle with her Dad holding on to her and feeling her excitement, her humiliation at a Homecoming dance, getting rejected by the boy she had been pining over for months, the relief and accomplishment as she had finished the first draft of the story that would become her first published work staring at the white word document looking at the blinking line after the final period, the deep grief at her uncle’s funeral, to Timmy’s surprise, he could feel a hand on Robbie’s arm and saw himself through her eyes and the feeling of comfort, he could remember that moment from his own perspective, that small, grateful smile on her face. The journey to the center of Robbie came to an end when Timmy found himself on a familiar dirt path the heat of the sun kissing his skin, Robbie’s jeep in front of him, the cabin just over the hill past the wooden steps. Gravity had never felt better to Timmy as he put one shoe in front of the other, it felt like a lifetime since he had walked anywhere. And there she was, Robbie smiling down while giving Scruffles, the old hound dog waging his tail looked over at the approaching Timmy and gave him a welcoming bark, with her hair down, her red and black flannel shirt that he always joked made her look the world’s sexiest lumber jack, and- Her diaper? “Hey, you’re finally here,” Robbie said pleasantly with her fingers running through Scruffles’ fur. Timmy cleared his throat after gathering his thoughts. “I- ahem- yeah, I got kind of sick of being stuck in my own head.” Nodding, Robbie agreed, “Yeah, it gets lonely being stuck in here, but it’s fun to play through your imagination. I’ve actually gotten to see the peaks of Niscoria under the twin Moons, everything I’ve ever dreamed I’ve gotten to see in person, it’s amazing.” “I’ll be honest, I wasn’t expecting you to be wearing a diaper.” Timmy admitted, rubbing the back of his nape. That just made Robbie laugh. “Heehee! So are you!” Looking down, Timmy was shocked to find she was right, there it was, blue with firetrucks on the tape was his big thick diaper. “What the Hell?” He tried desperately to rip the tabs off, finding no success. “We can’t take them off silly! Babies don’t change their own diapers!” Robbie reminded him, still laughing. “I-” Timmy fought for the right words, realizing not only could he not argue with her logic, but he also agreed. “I just thought things would be normal here.” Flashing Timmy a grin, Robbie gently shooed Scruffles away, getting up and walking towards Timmy until they were basically breathing on each other. “Normal, huh? I uh, can help it feel more natural for you,” She offered, looking up into his eyes, giving her bottom lip a little bite, her nails tapping on the front of the diaper, exploring the plastic surface until she found her prize. The diaper audibly crinkled while she played with him, the task getting easier as his dick grew against the absorbent padding inside. “That’s better, isn’t it?” Robbie cooed at him. Timmy let out a sigh, his tip growing moist at the friction of cloth rubbing against his hard on, precum absorbing into the padding. “That’s my boy!” Robbie’s praise lit him up, he never thought of his thick prison to be anything adjacent to sexy, but Robbie’s touch was teasing him to the idea. Leaning in, Timmy’s mouth found hers, missing her touch and kiss more than he had ever admitted to himself. Robbie’s hand drifted up, her arms wrapping around his neck, the tiny, fine hairs of her arm tickling the back of his neck. She lifted a leg up, wrapping it around his waist, and the plastic of their diapers rubbed against each other. There was a phantom feeling of happiness inside him, not one of his, an ache of need, he was feeling these emotions too, but this was different, like there was a mirror inside him that was reflecting Robbie. His fingers went down, finding the bottom of her padding, and he pressed, the sudden warmth and ache of stimulation that Timmy felt as he rubbed Robbie’s pussy through the plastic was incredible, he felt a deep urge that he never felt before, he felt Robbie’s desire to be filled. Robbie pulled her face back from the kiss, letting out a breathy moan before burying her face into Timmy’s shoulder, her other leg raising from the ground to join its partner wrapped around him. Through the layers Timmy’s erection could barely feel the mound under Robbie’s diaper, carrying her into the cabin, Timmy could barely register how much its changed with the blood rushing from his head down south, Robbie’s acceptance of her babyish tenancies altering her home in her mind’s eye to be a closer reflection to what she saw herself as, the couch was a crib now, her coffee table in the center of the living room a changing table, her office space where computer and desk were instead a large swing and walker, a shelf that once housed her own novels and books she was inspired by and used for references was still there, in a way, now covered in stuffed animals and toys that would inspire her playtime and stimulate her creativity. Raising her head, the hair touching Timmy’s face, the second it tickled his face he could feel her lips grin against his skin, the sensation bouncing between the two, she whispered into his ear, “Daddy, hurry!” Her urging making him swing her on to the bed of the crib, with her legs dangling over the side, he pushed them apart, staring at his lover as she unbuttoned her plaid shirt and reached a hand inside to reveal a boob, her fingers groping herself in anticipation, her erogenous areolas lighting up as she teased them between digits . Timmy stared at the diaper encasing Robbie’s sex, unsure of what to do, he started rubbing where his penis was against the spot where Robbie’s pussy was. For a minute that was fine, but he could feel both of them getting frustrated, him from the lack of true physical contact, and her from not getting enough pressure but on the important bits. Robbie took her hands off herself and grabbed Timmy by the shirt and pushed him on to the crib bed, then climbed on top of him. She threw her shirt off and rode him, the friction that was born from her body weight meeting the bump in Timmy’s diaper giving her more excitement. Robbie had always had a penchant for sex talk, but her time as an adult baby had considerably perverted her taste. “Tell me I’m a big girl, Daddy~” She said in a rushed, low voice while her hips quickened. Timmy got on board right away, the pressure down south urging him on. “You’re a big girl! You’re a big baby!” He said while gripping the plastic covered hips in sweaty hands, it was a wonder how her tapes keeping her locked in her pants had held up, or his own for that matter. Robbie let out an ‘Mmmm…” In pleasure in response. “You’re my baby,” He continued, her response was a faster rub that only enticed him to continue. “You’re Daddy’s baby girl. Big girl!” At the same time, they both released, though not in the way Timmy had intended. A warm spurt of pee shot out of Timmy’s hard on, soaking into his diaper mostly but also covered his own genitals with warmth, the first stream was a surprise, the next was on purpose, or as purpose as a man who was losing all continence could muster. The warm padding only made the experience that much better for him. While on top, Robbie felt Timmy’s diaper get thicker, while the ricocheting relief bounced into her, and she let loose too, filling her diaper with a hot stream of liquid that gave her a squishy feeling, like a race horse catching her second wind, she sped up. “Dadada, I wet,” Robbie’s words were devolving. “So wet, my little baby is such a wet girl.” “Dadda,” It sounded like Robbie was putting too much tongue in her words. “Dah dah!” “Yeah, you like that don’t you, bad girl!” Robbie paused, mid thrust, looking at Timmy with a hurt expression, a thumb slipping into her mouth. “I notta ba’ giwl!” The hurt and guilt traded back and forth between the two. “No, no, you’re a really good girl!” Timmy cried out, trying to bounce back. Robbie, wanting to get back on with it, said, “Otay, Robbie good.” “Robbie is such a good girl,” Timmy kept going as Robbie continued her thrusting, “Robbie is such a good baby. Good baby, good baby!” A feeling of completion rocked Timmy’s world, Robbie let out an enthusiastic, “Ahhh, ahhh, ahhhhhh!” Her bubble popped, the pent up energy that had been growing inside her let out as her body contorted, vulva clamping down on moist padding, her legs clenching with Timmy between them, a few more gasps of thrill leaving her mouth while her chest heaved in satisfaction, when she relaxed she inadvertently let out another dribble of pee that heated her diaper further, and all this getting sent into Timmy who was having an out of body experience, feeling like a rocket ship that had just blasted off, the feeling so overwhelming that he lost his erection, and was just basking in the moment. Robbie lowered herself, laying on top of Timmy, like a warm, sweaty blanket, though not unpleasantly so. Smiling up at him with a slack jawed grin, Timmy didn’t mind the loose drool that dripped from the corner of her mouth and on to his chest, her own chest dropping ever so slightly with the gravity, while she gave him small sounds of contentment. “Mmm, dadada,” She let her mind and body catch up for a second while her primal urges receded. “That was incredible.” “Yeah…” Timmy smiled as he agreed, “Is it like that for you every time?” Shaking her head, “No, that was way better, like- The first feeling of orgasm was amazing, but then you felt, then I felt you feeling it, and it was a hall of mirrors,” Robbie explained, “An ocean of pleasure, just wave after wave.” She sighed, but then had a devilish grin on her face. “Buuuut~” She gave his jawline a kiss before readjusting herself to kiss his lips. “Sooomebody didn’t make his stickies!” Robbie said as a playful accusation, running a finger along his chest under his shirt. Timmy felt his little friend return as he embraced Robbie and offered his lips to her in agreement, only for Robbie to get pulled away by a set of huge hands. “Did baby girl have a fun playdate?” Said the large woman dressed in the style of a 50’s housewife. Giving a emphatic nod, Robbie mumbled behind a thumb, “Uh-huh, Momma! But it not over yet, Timmy still need to make stickies!” It was strange to look at the robomommy, she looked much more realistic in Robbie’s mind palace, Mommy’s skin didn’t flicker in the light revealing her real figure underneath, and the skin, he found as she set Robbie down and told her, “Go get your toy, cupcake,” turning to Timmy to grab him, felt less synthetic. It hurt Timmy’s eyes when he looked at her, at once, he saw what he thought Mommy should look like, light skin, almond eyes, black hair, a face that took Timmy back to bygone days, but in the same space another woman occupied it, one that Robbie saw, olive tone, brunette so light it verged on blond, laugh lines that made dimples when she smiled, similar to pictures Timmy had seen on pictures in Robbie’s home. It hurt, looking at her, seeing her, relaxing helped though, as he gave way to the madness and embraced the two faced woman. Lowered to the changing table, Timmy felt freedom as his diaper was taken off of him, feeling a bit insecure of his stiff member in front of the giant. “I’m ready Mommy!” Timmy looked up to see something that made his heart drop. Standing in front of him, in front of his legs that dangled over the side of the table, was Robbie sporting a massive black strapon in front of her diaper, glistening with a lubricant. “N-no! I don’t wan-” But Timmy’s pleas were silenced with a pacifier. “Shhh,” Mommy said while unbuttoning his shirt, giving his belly a little rub, her tone hushing him, though there was no meanness. “You’ll like it, just trust Mommy.” He felt a calming wave wrap him up, but this did little to fully settle his spirits, the panic came back with a vengeance and his hands immediately shot to his mouth to remove his gag to voice his diasapproval. Sighing, Mommy reached down, pulling up a pair of powder blue mittens with locks on them, securing them to his hands grabbing a strap for the pacifier and running that around his head, Robbie looking at the scene with curiosity, excitement, and empathy, feeling Timmy’s fear, giggling while she adjusted the belt that kept the strapon around her, occasionally mock playing with the tip, her other hand firmly against her face as she sucked on her thumb. Timmy’s eyes locked on to Robbie’s as she approached him, Mommy helping him put his legs up to rest on Robbie’s shoulders, his muffled pleas partially silenced by the rubber in his mouth. He fought and struggled, until he felt the massive hand around his erection, giving it a test tug, the soft hand rubbing him giving him a shocking amount of pleasure as he looked down and watched Mommy hold him between a forefinger and thumb, her appendage making him look dwarf, in the background, Robbie moving closer to him until… Penetration! A slow, smooth object violated him, making his hole stretch, hurting a little, his body quivering with the dual parallel sensations of pleasure and pain while Mommy rubbed him, the job getting easier as the precursor to cum emerged from his tip, Mommy’s skin beginning to gather it and run down his cock. The handjob was in the background though, the insertion of the strapon still in the fore front of his experience, until- The tip of the black rubber hit something deep in Timmy’s cavity, making him practically jump out in the sudden onslaught of stimulation his dick throbbing in Mommy’s hand. Robbie let out an, “Oooh,” as she felt Timmy’s experience through there connection, retreating slightly before taking another whack at it. Simultaneously, Mommy’s jerking motion hastened while Robbie’s thrust matched the speed, a second of stretching before she pounded his g-spot in his ass, Mommy running down his cut foreskin each motion making it slicker. As Timmy’s resistance faltered, and his body relaxed, Mommy cooed at him, “Good boy!” Her encouraging words sending a ripple of happiness through him, his hips began to rock in sync with her touch. Breathlessly, Robbie repeated, “Good boy, good boy, good boy!” Her pillow talk falling into mere parroting as it became harder for her to think with Timmy’s emotions bouncing through her, creating her own pleasure that reflected back into him. It all became too much for him, the neurons in his hand firing as reason and thought left him, Robbie followed suit, getting lost in the moment and her humping grew wild and uncoordinated, jamming her prosthetic penis into him with reckless abandon, making the cycle worse with each pump, the constant tapping on his prostate making his descent into a thoughtless beast only capable of feeling and grunting reflect on her, emboldening Robbie. “Good boy!” Mommy told him, “Mommy’s special boy is almost there!” A few more thrusts, and Timmy’s penis pulsed in Mommy’s hand, first, and spurt of fluid flew from his tip, and another, then another, his head he didn’t realize was up fell on to the cushioned surface, a huge smile behind his pacifier appearing. Robbie fell on to the floor as she was wrapped up in the throes of ecstasy she felt from her lover, she reached down and felt herself through her diaper without thinking, passion overtaking her and cumming almost immediately and sending her pleasure back at him, the sensation only making his quivering body eject more cum and sending the two sending their orgasms back and forth. Almost with no meaning, Robbie let out her own praise, “Good baby, good baby” Though whether it was for Timmy or herself, neither knew. “Oopsie daisy!” Mommy said, folding Timmy’s diaper back up against him. A little thought emerged in a way that was more just a feeling of what’s happening than words, before he felt what was going on, as the pressed on padding caught the mess that was appearing out of his stretched asshole. He didn’t even feel it come out, nor did he care too much. Mommy would change him in a moment, his conscious falling back while he was lost in his avalanche of experiences. In turn, Robbie barely felt her own mess escape her while she continued to touch herself. Mommy let the two be for a moment, as their big feelings deescalate. When their panting turned into regular breaths, Timmy wriggling on the changing mat and Robbie rolling on the floor, Mommy returned, taking off Robbie’s used toy and removing the pacifier gag from Timmy’s mouth, Timmy could only make drooly, “Baga Mama,” noises which was more than Robbie who couldn’t even gather the energy to make baby sounds any more, to grab both of them and move them on to the crib, putting the two on to their bellies and letting them drink from her breasts. As their hands felt around and found each other, Timmy felt himself drift from the moment, returning to his body in reality with a much heavier, stickier diaper than when he entered into Robbie, to find his fingers entwined with Robbie’s. The End (again)

This is an adult story I'm writing for fun. hope you all like it. One problem with my writing i think is my pacing if y'all notice poor pacing here some advise on how to fix it would be appreciated. I don't write very often so I apologize in advance! Any ways Here WE GOOO Another one to choose. The void answers with silence. How many does this make? The void answers with silence. How long must this go on? The void answers with silence. Is this one a fool too? The void answers with silence. She must be… The void an- They all are… The voi- They are built that way. The- I’ll kill her. The void is silent… …I’m sorry … don’t leave…I can bare one more. … I haven’t forgotten…one more truth to be told…it’s just one more. The void answers in falsehood. Chapter 1 Chosen of the void Dark grey smoke swirled in the sky just above Alice. She watched it dance and coil inward before a rogue gust dragged her grey dancers away. She stared at the empty space they occupied for a long moment before taking another drag of her cigarette. The ember came close, sharing heat enough to make her index finger recoil a bit. These moments gave such a comfortable sense of control. All within her small purview was hers to dictate — where she stood and how long, who she spoke to, even the color of the sky was hers to paint. Long as she was back at work in 15, didn’t miss the meeting with her boss in 30, and only wanted to paint in grey… Alice learned to lean in and take refuge in these small reprieves. She made them big — big enough to gather herself and meet the world again. While not great having your shelter be made of literal cancer smoke, the ritual kept her grounded, in control. Twelve minutes to go, and she would enjoy every moment of— Woosh! The rapid wind blew her smoky haven away as the office door opened in front of her, revealing the silky brunette hair and frantic face of her overly caring coworker: Tahani. “Alice, the report you sent—” “I’m on break, Tahani,” Alice replied sharply. Harsh, she knew, but Tahani was easy. An angry response was usually enough to get her to leave. Tahani did have a hesitant look on her face, but it didn’t have the staying power Alice thought it would. “Your report yesterday was in...well it was bad. The rest of the team’s reports are all messed up now,” Tahani blurted; the ending sounded almost like one word she said it so fast. Alice’s uptake was slow, in contrast. This was her last break of the day, cut short, and now... “Let me guess,” Alice asked, a tinge of office bitch creeping into her voice, “they want me to stay late until it’s corrected.” Tahani looked to the ally street nervously and tucked herself behind the door a bit, only her eyes and eight chipmunking fingers visible now. “They… um… they want you to correct all of the reports affected…” Alice slowly brought her, last, half used-up cigarette to her mouth and breathed in deep. She looked to the sky before exhaling slowly, letting loose one last grey…no, wait…black? cloud onto the world. “Well, shit.” The scramble was intense. The foundational report she made had basically fed data to her team’s entire workday, each report compounding the issues in the next until it was all shit. She looked to Mike, her boss, through his office window — a short, soft-faced man with a wide frame and a suit that looked a little tight on him. He liked to loom there. A fact Alice normally found made him look lame, but today… today his deadpan stare bore right through her. A few hours later, Tahani approached her desk. Alice barely grunted an acknowledgment; there was too much to do if she wanted to be home before midnight. Tahani placed a cup of coffee on her desk, along with a lollipop. This gave Alice pause. She looked down at the items before looking back up to meet her gifter’s gaze. “I wrapped up corrections on the George and Cassidy cases. Sorry I can’t help anymore,” Tahani said, gesturing to the door clumsily. “My dog… so.” Alice was still. “What’s with the lollipop?” she asked, disinterested. “Oh, you didn’t finish your third smoke break today, so I thought this would help,” Tahani answered, hands locking together nervously. It was sweet, pointless, since candy couldn’t replace cigarettes as her preferred addiction, but Alice felt gratitude all the same. “Thanks,” she said genuinely. Tahani paused a moment before a huge smile broke her stillness. “Anytime!” she said, blushing. Alice felt a little bothered by the reaction. She knew she was the office bitch, but seeing such genuine joy for such basic gratitude probably meant she had some serious self-reflecting to do, if she could ever find the time. As Tahani left, Alice reached for her gifted cup of coffee, took a drink, cracked her knuckles, and got back to work. Grateful for just that little less she had to do. Her worst fears had come to pass. As she submitted the final report, Alice glanced at the clock above her cubicle, 1:21 AM, the red digits blinked back. Even the after-hours janitorial crew had long since gone. She slumped in her chair like a carpet draped out to dry, lazily tracking the upload bar as it crawled forward, each pixel a reminder of time’s agonizing march. God, she needed a smoke. Over the last few hours, her chemical dependence had attacked relentlessly, pulling her mind into opposing halves, each divorcing more of her will, leaving only the slow, torturous progress of that upload bar at the center of it all. Alice’s gaze lazily drifted down to the lollipop on her desk. Unceremoniously, she removed the plastic wrapping and popped it into her mouth. It wasn’t helpful: it was strawberry. Useless. Not that she wasn’t grateful, just that she was too tired to express any grace. Alice began swaying her feet, swiveling her office chair back and forth as she stared at Tahani’s saliva-slicked lollipop. She wished she could be addicted to Tahani’s candy instead, that it could alleviate each chemical deficiency her brain threw at her, but, unfortunately, she liked cigarettes too much. Candy just didn’t provide the buzz she was looking for. The Void answers… DING Alice nearly jumped from her chair as the computer proudly announced its job complete. She wasted no time clocking out and heading home. Fuck your report, she thought defiantly holding her middle fingers to Mike’s empty office. She threw her, lightly licked, lollipop into her trash can and left. Chapter 2: Your Lie, A Gift Alice awoke to a ringing permeating her room, instinct and half-sleep sending her lunging for her phone before she even opened her eyes. Her hand slapped her fingers at the glass screen on her bedside table a few times. After a few sloppy, blind attempts, Alice finally saw fit to provide some ocular reinforcement and opened her eyes. Her vision was a bit off, almost like a flare had gone off in front of her. It made her wince. The room must have been brighter than she thought… later than she thought? Blinking the flare effect away didn’t help much. Her vision still seemed dimmer. Even the colors appeared duller, almost grey, like they were slowly fading away. The ringing in the room pulled her back into the moment. Alice picked up her phone and attempted to finally make peace with her alarm. She might have to call in sick if this weird eye thing didn’t clear up, she thought, a little anxiety starting to stir in her chest. Alice held her phone in front of her now, but couldn’t make sense of what she was looking at. The time read 06:13… with no alarm ringing. She still had almost an hour before it should have gone off. she stared at it for a little while longer before slowly setting it down and bringing her hands over her ears. The alarm didn’t subside. The realization washed over her, almost literally, as with it came a flood of queasiness and nausea, like they had been waiting for her acknowledgement before crashing down in full-force. Her head felt loose on her neck as she swiveled and planted her feet on the floor. The momentum sent her forward, The floor felt further then it should have, flaring her nausea as she lurched and stumbled. She had to get to the bathroom, she thought. As Alice left her room, her nausea seemed to intensify. Each step grew wobblier than the last, forcing her to hold the wall the rest of the way. Just get to the bathroom, she thought, over and over like an obsessive mantra. It was as though every room in her mind was slowly closing until this last thought, this last room, was all she could focus on. Alice fell forward as she finally reached her destination. The sink groaned where it met the drywall. It was taller than she remembered, maybe? Cupping water into her hands, she splashed her face, but where she expected a cold refresh, she got only pins and needles. What’s happening to me? Was she drugged? Dying? She couldn’t tell. Looking up into the mirror didn’t help settle her: a completely black-and-white reflection stared back. Her red shower curtain, her green eyes, her blue bathroom walls—everything was just shades of grey. Alice’s legs began to wobble a bit, even her muscles were losing strength now, it seemed. She slowly lowered herself onto the bathroom floor. It couldn’t be avoided anymore. Honestly, she was surprised it had taken her this long to think about calling an ambulance. Her thinking just felt so… narrow. Alice reached into her pajama-bottom pocket: fabric. “Shit,” she slurred, kicking herself for not bringing her phone with her. Bracing herself on her hands and knees, Alice began the long crawl, an action that strangely eased her nausea a bit, toward her phone—a journey that ended before it even began. Alice stared in horror. The hallway that once led back to her room was gone, swallowed in shadow. It was as though an abyss had erased everything more then a few feet away from her. “Waah… dah ffuhh… is dis!?” she mumbled through her clumsy mouth. A new thought consumed her deteriorating mind: get out. Find help. Alice turned around quickly, too quickly. The rapid motion sent her dry-heaving for a moment before she could collect herself. She was lucky, maybe. The front door hadn’t yet been consumed by the black fog swallowing her house. On shaky knees, she began her slow push toward the door, toward the outside, toward help. No sun, no warmth lay beyond the door. The world outside, only a few feet out, was in shadow, as if she were sailing on night itself, a starless sea. The patio was her boundary. Occasionally this… void… gave rise to misshapen human anatomy, the kind of likeness one might mistake in a drifting cloud—just a resemblance of something familiar. The almost-people gathered. They may have even spoken, but the ringing was too loud to make out any words. Nothing cut through that awful ringing except the crying. Who’s crying? Me, Alice thought, before gathering a breath and wailing. The dark, spaghetti-like faces morphed. Some looked shocked. Some fizzled into existence with an annoyed expression before fading back into shadow. But most looked worried. Alice couldn’t spare a thought for the shadowy creatures. Her frustrated, furious wails were strangely refreshing, the first sound she had heard since she woke up this morning. Did she wake up this morning? She cried louder, mourning her senses, her control, maybe even herself. In all this shadow, in all this dark, before all these misshapen creatures, Alice just sat and waited. Not that she could do much else, she thought. She attempted to move her legs, but they only shook in place, useless. A movement interrupted Alice’s self-wallowing. She looked up lazily. One of the shadow creatures was pushing through the others, heading straight for her. Alice would have felt afraid, but she was so tired. The monster made of restless black spaghetti approached from, what felt like, the edge of the world. As it drew closer, it began to come into focus. The process was gradual. First, the cloud of shadow around its feet thinned, revealing sneakers. Legs wrapped in grey jeans, then a sweatered torso followed. Finally, the face came into view: pretty, smooth, and wearing an annoyed, angry expression. Alice’s eyes widened. It was Tahani. She came close and started speaking. Alice stared for a moment, unable to make out a single sound. Tahani seemed passionate. Angry. Not her usual self. Her face blurred in the tears forming on Alice’s own. Tahani paused, looking a little surprised, before speaking again, softer. She drew closer and kneeled next to Alice. Alice scooted forward with all the force her diminished body could manage and wrapped her arms around Tahani. With all the fear and uncertainty the day had wrought, all the confusion, finally something familiar—someone she knew—was here. Her body sobbed its frustration into Tahani’s shoulder. She felt Tahani’s arms hesitate for a long moment before finally embracing her. Tahani held her for a few minutes, rubbing her back and whispering words that were inaudible through the ringing. At one point she pulled away and looked Alice in the eyes. She looked serious before asking another question Alice couldn’t hear. Then another. Alice tried to tell her what was wrong—everything—from her failing muscles to her eyes. It didn’t even surprise her to discover her mouth wasn’t really working anymore either. Alice felt cold again, she missed the embrace, she wished for another hug. She looked longingly at Tahani’s shoulder, her safe spot, she thought. One to want, One to Give Tahani had a look like she understood. She reached into her purse and pulled out a thin red metal container. Alice blinked at it, confused. Her mouth watered for some reason, but what concerned her far more was the color. Since she’d woken up, the world had been completely devoid of it. But not this. Not this little metal box. Tahani opened it, though the lid blocked whatever was inside from Alice’s view. Alice tried to shuffle a little, to see its bounty, but Tahani gave her a look that stopped her cold. It was a sad look—the kind you give a wounded animal. Alice watched as Tahani fiddled with some kind of latch inside the box, finally producing… a cigarette? No—wait. It looked strange. It was shorter than an average cigarette by a good two inches, the ends were a little bulbous, and the whole thing seemed stiff, almost like it was made of chalk. She saw Tahani mouth, “Say ahhh.” It was like she was in a trance. Alice opened her mouth, letting Tahani bring the white part of the strange cigarette to her tongue. Strawberry? Alice thought, before her whole world exploded.

The pavilion was full of Eva’s family, gathered up in groups all chatting and laughing, catching up on the years since they’ve been parted, yet, she sat alone, her fingers tapping against the cheaper table cloth on the hard plastic of the folding tables set up by the dozens for the family reunion. Eva could feel the occasional eyes burning the back of her head, the whisper of her name. Her cheeks burned in shame when she saw her twin brother, Evan, standing next to his girlfriend Wanda, chatting with their parents and aunts and uncles. In Wanda’s hair, Eva grimaced at the whip cream that clung to a strand of hair the unhappy woman hadn’t seen when she was cleaning up. It was just supposed to be a little joke, Eva thought to herself. Just a little banter, she hadn’t meant to hit her. The twins had a history of a joke war. It all started when the two were 9 and Evan had dipped Eva’s fingers in warm water and made her pee the bed, and ever since then it was all out war. Duct taping everything her brother owned. When Eva was away at band camp, Evan had taken all of her stuffed animals and hid them all around their childhood home, including burying one in a box in the yard. After turning 17, Evan had scrimped and saved to get a used car, and Eva had saran wrapped it in the middle of the night. And so, after being apart for 5 years, when their family’s reunion was announced, Eva had just wanted to start the game back up. Truth be told, she should’ve grown out of the little rivalry she and her brother shared, but she was desperate for even a taste of the fun of youth again. She was absolutely swamped by the stresses and perils that came with adulthood, it seemed she spent all of her time back home doing shifts of being a nurse, and when she wasn’t working, she was going on awful dates, trying to maintain some semblance of balance between her professional and social life…. She had come back to their childhood home a day early, planning it all out, waiting at the door for Evan with a classic, cream pie to the face, and enjoy a few days of childish antics and jokes with the person she once was the closest person in the world with… And smacked his serious girlfriend right in the face with it. Eva had apologized a dozen times to Wanda through the bathroom door, only to get silence. Both the girls had been mortified, and Evan couldn’t even look at her. Their parents only told her to grow up while her brother tended to Wanda, and it seemed word had gotten around fast… Then, Eva watched as Wanda flashed a smile and showed off her hand to her parents, and heard the loud sounds of congratulations. Eva groaned to herself, so she hadn’t embarrassed herself in front of her brother’s girlfriend, she had ruined her first impression with her future sister-in-law! Great… Hiding her face in her arms, Eva heard the sounds of one of the folding chairs next to her rattle. Looking up, she saw the fresh face of a teenage girl, a few years younger than her, maybe just out of high school. The girl smiled at Eva. “Hi?” Eva uttered a little surprised, not only baffled at someone willing to speak to her, but also of the unfamiliar teenager. She was quite certain that she knew all of her younger cousins, and its not like this was a fun party to sneak into, there wasn’t any booze or anything. The girl continued to smile at her. “Hello.” Eva and the girl stared at each other for a few long seconds before she said, “Something I can do for you?” “Hmm, not really, just saw you over here, moping to yourself, thought I’d come over and maybe cheer you up.” “I’m sorry, do I know you?” Eva said grumpily. “Oh, sorry, I’m Lucia. I was hired as a babysitter to the kids at the party.” Looking around, Eva spotted at a group of children sitting at a large round table in the grass, just outside the tent. They seemed pretty preoccupied with their devices. “Seem to be doing a great job.” Lucia laughed, cheerfully replying, “Yeah, kids are pretty good at keeping themselves entertained these days, don’t they? But trust me, I have a way of making sure everyone stays on their best behavior, at least, enough that I can step away and turn a frowny face upside down.” Eva glanced towards a sound, around her shoulder she saw a group of her cousins looking her way then quickly turning back when they caught sight of her. “That’s uhh very sweet of you but…” Following the line of sight towards where Eva was looking, Lucia commented, “Huh, I think I can guess the problem…” Eva couldn’t put her finger on it, but there was something odd about the way the girl’s eyes, they seemed to twinkle, catching the light in a strangely captivating way. Her relaxed smile had a way of relaxing Eva too. “What’d you do to get on everyone’s bad side?” Something in the way she said that, it reminded Eva of the way she spoke to some of her patients before. Calm, yet a little patronizing, she knew this, yet, she couldn’t help it when the words came tumbling out of her mouth, “It was just a little joke!” She found herself whining. “My stupid brother was supposed to get pranked but I got his stupid girlfriend instead, and now everyone hates me!” “Oh? Why would you want to play a joke on your brother?” Lucia asked slowly, her soft smile never leaving her face. Eva hid her face in her arms again, mumbling, “I dunno…” Repeating herself, the girl asked once more, “Why would you do that?” “Because…” Eva muttered, then a little louder and her head raised from the table, blowing an errant strand of curly dark hair away from her face, “Because I missed my brother, I missed our little jokes and games we had when we were kids. It’s hard when everything all the time has to be all mature… Everything just got so serious, and nobody can take a stupid little prank anymore…” “I see…” Lucia said, her eyes seemed to radiate a captivating light that held Eva in a trance as she continued, “And would you like it if everyone was a little less serious?” Eva found herself nodding along, unable to help herself but agree. “And you and your brother can go back to your silly, little games and no one would mind?” Eva nodded again. Lucia pointed at Evan who was walking away, towards the direction of the rented out porta-potties. “I want you to go over there and throw this,” Lucia set down a small red ball in front of Eva. “When you do that, I think he’ll be much more willing to see the bright side of things.” Eva stared at the ball for a second, then, still in a trance, she took it and started marching towards her brother. Eva pushed through the crowd of family members that gave her the stink eye, walking towards Evan. He frowned at her when he saw her approach, stopping just outside the blue box. “Listen, I’m really not in the mood for any sorrys right now, you really-” Without a thought going through her mind, Eva wound up her arm and tossed the ball into the grass. Though the impact was soft, the two twins starred at the ball as it started hissing, letting out a plume of colorful smoke escapes its confines. As the haze billowed out of the small object, Eva’s mind cleared, and she stared in shock at the amount of smoke coming out of the small object. She released a little gasp as the smoke raced up her jeans and Evan’s slacks, their view of their collared shirts the next to vanish into the smoke. Instinctively, Eva gasped for a breath of fresh air before completely surrounded by the smoke, as Evan exclaimed, “What the f-” The ball didn’t stop at the twins, it raced forward, filling the entire tent and their whole family. Eva tried to peer through the fog that encompassed her, but could see nothing, and could only hear Evan cussing her out. After a moment, she couldn’t hold her breath any longer, and opened her mouth, inhaling the smoke. To her surprise, it was acrid, it tasted inconceivably sweet, like aerosol cotton candy. She couldn’t see anything yet, but her clothes began to feel weird, scratchy, bunched up. Tugging at her sleeves, she found them no longer short, but the cuff reaching all the way towards her wrist, the seat of her jeans felt oddly baggy as they crept up her front, covering her stomach and chest just as it did her back and meeting at her shoulder in a clasp. Eva’s underwear didn’t escape the strange changes either, as the real estate the jeans had left in her pants didn’t stay empty for long, her panties ballooning out, filling the empty space between her legs with a layer of thick cushioning. Her hand reached towards it in shock, the underwear making a distinct plastic crinkle as she handled it. The smoke began to clear, and as it did, the silence that had fallen the pavilion disappeared as suddenly as it had crept in, there was no sounds of shock or anger, nothing that Eva would’ve expected. The tent suddenly sounded like a playground during recess, an inordinate amounts of infectious laughter and play. Eva and Evan saw through the clearing fog their relatives, aunts, uncles, cousins, their parents, all acting like grade school kids, screaming, a family wide of tag, hide and sneak breaking out. Their balding uncle tapped their middle age aunt who yelled out playfully, “Cooties!” Sticking their tongues out and running away. A pair of their cousins in their mid 20s had traded their fashionable clothes out for party dresses and were sitting down in the grass playing patty cake. The embarrassing sight of their parents jumping up on a table, Eva hiding her mouth in a look of horror as her Mom’s white panties showed off the image of a cartoon pony. Looking down at herself, Eva found herself to be wearing a pink denim overalls, her bare feet pinching grass with her toes, a long sleeve blue shirt underneath, and looking over, she saw Evan staring at her, slack jawed in a similar outfit, a long sleeve pink shirt over a blue denim set of overalls. “Eva, what did you do?” Evan said dumbfounded. “I- I-” Evan’s eyes went wide and he let out a little eep, his hand rushing towards his crotch, “Oh no! I gotta-” He spun around, trying to reach his initial destination of the porta-potty, only to fall face first on the ground as the blue box had vanished into thin air along with the smoke. Eva didn’t need to know what was going on with Evan, she could see it in his red face as shame covered his features. He righted himself into a sitting position and stared at his bottoms with disgust. “Ebababa!” Evan turned his head over his shoulder, to see Wanda, a moment ago wearing a lovely white sundress, eager to show off a little to her future husbands family, the dress hadn’t changed too much in appearance, except it had shrunk, barely more than a shirt, covering just half of her padded underwear that bobbed in the air as she crawled towards Evan on her hands and knees. She stopped in front of the twins, with a wet smile, saying, “Ebababa!” again, before shoving the ring pop that had replaced her engagement ring into her mouth. “Lolla,” She mumbled through a mouth full of sugary sucker. The twins looked at each other, one in horror and guilt, the other in absolute rage. “Eva,” Evan repeated, his words hard and pointed, “What. Did. You. Do?!” ~~~ Eva looked at her brother watching his fiance slobber on a candy ring like a person seeing a train wreck, fascinated in a macabre way. Wanda was sitting down in front of him now, with her legs splayed out, idly watching a butterfly flit above her, lazily reaching out a hand to, lips dyed the same blue as the slobber running down her lips. “It- It wasn’t me!” Eva tried to defend herself, looking down at her bare feet, trying not to gawk at the sight of the grown woman who had begun to crawl over her brother, affectionately clawing him with her sticky hands. “Some weirdo girl gave me that smoke bomb thing and it did all this!” Evan stood up, Wanda whining as her boyfriend got further out of her reach and started tugging on his pant legs. “You’re still the one who threw the damn thing!” He pointed a finger accusingly at Eva. “No! I can explain!” Eva weakly said, backing away, while trying not to notice how much her brother had his legs parted a little too much or how he winced when he moved. “I- It was like I was possessed! I couldn’t help it! I didn’t know all… this was going to happen!” “Evan! Evan!” Wanda whined as she raised her arms up for her fiance to pick her up. With a sigh, leaned down and Wanda, hoisting her up on to his hips with a little difficulty. They made a funny pair, the man dressed like a toddler and the woman dressed and acting like a baby. “That’s not good enough,” Evan said with a serious look that was hampered a little bit as Wanda rubbed her sticky hands over his stubbly cheeks. “You’ve been pouting and sulking since you pulled your little joke on Wanda-” “It was meant for you if it helps…” “It doesn’t.” He glared at her. “You mopped like a little girl after your half-assed apology didn’t make up for ruining a day that was about coming together as a family.” “Eheheheh!” Wanda excitedly gave Evan a wet kiss on the cheeks, giggling as she wiggled her legs and her clean diaper grew heavy and started to sag. Evan looked down in embarrassment, pretending not to notice his future wife’s condition, but she made that difficult, Wanda bucking her hips thrusting the sag on Evan enjoying the feeling the friction made. Eva did her best not to gag at the sight. “Okay, okay,” Eva exclaimed, trying to keep her attention away from Wanda and her brother, “Let’s just go find that girl and get her to fix this!” Evan was desperately trying to ignore what was happening on him just as much as Eva was. “Fine,” He muttered. Beginning to walk away, Eva noticed how hard it was to take steps in her own bulky underwear under her overalls. It felt like each step was announcing to the world her protective panties. She glanced back at Evan who’s waddle was even more pronounced than her own, his steps even more of a struggle carrying his wife to be, who had discovered and started mouthing Evan’s overall straps, going at the denim like a wild eyed gremlin. The tent holding her entire family was a mess of activity. Adults screaming and playing like rambunctious preschoolers. A group of Eva’s uncles had found some balloons tied up and were grabbing them and running around playing keep away. Some of her aunts were ripping the cheap table clothes off the tables and pretending to be princesses, sitting in a circle on the ground acting like they were in a tea party. Eva and Evan watched as their cousin Clarissa snuck up behind her father, wearing just a shirt, sneakers, and a clean pair of huggies, and smacked him, running away with a screaming fit. The man started bawling, running towards a teenaged girl, tugging at her sleeve, pointing at his daughter with big tears rolling down his face. “She hit me!” The man tattled to the short girl. “Aww!” Lucia said, reaching up and tenderly wiping away the grown man’s tears. “Did the mean girl smack you? I’ll go give her a talking to big guy, don’t you worry. Here,” She took a piece of caramel out of a nearby diaper bag, unwrapping it and placing it in his mouth. “Sweet for the sweetie, that’ll calm you down! And who do we have here?” She asked, giving Eva and Evan a look as they approached her. “Aren’t you two adorable? I love the matching outfits!” Before Evan could stop her, she grabbed Wanda like weighed nothing and cooed at her, tickling her belly that made the adult baby laugh like a hyena. “Hey! Don’t touch her like that!” Evan reached out to take her back, taking a wide step towards the girl. “Oooh, I recognize that walk!” Lucia said as she set Wanda down and turning her attention back towards Evan. He paused when the girl confidently moved towards him, her own arms outstretched as her fingers found their way to his side. “Is someone a squishy boy?” She asked in a high pitched voice. “No!” He said, trying to swat away her hands from tickling him. “Stop!” He tried to keep his deep, masculine edge to his voice, but it quickly faltered as she kept going, his next few words coming out high pitched as he lost his senses in the moment. “Nooo! Stooop!” Evan fell to the grassy ground, and Lucia dropped down to her knees, her onslaught kept going, “You is! You’sa squishy butt!” A high pitched giggle left his mouth. “Notta squish butt!” Evan cried out through laughter and tears. Wanda crawled over to him and joined in the fun. “Squishy! Squishy!” As Evan’s words dissolved into a fit of giggles before they even formed, Wanda’s words became more coherent. “Squishy butt! Evan a squishy butt!” Lucia grabbed Wanda and pulled her on to her lap, “Like you’re one to talk! I bet you wet yourself first, didn’t you, ya little sopping rugrat?” Shaking her head, her hair going flying, “Nuh-uh! He did it firs’!” Wanda said pointing at Evan, his face twisting up at the honest accusation. “Waaah!” “Evan!” Eva snapped at him, giving him a nudge with her foot. “Snap out of it!” With a blush, Evan sat up, looking freaked out, quickly getting to his feet and stepping away from the girl. “Wha- What happened? I just-” “I told you! She has a weird way of making you act however she wants!” Lucia pretended to be hurt, grasping at her heart, “Eva! I thought this was what you wanted! Everyone to be less serious and for your brother to play with you again!” She looked towards her diaper bag and dragged it towards her. “So this is your fault,” Evan said, pointing a dirty look back towards Eva. Wanda started to coo again as Lucia laid her down on the grass, hiking her dress up and untaping her her diaper. Eva, trying to focus on Lucia and not on Wanda with her bits sticking out for everyone to see, though it was hard given the activity. “Just tell us how to fix this. Please!” Eva did her best to keep her voice even. Lucia tenderly wiped the front of the young woman in front of her. “It’s quite simple dear,” She said as she cleaned Evan’s fiance in front of him, who busied herself chomping her engagement ring pop. “I put a simple curse on you two. The more mature you two act, the more childish your family will become. Poor Wanda here got in on a technicality, as you,” She pointed at Evan, “Already consider her family. If you’d like to break the curse, the two of you will have to fully accept your new roles. Happy adult toddlers. You just saw a bit of that. Baby Evan came out, and little Wanda remembered how to speak again. Isn’t that right, cutie?” “Eh-hyaaa!” Wanda croons as she’s tickled by the diaper powder and folds a fresh white diaper on the girl. “It’s a little warm out…” Lucia says, giving Evan a side eye look as she lifts the dress off Wanda. “You can play nakie, for now…” “Hey! You can’t do that!” Turning her attention towards Evan, she asks, “And is my big boy ready for his diaper change? Maybe he wants some nakie time with his little girlfriend?” She giggles. “No! Don’t touch me!” Evan says taking a few steps back. Lucia shrugs, “That’s fine, lots of little boys don’t mind playing in their soggy pants, do they?” Evan found himself between a rock and hard place, there was just no winning. Admit that he needed a change by the girl, or admit that he was fine running around in a wet diaper. The thought of going without a diaper never occurred to him. “Just- Give me one, I’ll do it myself!” Evan insisted, holding out his hand, trying to save face. “No can do, cutie,” Lucia purrer, taking a fresh diaper and holding it away from the man’s grasp. “I won’t have you ruining your pretty playclothes by changing yourself wrong. Besides,” She added with a little twinkle in her eyes, “Can you even take off your clothes by yourself?” Evan glared at Lucia, and started tugging at his still drooly overall strap, tugging at the clasp, “I’ll show you! I- urgh- I can do it!” Wanda clapped her hands, “Show you! Show you!” She parroted, bouncing up and down with her butt on the grass, her delicate skin getting dyed green. Reaching out, tugging her brother’s sleeve as he fought with his clothes. “Evan…” She said gently. Evan blinked at Eva, slowly releasing the straps on his overalls and expression going surprised. Lucia laughed, and Wanda mimicked her, flopping on her belly and kicking her legs up in the air. “Why’d you stop him?” Lucia asked Eva. “Isn’t it better for everyone if he plays the part, sweetie? You get your playful brother back and little Wanda and the rest of your family get to grow up again. Maybe you need to relax, baby girl,” She reached into the diaper bag again and pulled out a sippy cup of juice and waved it in front of Eva. “Come here, baby, and Lucia will give you a drinky drink.” Eva thought about it, looking around at her family acting like fools, grimacing as she watched her Dad pick his nose, her younger cousin barely in college reaching into his diaper waistband sticking out of his elastic pants scratching himself without a care in the world, her aunt twirling around in a makeshift dress made out of table clothe. She looked towards Lucia, pondering what to do… Wouldn’t it be better if she was the little kid instead of them… Slowly, she reached out for the bottle when she stopped herself. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw someone. Glenda, Evan and Eva’s older sister, 10 years their senior. As far back as Eva could remember, Glenda was Eva’s role model. Her perfect, nice big sister. One of her earliest memories was sitting on her 12 year old sister’s lap, watch as she drew a picture. When Eva got too drunk on prom night, it was Glenda’s bed she passed out on after she picked Eva up. When she needed to get dropped off at the airport it was her older sister she asked for a ride. Glenda had always been there for Eva. The 33 year old woman could’ve been wearing ordinary clothes, some leggings and a flowy blue shirt, though the poofy sleeves may have been a bit childish, it wasn’t totally outlandish. But the way she looked around, hopping on each foot and looking around, obviously doing the potty dance, Eva could tell that the madness that had its grip on the rest of her family had her as well. Eva ignored Lucia and the sippy cup and walked towards her sister. “Glenda?” The woman’s face shot towards Eva as she approached, her face lighting up into a smile. “Sissy!” She jumped towards Eva and wrapped her up in a tight bear hug. “Glenda? Are you alright?” Eva asked slowly. “Mhmm! Sissy, I miss you!” Glenda said enthusiatically, before looking down and resuming her potty dance. “Sissy,” Glenda asked, putting her finger into her mouth, “D’you know where da potty? I gotta gooo…” ~~~ Eva watched as the sister she had looked up to all of her life held her crotch and looked at her younger sister, who under her pink overalls was herself wearing a thick diaper, beg her to show her to the nearest potty. “Wha-?” Glenda, biting her lip and making a sound of desperation, just let out a high pitch, “Pleease?” “G-Glenda…” “Oh!” Glenda darted her gaze at her pants, pursing her lips together as concern reached her eyes. “I leaked a little…” Eva was flabbergasted as her role model dribbled into her undies, looking to all the world like a toddler fighting through the growing pains of transitioning into big girl panties. Glenda looked towards her sister, eyes pleading. “Potty?” She begged Eva again. “I- Yeah, okay, let’s go find you a potty…” Eva grabbed her sister’s arm and pulled her away. She had no clue where she could find a place to pee, the porta-potties had disappeared, but maybe she could ask that weird girl… Clinging to her sister’s arm while holding the front of her leggings with the spare hand, Glenda let out a whine. “Sissy, pleeease! I don’t wanna be a baby! I’m a big girl! Big girl!” She insisted. “Yeah, it’s alright… sissy. You’re still a big girl…” Eva let out the comforting white lie to her sister, trying her best to ignore the reality of the situation as she led her sister through the maze of tables and childish family members. She saw her goal just a few yards away. Lucia cooing at her Mom, who was being given a coloring book and crayons, getting told to be a good girl and share nicely. That sight alone was enough to discourage Eva even more. Trying to get her sister to not wet her pants (any more) while her Mom is being told to be a good girl and color floored the poor girl. Eva felt an itch, a tiny thought in the back of her mind, this was too much, her family she had leaned on her whole life was beyond saving, just give in and start crawling around. Eva let out a whimper, an infantile urge to suck her thumb overcoming her, but this impulse seemed to help Glenda regain some composure. “It’s okay sissy.” Glenda said as she cuddled against Eva’s arm. Blinking at her sister, Eva let out a tiny, “Yeah…” And gulped down her uncertainties and started leading Glenda towards Lucia again. Looking up, Lucia smiled at the pair. “Back for more? One sibling wasn’t enough to see babied today, Eva?” With a sigh, Eva rubbed Glenda’s back and said, “This nice lady can help you, sissy. Go on, ask her.” Glenda looked towards Eva and then at Lucia, shyly stepping up to the girl who she could’ve babysat herself when she was a teen. “Umm… Excuse me, Miss?” Lucia eyes sparkled as she said, “Yes, dear?” “I gotta go potty… Can you help me?” Glenda said, shuffling her feet. Letting out a little laugh, Lucia told the girl, “Of course I can! What a big girl you are!” Glenda beamed at the praise, giving the teenager a big toothy grin. “Much bigger than your little sister over there,” She said, taking Glenda’s hand and pulling her away. “You know she’s still in diapers? What a baby!” Eva’s heart dropped as Glenda giggled at that. She knew it was nonsensical, her sister wasn’t in her right mind after all, but then, neither was Eva though, as much as she clung to her sensibilities. Hearing her sister giggle at her being padded and being ridiculed for being a baby, made her just want to lay down and cry. A sob caught in her throat and she was about to let it out, when Lucia brought out a training potty out of nowhere and set it out for everyone to see. Swallowing her pride, Eva let out, “Come on, Glenda, show sissy what a big girl you are!” In the most encouraging voice she could muster. Glenda nodded confidently, pulling down her leggings in front of her entire family and proudly sitting down on the plastic pink potty. “Wait!” Eva cried out, but it was too late. Proudly grinning at everyone who was looking, Glenda soaked her Paw Patrol training pants on top of the potty. “I did it!” She claimed, to Eva’s distraught and Lucia barely concealed glee. “Aww, you sure did!” Lucia told the woman as she leaked through the thin padding, the dribble seeping down the leg holes and dropping into the training potty. Next to Eva, a withered old woman stepped up to her, holding out her phone. “Look at the baaaby she can’t even remember to pull down her little baby panties!” She mocked as she recorded a video. “Grandma!” Eva scolded. Her humiliation replaced by righteous anger, she snatched the phone out of the elderly woman’s hand. “My phone!” Grandma cried out. “I can’t live without my phone!” “Oh, come off it. An hour ago you didn’t know how to use this thing for anything other than Facebook!”Eva tossed the little black brick away. Grandma chased after it like a dog racing after a bone, a wonder how fast those old chicken legs could hobble after it. Glenda was looking around, with tears in her eyes, confused. “I- sniff- I not big girl?” She asked Eva. “No, no, honey, you’re a big girl,” Eva tried to console her sister but it wasn’t quickly becoming apparent sweet words would have no effect on her state. The faces of the family nearby were all on Glenda, with each breath she took a little huff came out. Faces of aunts, uncles, cousins, all sneering at her. The attention was too much. Glenda took one look down between her legs, her stained thighs with ugly yellow lines running down the inside. “I- I-” Glenda stood up and tried to take a step forward, trying to get away from all the judgmental eyes. But a single misstep with her leggings still down to her ankles sent her sprawling down to the grass. It wasn’t much of a fall, and to be fair, the grass was soft, but under the shade of the white tent, Glenda started to bawl, making all the more a spectacle of herself. “Waaah! Waaah!” Glenda howled as her family all snickered or outright laughed at her, some even going so far as to point at her as they let out their jeers. “Don’ wanna be babbay!” Eva rushed to her sister’s side, “No, no, sweetie, you’re not a baby!” Eva said, though her voice was hard to cut through the noise of the family laughing. The soothing only made matters worse, the more mature Eva acted, the more infantile Glenda got, and the worse the crowd got as well. Little giggles turned into full bellied chuckles, some of them flat out forgetting what they were laughing, but little Glenda couldn’t know that. The more Eva tried to calm down the girl, the more tears and snot ran down her face, the more the laughter affected her. Glenda no longer even recognized what had happened to put her into this state, but she knew one thing, the loud, obnoxious sounds all around her made her feel terrible, and she just wanted it all to go away. Then, out of Glenda’s rear, a sound that would mortify the poor woman any other time, a loud trumpeting toot erupted out of the seat of her pants. Little Glenda looked back, still crying, and then, to Eva’s own horror, as she patted her sister’s back, the woman made a grunting sound. Eva could do little more than watch the big sister she had trusted all her life to look out for her empty her bowels into the back of her training pants, absolutely ruining them. Glenda let out a final sob, then her eyes went a bit glossy, as she looked around, at all the people she sort of recognize point and laugh, and all maturity was gone from the girl. She started laughing too, just like some in the crowd, she didn’t know what was so funny, but the silly sounds coming all around her was fun to let out. Taking a few steps back, grimacing, Eva looked down at her sister as she rolled on to her back with a disgusting squelch. A heavy weight fell into the bottom of Eva’s stomach as she watched her sister for a few seconds before turning away, unable to bear looking at Glenda anymore. A gentle hand landed on Eva’s shoulder, and she looked towards Lucia, who had a gentle smile on her face. “Looks like little Glenda isn’t ready for training pants, not any more anyway…” She held up a white rectangle and waved it in front of Eva’s face. “Do you want to be a good big sissy and help me change her?” Eva let out a little defeated whimper, not unlike the one Glenda made a few minutes ago. “Noo…” She whispered. Lucia patted the girl on the back and leaned in and whispered. “You know, it doesn’t have to be this way. Just accept what you are now and your family will go back to normal.” With that thought seeping into Eva’s brain, she turned and walked away from the travesty that was being done to her older sister. Just accept it… Her and Evan had to make things right… She went and looked for her brother. ~~~~ Eva walked forward with a forlorn acceptance, like an inmate walking down deathrow, her relatives playing all around her like future doomed prisoners, in her steps lay their hope of salvation. She spotted Evan with her back towards her, kneeling by Wanda, pleading with her, “Darling, please, please, please! Just lift your head!” Though in his care for her, the squirming woman-child, his desperation showed his maturity. There was an inherent maturity in caring for others, inside the essence of its opposite was only selfishness. “Evan…” Evan peered back at his twin, eyes tired and sad, “She can’t even lift her head…” He whimpered, going back to urging his fiance to do more than gurgle and wiggle around a bit, nude except for her diaper and the half eater ring pop on her hand that once represented her promise to dedicate a life with herself and Evan. Closing her eyes, mentally preparing herself for what she had to do, Eva took a deep breath and looked at Evan, and reached down, sticking both hands into his overalls, and yanking his diaper up as far as it could go giving him a soggy pantsed wedgie. “Yow!” Evan shot straight up, pushing Eva away and making her land on her bottom. “What the hell was that for?!” “Y-You heard the weird girl! We have to act like kids if anyone is going to get better!” Eva said, rubbing her back, dramatically. Honestly, the plunge down didn’t really hurt, the padding on her rear had absorbed too much of the impact, but the shock still left her feeling dramatic. “Oww…” Evan tried to readjust the diaper lower, “That really hurt my balls,” He whined. “Ehhehheh!” Wanda giggled, sitting up on her arms. “See?” Eva gestured towards Wanda. “We have to be the babies if we don’t want them,” She waved her arm towards everyone else around, “To be children.” “I guess…” Evan held his hand out to Eva, helping her on her feet, then stuck his hands down her overalls and yanked her diaper up. “How do you like it?” “Eep!” Eva’s eyes went wide as the wrinkly plastic and cotton were yanked into her cracks and folds, though still dry, didn’t smart nearly as much as her brother. “T-that’s the spirit,” Eva said shakily, before knocking her brother down and running away. As she ran, she looked around, looking for any changes in her family. She saw her Mom chewing on a crayon and her sister next to her, whining to play with it, only dressed in her blue shirt that was half tucked into her diaper, “Mith Luthia thaid it wath my tuuurn!” She watched as her Mom pushed her daughter away. “Nuh uh! Babies like you can’t have ‘em!” Eva’s graying haired Mother said before putting the orange crayon back in her mouth as Glenda burst into tears. Some of her family had decided it was nakie time just like Wanda, stripping down to their underwear, adorned with teddy bears and hearts in some cases, fire trucks and cartoon characters in others. For a few, they were far too babyish for anything less than padding like diapers and Pull-Ups, but for too many for Eva’s taste, they truly embodied nakie time, giving Eva more of a view of her family than she ever wanted. Eva tried to ignore the sight of her Dad, running around in nothing but his birthday suit. She tried to ignore him dribbling from his wrinkled little worm. She tried to ignore her lunch wanting to launch out of her belly. A hand grabbed Eva from behind, Evan yanked her back. With his hand on her overall strap, Eva wasn’t certain what to do with his sister, his eyes glued to her with confusion, anything to keep away from looking at his nude relatives. A hesitant hand reached out, and with uncertain words, he said, “You’re it?” Eyes down towards her feet, she nodded, looking up to see Evan running away. She kept her eyes on his back as he raced around the tables and chairs. They traded the ‘it’ position a few times, growing more and more frustrated that their game wasn’t affecting anyone else. Evan gritted his teeth in frustration as the sounds of play around them only seem to grow louder, and Eva wondered if she should try to ask Lucia to use the potty chair as her bladder twinged inside of her. Sitting below a table, trying to avoid seeing anyone, the twins debated on what to do. “It’s not working,” Evan grumbled, fidgeting as the padding on his butt grew more and more uncomfortable. He was starting to worry about catching a rash. Cross legged, squirming herself, Eva wondered outloud, “Should we try hide and seek? Or I don’t know, peek-aboo?” “Are you two behaving and having fun?” The teenager appeared, leaning down poking her head into the shade below the table. “You!” Evan growled, “You lied!” He looked like he was about to hit the girl. Lucia had her hands up, smirking, “I did no such thing! I never, ever lie.” Lucia lied. “You said if we act like kids you would make everyone else normal again!” Rolling her eyes, Lucia said, “Yeah, but you were just pretending. Why were you acting like kids? To help everyone else. You have to really embrace your baby side… Children don’t self-sacrifice, dears, that is solely on adults.” Evan wound up a punch, smacking Lucia, who could only laugh. “That’s a little bit better. Babies are impulsive and don’t know how to handle their tempers. They haven’t had the chance to learn what consequences are yet, like this:” Lucia tapped Evan’s forehead, his eyes rolling back into his skull, mouth going agape, falling down onto his back. “There you go! I even think that will help you behave the way you want.” Evan shook his head, gathering his bearings. Eva, looking at her brother with concern, putting a hand on his shoulder as he regained his composure. “What did you do to him?!” “Just took away some of his fine motor skills. Little guy will barely be able to hold a fork or walk around, much less even think about hitting any pretty babysitters anymore. It’s better that way, the punishments only get worse from there.” “You bitch!” Evan spat out. Wagging a finger, Lucia informed the pair, “Ahh, ahh, ahh, I don’t like potty mouths! I’d watch your tone if you want to say anything more profound than goo-goo ga-ga. Oh! Does my little man know what ‘profound’ means?” She asks with a shit eating smirk. The only answer she got was a glare. Lucia stood up, “Ahh, well, I better get back to it, I have a lot of little ones to look after. Maybe I should ask some of my friends to come help, though, they’re not nearly as kind as I am. Good chance some of your more handfuls of relatives will really be reliving their terrible twos. You two have fun figuring things out.” “Wait!” Eva grabbed Lucia’s shirt, tugging at it. “Yes, sweetie?” Eva pursed her lips as she gathered up her courage. “I- can I use the potty?” Lucia’s eyes narrowed, Eva hurriedly adding a, “Please?” Chuckling, Lucia bent down, whispering, “Does the itty bitty little girl need help going potty?” Swallowing her pride, one hand pushing into her crotch to keep from leaking, Eva hissed, “Yes. Please.” Laughing again, Lucia playfully tapped Eva’s nose. “Silly girl, babies don’t use a potty. You’re wearing yours, remember? Besides your twin, who’s already wet, you’re probably the only one in your family who even cares about wetting yourself. This whole, ‘Sacrifice ourselves for the good of all’ idea you two put into your pretty little heads really did a number on everyone. Even the oldest ones can’t keep themselves dry! At this rate I’m going to have to open up a daycare!” “I-” Eva said in a quiet, tiny voice, “I can’t…” “You can’t what, baby girl?” Evan looked at his sister with pity, sensing what she was about to say. “I can’t- I can’t use my diaper…” Eva said, ready to tear up, looking down, feeling her precious little claim to adulthood about to be snatched away from her. Lucia, face a mask with a falsetto of a caring smile, lift Eva’s chin up to have her look right at the babysitter, “Does baby want some help?” Sniffling, Eva nodded her head. “Good girl. Both of you, follow me.” The twins got out from under the table, Evan tried to stand, but his wobbly legs faltered, he thrust his hand out to catch himself on the table, Eva tried to stable him as well, the second he took his hand away from the table he collapsed on to his knees. He groaned in frustration, and apprehensively followed Lucia by crawling. Eva let out a little whimper in defeat and took a few steps towards Lucia as well, before the babysitter stopped her. “Ahh, ahh, cutie. You’re twins, if he crawls you crawl too, you two should be developmentally similar.” Lucia nodded approvingly as Eva lowered herself to the ground next to her brother. The twins glumly followed Lucia, averting their gaze away from any streaking relative that came near them. One hand in front of a knee, then the other. Down on the floor, the diaper seemed all the more obvious to Eva as it rubbed against her, her sex growing warm, at least now that she was acutely paying attention to it, each scratch her thighs got from the legs holes, the tickling the waistband did as it kissed her hips, a reminder of what she was about to do, in sheer defiance of everything she had been doing for the past 20 years of her life. At the diaper bag, Lucia produced two clear bottles in each hand, presenting them to the duo with a dramatic flourish, red liquid sloshing around inside. “Babies like you two,” Lucia said as she offered the two of them to ran nipples, “Always forget when they have to go. They just wet themselves as naturally as a river flows.” Eva stared at the nipple, wanting to force herself to take it, to surrender her concerns and give in, finding this final push indescribably difficult. A few fingers met hers, Eva looked down to find Evan touching her encouragingly, nodding sadly. With a final breath, Eva closed her eyes and opened her mouth, and felt the rubber teat brush her lips and the tip touch her tongue. Still with her eyes closed, Eva wondered what was she supposed to do? Just… suck? She moved her lips, trying to mimic what she’s seen infants do and was rewarded with a touch of sweet cherry juice hit her tongue. Eyes opening up wide as she looked at the bottle. She hadn’t expected to be so delicious! Grabbing the bottle with both hands, Eva greedily snatched the bottle out of Lucia’s hand and started guzzling the drink down like her life depended on it. Barely registering the sounds of suckling to her right, or Lucia standing above her triumphantly with both hands on her hips, Eva lost herself in the moment, splaying her legs out, not even realizing that she was slowly rolling on to her back, just happy the bottle was now up in the air, gravity doing most of the work for her as her hair became tangled into the blades of grass. A tiny tickle. A trickle. Eva paid little mind to the relief on her bladder as the trickle in her diaper turned into a flood. Her legs kicked a little as the warmth swelling into her protective undies rubbed against her pleasantly. The only liquid she cared about was pouring down her tongue and into her throat now. She whined as she realized the bottle was empty, uselessly wiggling the bottle trying to get the last drop out. The wriggling had caught the attention of someone else. Eva felt a tug on her clothes and looked over at her brother grinning at her with a red stained smile, his own empty bottle discarded to the ground. With a giggle, he lazily swatted at her and Eva laughed in return. With a heave, she rolled herself over to her hands and knees and started crawling away from her brother, who crawled after her. At first, she seemed much faster than her motor control impaired brother, gleefully racing away from him, only to stop playfully and let him catch up before scooting away with a chortle, but then, her pauses were less and less necessary, and he seemed to be keeping up pace with her easily, he wasn’t as fast, Eva had simply slowed down, not realizing the two had met equilibrium. Evan grabbed the cuff of Eva’s overalls, but that didn’t stop the little girl, she had to keep going, and she kicked and pushed and squeezed through the straps on her overalls, crawling away in just a blue long-sleeved shirt with grass clinging to the cuff of the sleeve. Eva giggled as she trotted away from her brother, but with a little heft, he jumped on her. The twins roll together, in their scuffle, in their joyful little sounds they made, diapers rubbing against each other as their playing managed to accidentally undo one of the clasp on Evan’s overalls and the boy wiggles out of his own shirt. Neither noticing as they play they begin to look more alike, hair shortening, Evan’s mass of muscles diminishing, Eva’s breasts dwindling down to a flat plain, both of their hair thinning down into nothing, bellies growing fat like real babies, they kept their adult length, but that was the only thing distinguishing themselves from real infants. The two drooled on each other, their game the only thing on their mind, until they were separated, a pair of hands grabbing both of them. “Ugh, look at you, you’re filthy!” A voice complained to Evan. Wanda shook her head as she placed the boy lightly on her hip, taking the sleeve of her dress and trying to wipe away the mix of grass and drool off her baby’s face. “Yea, you know, you’re suppose to be a lady!” A playful tone as the person who grabbed Eva cleaned off her face. Glenda giving her sister turned daughter a loving squeeze. The mission, the goal of fixing everyone evaporated from Eva’s mind somewhat swiftly, she looked around to see everyone acting normally, dressed as they had a little while ago, and the adult inside Eva let out a sigh of relief, seeing everything as it should be, and the big girl went to sleep. The twins were brought over to a table where the babysitter the family had hired to watch the little kids while everyone else had fun and caught up. Side by side, they were strapped into highchairs, and both new mothers prepared to feed their respective baby. Lucia walked up to the Moms as they held rubber tipped spoons out for Eva and Evan, both with brownish goop that passed for babyfood. “You know,” Lucia offered Wanda and Glenda, both oblivious to the fact the young woman had recently wiped both of their asses. “I’d be happy to feed them for you, you two can go enjoy the party.” Wanda waved a hand, “That’s alright, I love feeding my little Evie-wevie! He’s such a good eater,” She said as he tickled his feet, earning her a giggle, “Yes he is!” “Yeah,” Glenda agreed, “I don’t mind giving my girl all the love and attention she needs.” Eva, with little grace, leaned out and gobbled down the food on the spoon. As she leaned out, she winced, and let out a fowl smelling odor into the back of her diaper, before filling it with a grunt. “Oh! You little beast!” Glenda cried out, playfully pinching her nose shut, “You’re lucky you’re cute even when you’re stinky!” Evan squeezed his eyes, face going taut as he followed suit. “Evan!” Wanda nudged her boy. “You little copycat! Tell you what, sweetie,” Wanda looked back at Lucia with a grin, “If you want to change him you can be my guest!” “Yeah!” “Sure,” Lucia said, giving both a friendly nod, “You enjoy your time with the two. After all, they’re only young once.”

Chapter 1 Francesca gasps for air, slamming the door to her apartment behind the insufferable man who she could still hear stomping down the hall. She let out a groan, her frustration welling up inside her. Turning back towards her lavish apartment, Francesca momentarily took in the decorations, pointless glass jars filled with useless beads, little wooden sculptures that were chic and cool to her a few months ago while browsing Amazon with a glass of red in her hands. Large sofa and chairs for the gatherings she never had time for. The home never felt more like a collection of rooms. Eyes drawing towards a stack of papers and her open laptop with a legal documents burning white from the screen, Francesca felt the urge to return to work, the urgency of her projects for her law firm the catalyst of her and Chris’ fight tonight. Biting her lip, Francesca sat down on the couch instead. 5 weeks. It had been 5 weeks since her and her boyfriend had gone on a date, done little more than exist in the same room. Francesca always had another project at work, a corporation that needed defending in court, discovery, disposition, searching up precedents. Always a different priority. Looking down at her outfit, an old Harvard sweatshirt, old and stained by late night coffee, she had a hard time even pretending like going out tonight was even a thought in her head. Feelings of unkempt flooded Francesca, her frayed red hair done in a very loose bun, strands of it pouring over her forehead and into her eyes. Even the old granny panties under her sweatshirt was worn and in need of replacement, no, there was no way she was going to be ready for any date. What was she thinking? Was she even thinking? Chris had seemed like the perfect man for Francesca, low maintenance, always caring, had his life together, and physically her type, tall, thick dark hair and green eyes, well built. Always seemed to have time to come over and help her out with maintenance that might take the building’s handyman days to get there a fortune to hire someone out, but Chris would appear at 12 am with his toolbag in tow and a smile, ready to be of service. The late nights they had talking in bed while they cuddled seemed like a distant memory from the early days of their dating. Slow to anger, and yet Francesca had finally crossed that line. Tapping her fingers on the leather sofa, Francesca anxiously stared at her work load. There was no time to think of such trivial things like losing the perfect man. The perfect man… The perfect man… No! There was a preliminary hearing tomorrow for PriScren corps lawsuit. That took precedent over anything personal. Her future was tomorrow, not who she was going to be with in 10 years. Whatever, screw Chris. She was the catch in this relationship. It would be easy to find another man, she assured herself. When she would have time to look for that next relationship was left unanswered in her mind. That was fine though, Francesca could always use more time for herself. Get herself together… Getting up, collecting herself as best she could, Francesca got up to get back to it, when a knock came at her door. Francesca swore. Now what fresh hell was this?! Swinging around her body and stomping towards the door, Francesca swung open the door, the speed the door was going creating a gust of wind that blew the strands of hair off her face for a split second. “What?!” The open doorway reveals a smartly dressed woman in a red dress with a small, knitted green jacket, with white curls that barely hung above square glasses and a button nose. Francesca frowned at the woman, “O-oh, Mrs. Claus?” The woman blinked at her (ex) boyfriend’s mother. She had only met the woman twice in the year she had been dating her son, and she didn’t think the woman had ever been to her home. “What’re you doing here?” Mrs. Claus stepped around Francesca without asking for permission. “Hello, dear,” She says patting a gentle hand on Francesca’s shoulder. “I just came to check up on you. I like to keep an eye on the young girl’s my son likes to fornicate around with.” Cheeks going crimson, Francesca informs her, “You don’t have to worry about me and Chris, we just broke up. If you wouldn’t mind leaving, I’d like to be alone right now.” The younger woman says coolly, folding her arms with a cross look on her face. Butting into her love life was beyond irritating, but how dare this lady she barely knows just barge into her home without asking?! Going through Francesca’s home with a look of indifference, idly straightening a throw pillow Francesca had just been sitting on, flaming the fires of the young woman’s indignation, Mrs. Claus simply says, “That’s too bad, I was liking the two of you together. Hmm… How about some hot chocolate, dear?” “I don’t have the stuff to make that, thank you, though, now if you could-” “No bother, I always bring my own mix!” Mrs. Claus says with a joyful, boisterous voice. Ready to tell the woman to hit the road, Francesca’s body moves towards the round table in the center of her kitchenette. “Awesome, why don’t you go make it somewhere else?” She takes a seat at the table, her hands put together patiently as the older woman starts to warm something in a pot on the stove. Francesca frowns as Mrs. Claus starts rummaging through her cupboard. She takes out a cup that says Las Vegas with cards and dice, shaking her head, a cup Francesca had gotten for attending a meeting in Detroit with Ford on it, discarding that as well, a novelty mug Francesca had gotten at a bachelorette party that was of a certain part of the male anatomy that mortified the young lawyer to no end seeing in the hands of her ex’s mother. Mrs. Claus simply cocked an eyebrow at the cock and set it aside with distaste. “Don’t you have something… More festive?” “No, maybe you can grab your shit and we can reschedule this never,” Francesca tried to sound as mean as she could, but only managed to sound like a bratty child, pouting at not getting her way. She shuddered at the tone that came out of her mouth, and despised telling the woman that was creating that sweet, tantalizing aroma of chocolate that was wafting through the air to go away. “Ah ah, dear, no cussing…” Francesca flinched at the tone. Stern. In a way Francesca hadn’t heard in decades. She was being scolded! Scolded by a woman she barely knew! Scolded by her ex’s mother of all people! Like a petulant child who didn’t know her manners. Despite herself, Francesca found herself mumbling, “Sorry…” “It’s a good thing a Mommy is always prepared…” Mrs. Claus turns around and produces a mug in the shape of Rudolph the Red Nose reindeer’s head. Where such a cup appeared from, Francesca couldn’t say, the woman had no pockets that could fit a coin purse from what she could see but something else caught Francesca’s attention. ‘Mommy’? Mrs. Claus filled the mug and added a dollop of whipped cream that Francesca was certain had never been in this apartment before. The whole situation was bewildering. The pleasant smelling beverage was dropped before Francesca, and she was about to greedily gulp it down before Mrs. Claus stopped her, “Waaait,” Mrs. Claus patiently said with the tone of someone dealing with a small child, “Just need the finishing touch.” With a grater and a chunk of nutmeg, the spice was finely added to the mix, and Francesca was told, “Drink up, dearie!” All irritation was forgotten for the moment, Francesca was bouncing on her bum like a girl excited for her first day of school. The first sip that gave the prideful lawyer a white mustache the color of Mrs. Claus’ curls warmed Francesca up to her very core. It was like highly concentrated memories of childhood running down her throat with each smack of liquid chocolate that ran down the girl’s throat. It was akin to getting drunk. A giggle wheezed out of the girl’s lips like the wind of winter breezing through an open door into a fire warmed house. Thoughts of break ups and deadlines and work momentarily fled Francesca’s mind. It was only this moment, this mug, and her tongue that couldn’t get enough of the warm liquid that made her tummy feel like a cozy cabin in a blizzard. Mrs. Claus was behind Francesca now, massaging the girl’s shoulders, “Poor thing, you haven’t been treated like this in a long time, have you?” Francesca shook her head, not even looking away from the half filled mug. “Listen, sweetie, I’ll cut to the chase. I would like a grandchild in the near future-” In a tone of despair Francesca wasn’t aware she could even make, she wailed, “But Chrissy and me broke-” “Shh, shh, doll, don’t interrupt the grown up,” Francesca shut her mouth. “Junior still likes you, dear, I understand that… Life can be complicated. I’d like to give you the opportunity to make a better choice… You can either make a child, or you can be the child…” Mrs. Claus said cryptically. Even in a solid state of mind Francesca wouldn’t be able to parse the meaning of what the older woman was saying, but how she was now, it was a puzzle she couldn’t hope to unravel. “Huh?” “Oh, you’ll get it in time, baby girl. Or maybe, you won’t… Lots of other girls Junior has been with made the latter choice. His high school ex still writes to me and my husband every year, the silly thing, though I am impressed that she can write. The others…” She trailed off. “Let’s just say on a good day they can manage to tie their own shoes, hmm?” “I can ties my shoes!” Francesca happily replies, her mouth stained with the chocolate. “My, my! Can you now? Such a big girl!” Francesca gleefully nods her head. “That’s all well and good, perhaps you can show me some time… But for now, it’s time for all good girls to go to bed.” Mrs. Claus said as she wiped the stains from Francesca’s mouth with a wet rag. Francesca pouts, “Wha- But it only 9 o’clock! And I’s gots lots and lots of work-” Francesca stops mid sentence, her hand flying towards her tummy, squirming in her seat as a whine drops out of the grown woman’s mouth. “I- I gotta…” Mrs. Claus helps Francesca up out of her seat. “Yes, yes, dear, I know, you have lots of important work to do, but you can’t do any of that when you’re half asleep, now, can you?” Though she had never been to Francesca’s home, Mrs. Claus expertly guided Francesca towards her room, the girl protesting the whole way, hopping from one foot to the other, “B-but I gotta go!” “Shh, shh, dear, let’s get that ratty thing off…” Mrs. Claus said, helping Francesca out of her hoodie, leaving the poor girl wiggling on her toes grasping her crotch in her granny panties and old mismatched bra. “Now you stay right there…” Francesca’s body apparently had a new owner, in spite of her willing herself to run towards the bathroom, towards the potty, she obediently stayed in that spot, shivering, though the idea that she was practically nude in front of a stranger never crossed her mind. An hour ago the girl would’ve found the whole scenario as surreal as much as it was traumatizing, now, though, she had permission to run to the potty on her brain. Mrs. Claus rummaged through Francesca’s drawers in the dark room, tossing some of her more scandalous negligee off to the side, clicking her tongue at the sheer fabric before settling on a white sleeveless shirt with the tiniest of bows on the top. Francesca could barely remember the last time she wore the thing, but it was a mite better than the next part of her decided nightwear. Telling the girl to raise her arms, Mrs. Claus threaded the tanktop over Francesca’s head and arms, then slipped off the girl’s panties, making the older woman chuckle as the girl’s hand flew towards her groin in muscle memory to hide her shame. “You have nothing I haven’t seen before, sweetie…” She said as she pulled a thick, purple pair of undies Francesca was positive hadn’t been in her underwear drawer out and was consequently dressed in, holding on to the woman’s shoulder in a pose she hadn’t been in since she was 5 and still being dressed by her Mom and Dad. The underwear felt strange on the girl’s hips. Stiff, but secure, and it made her feel nostalgic for something she couldn’t quite put her finger on. “Nooow, can I please go potty?” “No, silly, into bed with you!” “B-but…” But no matter her objections, the red headed lawyer soldiered on and got under her covers, before getting tucked in by her boyfriend’s Mother. Ex boyfriends’s, Francesca’s befuddled mind corrected herself. Still squirming under her sheets, Francesca tried to beg to be let out, “Hush dear, be a good girl and suck your thumb…” And like the good girl Francesca was, she did so, plugging her mouth with her thumb, her mouth going nyuk nyuk nyuk. She didn’t understand why, but a blanket of sleepiness covered her, and her eyes grew heavy. Something soft was tucked under her arm, and Francesca clung to it. A familiar warmth and softness that reminded Francesca of times long, long ago. Her legs twitched, just seconds before she drifted off to sleep in the comfortable silence while the older woman left the room. It started off with a dribble, body uncertain of the forgotten motion. The dribble turned into a steady flow that warmed the thin padding of the girl’s bedwetting pants, the Goodnite turning yellow and heavy. A voice inside told her that the foreign comfort that was a warm diaper was wrong, yet she just let out a sigh of content through her thumb. as she snuggled with the stuffed bunny she hadn’t seen since she had packed it up for college more than a decade ago Chapter 2 Francesca woke with a start, sweat pouring down her brow, stinging her tired, droopy eyes, jumping out of bed with the light pouring through her blinds. It was light out, that only meant one thing. Late. Traffic to work was always a nightmare, but this close to the holidays nightmare would the understatement of a century. There was no time for messing around with makeup, just shower, get dressed, GO. She was two steps away from her bed before the smell caught up to her. Her eyes darted down. Then back up. And down again. The old tanktop with the childish bow, Flopsy, her stuffed bunny that was stuffed away in a box for years still caught in a white knuckle death grip, and worst of all, the soiled, flower patterned disposable underwear completely saturated from a night’s use, the dried trail of urine yellowing her delicate, pale thighs. Flopsy fell from her hand and Francesca’s jaw hit the floor. The toy in a brown dress, fur matted and press from all the time of misuse, dropped to a pile of Francesca’s discarded clothes. “Holy poop-” Francesca blinked, that wasn’t how she meant to say that, but the light of day compelled her towards more pressing matters. Work. Biting her lip, she contemplated just dressing and running out, but with an exploratory poke of the sodden underwear that was heavy with use, it squelched and gave way to the red painted fingernail, leaving an indent before popping back out, Francesca decided that plan of action was completely out of the question. Rushing towards the bathroom connected to her room she shed the old shirt and pulled down the Goodnite, kicking it off towards the trashcan next to her toilet, only it to hit the room and descend to the room with a shuddering plop. Francesca gave herself no time to contemplate what was going on with her body as she turned on water and hopped in before it had time to warm up. With a loofa, she scrubbed every inch of the yellow trails running down the inner thighs, hoping the apricot body wash would get rid of or at least mask the smell of her shame in the worst case scenario. There was no time given to thought, just the chore that was washing her body in the ice cold, sobering water. Out of the water, she wiped herself with a towel faster than she ever had before. Idle thoughts floated through the nebula that was Francesca’s consciousness, what was Mrs. Claus talking about? Did she really wet her bed like a toddler? But all thoughts were drowned out by the absolute panic that was: I’m late! I’m late! Like an impulsive white rabbit checking his pocket watch, Francesca was damn near sprinting through her bathroom, into her room, towards the dresser with water still dripping down her panic stricken face. She opened up the first drawer and her flurry of movements that was about to begin fell still before it even began. In horror, she pushed her arms into the drawer and pulled out what she saw. Instead of her collection of frankly sexy panties and thongs or even her briefs and granny panties she had for more casual affairs, stacks of thick, cotton underwear with a telltale padded core. She held one up, the front side decorated with a cartoon kitty playing on a dandelion the size of it waving happily at Francesca, another with a reindeer laying before a Christmas tree, a pink one with Barbie emblazoned on the front. Francesca went pale. Her entire wardrobe had been replaced by cotton training pants! As if she were 4 and still getting a handle on this whole potty training business! She ruffled through the stacks, tossing childish underwear to and fro in what was quickly becoming a futile gesture to find just one article of adult attire, only to stop when, at the bottom of the load, her fingers found the wrong kind of paydirt; A single disposable Pull-Up with Moana confidently standing. Shoot! Turning towards her sweater she had worn the previous night, she slid across her hardwood floors on her knees in a desperate attempt to find anything that would be good enough to wear today and… Beneath her Harvard sweater, was none other than a plastic lines Luvs diaper with a Sesame Street character smiling sweetly at pale faced lawyer. She picked it up, not quite believing what she was seeing, only to drop it when she realized how cold and clammy it was. A used Luvs, big enough for Francesca’s generous rear was sat under her clothes… There was no time to process this, she was still running late. The idea to go commando today crossed her mind, but she discarded the idea entirely. No, she would simply have to make due with wearing one of the cotton training pants and hope they didn’t ride up. Gingerly, she grabbed the underwear with Barbie on the front between a middle finger and thumb and with a groan, kicked a foot into the leg hole and started pulling it up. Fully on, a queer thought accord to Francesca, she didn’t have any help putting it on. She was proud of herself! And with a smile, went back to dressing, only to realize with a fright how she was feeling and to quash down that thought vigorously. She didn’t want to feel proud of putting on the strangely pleasant feeling childish underwear designed to catch any little accidents, she wanted to feel panicked, horrified, and infuriated at the disappearance of her wardrobe! She threw on sheer, brownish almost black leggings and got a skirt up to her hips, throwing on an undershirt (she couldn’t admit to herself that it looked closer to a training bra than anything else) and white blouse, buttoning and zipping up the skirt to hold in place her shirt. A professional, neat blazer went on top and then her heels and Francesca was ready to go out the door… Only for her to stop in the middle of her living room, ready to sprint out and rush to work, when the seductive allure of coffee struck her. A glance towards her Keurig was all it took for her to fold, and she was tapping the toe of her heels on the kitchen tile watching the brown ambrosia drip into her togo coffee cup. With a scant few seconds to check her phone, Francesca turned on the screen, swearing (frick) at her unkempt reflection before it lit on, promising herself to do her makeup on the way to work. 4 missed calls. One from Chris. 3 from Mrs. Claus. Of all the 8 billion people on this planet, the two she wanted the least to do with were trying to talk to her. With a smug expression, she clicked on the text messages Chris had sent her, spitefully not looking at them, just leaving it on long enough to be marked ‘read’. Her self satisfied game played, Francesca grabbed her cup and fled the apartment, only to pop her head back in and grab her purse next to a table by her door. Only the purse wasn’t quite as tiny and chic as it was the previous day. It looked closer to her work out bag, Too big, too thick, too heavy, too worn, it looked more like a Mom’s day to day inventory of child-rearing supplies. Stepping into the white and gray world of blistering cold, remotely turning on her car, wishing that she the foresight to grab a jacket, Francesca walked up to her BMW and reached into the backseat to grab her windshield scrapper, and deposited her (not) diaper bag and coffee mug into the center cupholder. Another wish: someone to scrape the ice for her off her windows so she could sit in the backseat of the warming vehicle, kicking her legs while she played on her phone. Did she even have games on her phone? Francesca asked herself while her exposed skin turned red and nose got runny. Something to check up on later. Finally, getting into her car, Francesca turned on the radio, a little NPR to start her morning commute, only for it turn on immediately to “Santa Baby”, she never had listened to holiday music without it being forced on her, but Francesca found herself singing along to ‘Feliz Navidad’, ‘All I want for Christmas’, and ‘Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer’ during her whole commute, getting so into the music she didn’t notice her chocolate milk running down her chin and on to her clean K-Pop Demon Hunters shirt after hastily drinking from her sippy cup. Outside her law firm, she pulled into her dedicated parking spot having completely forgotten to do her make up and rushed in. The office was bustling with energy, interns and workers from the mail room milling about, phones going off, professional looking people making copies. Francesca looked a little out of place in her stained cartoon shirt and her blue tights with snow flakes, holding a sippy cup half full of chocolate milk with a (not) diaper bag slung on her shoulder. She looked to all the world like a girl at a bring your daughter to work day. Walking over to her corner office, the name ‘Francesca Alimore’ on a brass plaque underneath a window of the heavy wooden door, her office surrounded by a wall of windows, on the inside shudders hiding the view. Francesca saw her secretary, Marissa, typing away at her computer in front of her office. The lawyer felt a pang of guilt seeing the black haired secretary with manicured, different colored nails clacking away on a wireless keyboard, square framed glasses staring down at her screen, not looking up at her approaching boss. The last time Francesca had spoken to her secretary, two hours into overtime, she had denied Marissa’s request to go to her family’s for Christmas, though in her defense, Marissa had made the request three days before she would have to leave, and they had a lot to do. Still… The cold shoulder her secretary had given Francesca the rest of the day was all she needed to feel sorry now. At the time, she just shrugged her shoulders and silently told the younger woman to grow up. Marissa looked up, eyes furrowing at the sounds of Francesca’s approach, ready to scowl at the woman, only when she saw her boss, she blinked, a funny look falling on her face. It was like she was processing what she was seeing for a moment, blankly staring at the childishly dressed lawyer. Then, a huge, ruby red smile lit up her face. “Good morning, Frankie!” Marissa said, in a bit of a patronizing tone. The younger woman got up and gave Francesca a big hug, that the lawyer awkwardly returned, the secretary slipping Francesca’s (not) diaper bag off her shoulders and taking ownership of it herself. “I hope you’re ready, we have a biiig day ahead of us!” “Uhh… Yeah, we do, sorry for being late…” Francesca hid her sippy cup and other hand behind her back and toed the ground with one of her pink and white boots. “Silly!” Marissa put her hands on her hips and shook her head in disbelief in what she was hearing, “You’re two hours early every day! You always make sure we both start our workdays off bright and early, some times you need a little bit of rest, don’t you?” Francesca shrugged, “I guess…” Just to let out an ‘eep!’ when the dark haired woman reached under her boss’ skirt and felt the padded panties she wore. “Still dry! Good job kiddo!” She held up a hand for a high five that Francesca excitedly gave her. “Now, I think someone should probably go sit on the potty for a little bit, but when do you ever listen to me? Here, I have the documents you need to fill out before the hearing today…” A stack of papers was shoved into Francesca’s hands that she wearily peered at. For a moment, they looked like a pile of small text in squiggly lines that looked daunting to get through, but after blinking, the papers in her hands looked like a black and white picture of a frozen pond with kids skating on it. She turned to another and it looked like a similarly monotoned picture of a pile of presents with a giant teddy bear holding them. Leafing through the pile it was more or less the same on each of them, a stack of coloring pages. “Now you go sit down at your desk, I just sharpened your crayons, you get to work and I’ll get you a nice fresh cup of cocoa in a bit. Maybe I should do your hair, I think someone was a bit preoccupied with making it to work today…” A blush blooming on her cheeks, Francesca shyly said, “Yeaah…” Marissa gave the girl a pat on Francesca’s bum, that inadvertently send a stream of pee into the center of the girl’s training panties, sending her on her way. Chapter 3 Yesterday, Francesca’s office was a simple, picture of professionalism, two window walls between her and the rest of the office, elegant, white wood panels on the other two, a bookshelf filled with texts on law on both sides long landscape avant garde paintings, one of a white half circle on a surrealistic horizon of blue on top and black on bottom, the other of a yellow half circle on a border between a light blue top and a green bottom. A beautiful wooden desk with a wireless monitor, inlaid with smooth, white marbled top, two red chairs in front, an intimidating black chair… All gone. Francesca stepped into an oversized preschool styled room, her degrees on the wall replaced by posters of alphabets and numbers, her bookshelf now ankle sized with picture books, above it her overpriced paintings now teaching her about shapes and what sounds an animal says. Marissa, taking Francesca’s hand without asking led her to the short, round table with what looked like a child’s tablet, pink, encased in rubber, nigh indestructible where her computer should be. “My office…” Francesca whined quietly. She walked with the gait of the wounded stepping through a warzone, slow, uncertain, watching out for landmines… If she were in a warzone, Francesca would’ve blown up, a baby doll underfoot squeaking as she steps on top of it, asking for a bottle. Pulling out a chair, Marissa helped Francesca down, the lawyer frowning as she sat in the hard, rubber seat, an unfamiliar warmth and squish on her bottom. Her legs twitched inward, and a hand ran the front of her skirt. What was that funny feeling in her undies? The grown adult wasn’t sure… Putting the papers in front of Francesca, opening a pencil case with a clear purple top full of crayons, Marissa sweetly tells the childlike woman, “Go ahead, dear, take your time,” While patting the 31 year old lawyer’s head, “Your hair is so messy! Here, I’m gonna make it all pretty while you get your work done.” The secretary leaves Francesca for a moment, who felt an odd sense of panic at being left alone. It was a bit like being left alone in the dark, not sure of what’s going to pop out, whether or not someone will come back. Francesca shrunk into herself in her moment of solitude, arms folding into her body, legs clasped against each other, a thumb slipping into her mouth in an attempt to comfort herself. The click clack of Marissa’s heels were like a welcoming sound of a school bell to Francesca, she turned around, messy hair flying excitedly towards the door behind her. She had never been so happy to see the younger woman. Actually, Francesca thought about it for a moment, she had never been happy to see the lady who was treating her so kindly at the moment. The thought made the girl feel sorry and alienated. She really didn’t have any friends at the office, or really anywhere. The missed calls from her ex and his mother were the only messages that weren’t work related on her phone. And they were probably mean and trying to tell Frankie she was a bad girl… “Aww, what’s got you so sour, sugarplum?” Marissa asked the down looking lawyer. She let out a sniffle before answering, “N-nothing…” Francesca quietly mumbled between her thumb. Marissa pulled out a silver colored hairbrush and ran in through Francesca’s hair, the girl winced at the tugging before the tangled mess smoothed out and the process became easier. “Don’t be so glum, chum. You know Santa Claus doesn’t like pouty girls, right?” Francesca considered this. She had forgotten all about Santa Claus. Did she even have a tree at her house? Or a chimney? Mommy and Daddy’s house had a chimney, Santa never had a problem finding his way there… When was the last time she even spoke to her Mommy and Daddy? Francesca threw the thought away like a soiled pair of bedwetting pants. With a yellow crayon, going as neatly as she could she started pouring herself into her drawings while Marissa combed her hair. She tried to be as neat as she could, meticulously keeping everything in the lines, but soon found the act of keeping tidy too tedious to pay attention to. By the second drawing she had given up any semblance of order, wildly scribbling away, just wanting her work to be done. A strand of hair was tightly wound around another, and another. Marissa hummed to herself as she braided her boss’ hair while the girl furiously colored, sticking a tongue out of her mouth as she concentrated. A low buzzing hummed from the diaper bag sitting nearby. A message on her phone. Maybe it was Daddy! She quickly leaned down, “Ow!” Francesca cried out as her hair held by the secretary made her head bounce back. “Oh, honey, hold still!” Francesca blinked. She had dealt with so much worse pain in her life, she didn’t know why a little hair pulled was so bad. There were even a few times she may have requested such an act. But now, feeling the fading thrum of pair on the back of her scalp… An audible gasp, a big crocodile tear fell from the mature woman’s face. “Waaah! Waaaah!” The crayon fell from her grip, clattering on a pile of others on the table. An uncontrollable surge flowed through Francesca, an over pouring well of emotions flooded all sense of self control the lawyer had over herself and she let it all. Loudly crying, the girl hid her face in her arms on the table, wet drops lining her face as she ugly cried harder than she had last night. Never mind the fact that she hadn’t done anything close to process her biggest breakup in years. “Frankie…” Marissa said, rubbing her boss’ back. “Baby, shh, it’s ok, just a little yank, it’s alright!” She grabbed Francesca’s sippy cup of chocolate milk and waved it in front of the girl’s hidden face, wetting the sleeves of her baby blue jacket. When that didn’t get that inconsolable woman-child out of the hidey hole that was her arms, Marissa wrapped her arms around the hunched over red head and slowly the head emerged from her safe retreat. “Shh… Shh…” Marissa said comfortingly. “There, there… Shh…” The secretary said, rubbing Francesca’s head. “That’s it dear, just let it all out…” Francesca buried her head into the safety of the curtain of black hair. Sobbing turned to sniffling, sniffling turned to little hiccups, then finally, sweet, sweet silence. “Atta girl. Does Frankie feel better now?” A tiny whine and a short nod. Marissa wiped away the tears on Francesca’s face with her thumbs, the nails tickling her brow. “M-Marissa?” “Yea, hun?” “I think I gotta go potty…” “Oh… Oh!” Marissa stood Francesca up. “You get your bottoms off and I’ll grab your princess potty, ‘kay?” “Mmm- ‘kay…” In the corner of a room, an adult sized version of a training potty sat, waiting to be wheeled to the center of the room. Marissa grabbed it and wheeled it over to Francesca. The lawyer was doing the potty dance at this point, trying to shimmy out of her skirt. The urge to use the bathroom wasn’t there a moment ago, it struck her suddenly like a ball of ice hits the windshield during a hailstorm. Clumsy fingers clasped the buttons keeping her red corduroy skirt up, letting out a defeated sigh when she found she couldn’t get them apart, either due to panic or something else. Yanking them down was the next step, but she couldn’t seem to pry them off. Francesca stared down at the training potty that was set at her feet. The back had several Disney Princesses waving at her from the back. Conflicting feelings whirled around inside Francesca. Urgency compelled her, inability stopped her, and the feeling that this was all wrong made her hesitate. The call for action was taken out of Francesca’s hands, Marissa stepping behind her and yanking down the skirt and tights all in one go, just leaving her padded training undies. Francesca relinquished all autonomy and control over the situation, it was easier to make it someone else’s problem that take accountability for what was about it happen. “Hurry!” Francesca begged Marissa, but it was too late. The damp padding took another hit, a warm stream dribbled out of Francesca as Marissa began taking the undies off. She whimpered as she was still going as the Barbie underwear was lowered by her underappreciated secretary’s hands. “Honey…” Marissa murmured with a comforting and patronizing tone, “Can you hold it for just a sec? Just to sit down?” Tearing up again, chewing her nails, Francesca shook her head silently. With a sigh, Marissa hoisted up the panties and then pushed Francesca down to the potty, helping the underwear slide down Francesca’s thin thighs, the dribbling now echoing in the plastic potty while the girl sucked her thumb in an effort to have some relief. Marissa crept low, hands on her knees with a big, beaming smile on her face. “What a big girl you are! You ready to wipe?” A quick knock on the door and a large, elderly balding man entered the room. “Hello, Miss Alimore?” Edward Pauldron was the senior partner at the firm, and Francesca’s mentor, having hired her straight out of law school. The man had raised Francesca up from nothing, she respected him more than any other person on Earth. And she was sitting on a training potty in the office he had given her with her soaked training pants around her thighs. The mortification was enough to knock Francesca out of the spell she was under, but not enough to utter anything more than, “Uhhhhh…. Mr. Pauldron……” Her mouth hung open like a dead cod, startled like a gazelle in the sight of a lion, paralyzed like a grandma run over by a reindeer. Almost in sheer shock, her stream cut off. “Just coming to check on your progress Miss Alimore before your hearing later today.” The man strolled in like he owned the place. Probably because for the most part he did. He only gave one cursory glance at the adult sitting exposed. “All done? Alright, stand up, sweetie.” Marissa took Francesca’s hand and stood her up, a wet wipe in her hand and began to clean her underside. Mr. Pauldron stepped over to where Francesca had been coloring, making a tut-tut-tut sound with his tongue. He took one of the pages and showed Francesca the image of a puppy in a gift box, the colors going outside the lines. “Miss Alimore, very sloppy work.” He said, having Francesca, growing red from having her ass wiped and her work disparaged. “Not gonna sugarcoat it, frankly, Frankie, I’m disappointed.” “I- but-…” “Frankie, this is not the quality of work that made you junior partner.” “Frankie, sweetie, you know the deal, you wet your trainers than you have to go to disposables for the rest of the day.” Marissa told Francesca, stepping over to Mr. Pauldron and grabbed a large Pull-Up with Anna and Elsa standing next to each other on a snowy background. “But…” Mr. Pauldron put his hand out. “No buts, Frankie, now I expect better work out of you.” Marissa busied herself getting Francesca’s tights and skirt off of her, the Barbie undies sagging low between her knees before they were stripped off of her too. She was left hiding her groin and shivering from cold and shame. “Foot up, Frankie,” Marissa ordered her boss, who obeyed on autopilot. “Let’s try and do better, Frankie, I know you can.” Mr. Pauldron turned towards the door, just as Francesca’s new underwear was all the way up. “Oh, and please dry and use the potty like a big girl for the rest of the day, it’s going to look bad on the firm having one of our associates wetting herself in court.” “All done, good girl!” Marissa patted Francesca’s head as the door closed shut behind Mr. Pauldron. “Let’s get back to coloring sweetie. You can do it!” “M-My clothes…” Francesca let out in a whiny voice. Marissa put her hands on her hips and smiled at the girl. “You have a very pretty dress in your bag for the hearing today, let’s wait to put it on till then, ‘kay?” “I can wear my tights and skirt though, right?” “Baby,” Marissa began in a slow voice, “Let’s keep those off, just in case.” “Oh, okay…” Francesca took an uncertain step towards the table, cringing at the papery rustle coming from between her legs that screamed to the world she was just a little girl who couldn’t keep her panties dry, the foreign feeling of the padding thicker than her training undies cruelly reminding her that she wasn’t allowed to wipe her own ass anymore, she despised how safe it made her feel. The phone in the (maybe) diaper bag rang again. Frowning, Francesca stomped towards it, pulling the black rectangle she only got angry when she saw the name glowing from the screen. She answered it. “Francesca,” Chris said over the phone, “Did my M-” Francesca interrupted her ex. “Stop calling me doodie head!” She screamed into the receiver, channeling her frustration into her words, “You a big meanie and I don’t like you!” She angrily hung up on him before he could say anything else and turned back towards her work.

The Bug By RogueDratini (A Diaper Dimension story) Pink flower petals dancing to the ground, fluttering down like butterflies. Adolescent Amazons in their identical school uniforms, the girls in their sailor outfits and the boys in their dark blue clothes that made them look like blocks. Tweeners made to look like preschoolers led by the hands by their Amazon parents, though where they were going ‘school’ wasn’t the right term, ‘reeducation’ was more apt. Yamatoa, one of the most beautiful and progressive counties on the planet, for Amazons. For the Tweeners, it was a promise, subjugate yourself willingly and quietly, or go through traumatic brainwashing that left them less than a shadow of their former selves. And they were the lucky ones, for Littles like Hana Lee, there was no option. Worse off than the Tweeners who were told to put on their Pull-Ons, silly bucket hats, and uniforms in pastel primary colors or we’ll do it for you. For Littles, like Hana Lee swinging her legs in her comfortable stroller as her ‘Mommy’ pushed her down the picturesque street, there was no option. For Littles, like Hana Lee naked save for her diaper, a faux pacifier gag, and the little blue bow that was wrapped around her head to signify to all passerby that she was a girl (as if her chest, albeit modest, or girlish face wouldn’t convey that fact), the only road led to a life of permanent babyhood. All according to plan. In a society as polite and noninvasive as the Yamatoans (as long as both parties were Amazon), rarely would Amazons go up to another Amazon’s Little and grab their cheeks or check their diaper. It was a social faux pa. A custom to keep hands to yourself in a country that was mostly city and large town based, an unspoken contract everyone held to keep the spread of germs to a minimum. In keeping contact low, this had transferred to keeping one’s eyes to their self as well. Which meant: a Little, like Hana Lee, was for all intents and purposes, invisible. For others, it might be dehumanizing, being treated as an accessory. No more a person than a little yappy dog in a purse or the purse itself, an accessory to be admired, so long as ‘Mommy’ wasn’t holding her up to the world in an open invitation to invade Hana Lee’s personal space by the elderly or small Amazons. Any feeling like being dehumanized or invisible was just another tool to be used. ‘Mommy’ pulled the stroller down a narrow alleyway, a few garbage cans with yowling cats that ran off as soon as the pair entered it, a handful of overgrown bushes, and a single empty can that rolled from side to side on the carpet of pink flower petals that fell from behind the large concrete wall. “Does baby want her baba?” Hana Lee’s handler said aloud in a stage whisper, a cover up for what was about to happen if anyone nearby happened to see the Amazon pulling into rhe strange alleyway. Not that many would pay too much mind, they would most likely assume that a new mother was bashful about changing her messy Little’s diaper in public, even if the country itself encouraged the lack of privacy for Little bodies, no one in the public would consider it their business. The handler unstrapped Hana Lee, she slipped out to the ground between the Amazon and the stroller, freed herself from the loose diaper and spat out the fake pacifier gag. Hana Lee wasn’t nude, however, her skin tone body suit kept the cool air from her. The Amazon snapped a fanny pack and a watch with a countdown for 15 minutes on to Hana Lee, tapped the comm link that was hidden inside the bow. Handler hid her mouth and whispered, “Testing…” Hana Lee popped a thumb up in confirmation, Pulling away a loose bush, Hana Lee crawled under the perimeter fence into the property of the Yamatoan Prime Minister. She surveyed the scene in front of her, the yard was beautiful, a koi pond with enormous gold fish swimming, several classic Yamatoan style buildings with wrap around porches, sliding screen doors with intricate paintings adorning them, and the large sakura trees with their petals covering the grass and tasteful stone paths. An amateur might have found herself in such a location and pretended she was in an old black and white samurai movie, a shadow warrior of yore about to sneak into a rival warlord’s home for an assassination. However, unlike many other Littles, Hana Lee was a professional. A spy. The watch on her wrist ticked down from 14:57, the time it took her to crawl under the wall and get a feel for the lay of the land, down to 14:56. A pale blur zipped around the compound. A run and jump on to the porch, Hana Lee slipped inside one of the sliding doors. The first room was a simple tea room, the only furniture a table with a few pillows around it. Hanging above, a lantern from a chain. Hana Lee hopped from one side of the corner, to the adjacent wall then flew to the lantern. Off hand gripping the chain, Hana Lee pulled a tiny drill with little ramps running down the grove into a compartment to catch the flying dust it would make, and created a small hole soundlessly, withdrew the drill and placed a powerful camera that was the size of a gnat and covered it with a special putty that would make it unsearchable from the outside. 14:46 1 room down, 37 to go. She skittered in and out of rooms, dining areas, waiting rooms, bedrooms. Cameras were set up strategically, from other operatives Hana Lee already knew their location and danced around them, sliding into vents, climbing in and out of windows. A shadow that barely registered. A consummate professional like Hana Lee, the Little fly, had broken into military facilities with none the wiser, boarded planes with security around every corner, evaded the sight of entire teams of enemy operatives that were actively searching for her. This laizie faire secured compound was child’s play to Hana Lee. Little’s play. 9:25. The most important room. The prime minster’s office. Hana Lee slid across the floor, under the desk where a PC tower the size of her waited. The cords were neat and organized, and she easily found three empty USB ports for her to use. Whipping out three compact flash drives, one between her fore and middle finger, between the middle and index, between the index and pinky, she plugged them in, then glanced at the watch. It would take 45 seconds to upload the virus that would give her employers access to the minister’s network, and download a copy of all files on the computer. Sliding out from under the desk, she used the down time efficiently, installing two cameras in the room, before retreating under the desk, 25 agonizing seconds. The watch was silent, but she could hear the tick of a clock as the numbers went down. Tick-tock tick-tock. A whir of static coming from her comm bead. “Baby done with her baba?” Shit! The code phrase for a premature arrival. 5...4...3...2...1… Ripping the flash drives out, Hana Lee burst out of the room, and into the next door, just enough time to bug one more. She wished it was literally anywhere else. Rooms like this were the worst for Hana Lee. A long time ago, she had wrapped herself in an image of cool, collected, an unrivaled professional, rooms like this sent that image crashing down. Standing in nursery that would be perfect for someone Hana Lee’s size, she felt a shiver go down her spine. Her quick feet slowed to a snail’s pace. Gulping, she stepped over a toy truck the size of her forearm. Tried to ignore the onesies and adorable sailor suits for Little boys that Hana Lee hated to admit would be too big for her, too small for many infantile garments made for Little men. Torture, that’s what it was for Hana Lee to go over every detail in this over sized playroom that did its best to remind her what she really was to the world. Just a Little girl. A mobile hung over the crib, catching her eye. Nodding to herself, that was the spot. She climbed on top of the changing table, trying to ignore the fact she was climbing over stacks of diapers, hoisted herself on to the padded mat, and jumped over the crib, grabbing a hold of the mobile and wrapping herself around it like a snake, her toned legs pressing against the thick bar underneath her. In her rushed movement, a toe had tapped on to the spinning wheel, a little lullaby played. For a second, just a second, the music caught her off guard, she could see herself fall into the crib below, the wide white bars too slick for her to climb out if she wanted to. A happy little accident for her new ‘parents’ to find, drooling and soaked through her bodysuit, trying to grab the spinning mobile until she would squeal with delight on seeing her new Mommy and Daddy. That fear ran through her as she drilled into the ceiling and placed the last bug she would have time for. Another team would have to come in and get the rest of the rooms. It would be shorter work, easier. Hana Lee prepared to vault over the crib, as she jumped, her belly flopped into the top bar of the crib, she fell on to the mattress below, crying and pissing herself waiting for her new family to find her and comfort their new baby girl. Just a daydream. Hana Lee jumped over the crib easily, having made numerous other, more difficult jumps, rolling into a landing and jumping out the window, sprinting through the garden that was straight out of a film. 7 minutes, 36 seconds to spare. Hana Lee cursed, she could’ve made better time. Should have. Crawling under the hole, Hana Lee was abruptly grabbed by two large hands. The fanny pack and the watch were taken off, her bodysuit stripped away, the diaper she wore before fastened, only tighter. Hana Lee understood the precautions, the bodysuit was on her as a convenience before, save them precious seconds, the looseness of the diaper the same. They needed no such niceties now. A quick lie could cover up the real reason behind such things on the way to the op, but leaving them that way now was only asking to rouse suspicion for no reason other than Hana Lee’s comfort. Strapping the Little back into the stroller, Handler leaned in and whispered. “How many remain?” Two hands, each finger extended, then flashing just one digit up. In a louder voice, ‘Mommy’ said in a loud, patronizing tone, “Good baby!” Before shoving the pacifier gag back into Hana Lee’s mouth. Sucking in a quick breath, the spy prepared herself for the public once again. Adopting a dopey expression, swinging her legs back and forth. Like an idiot. Like a Little. A trip to the convenience store and returning the rental stroller, Hana Lee, carried on the hip by her handler, entered their hotel room, decorated minimally, a small closet to the left and a bathroom on the other side as soon as they entered the door, a little kitchenette just past this with a small table low to the ground, one lone TV in front of a tiny sofa, a desk that was empty this morning when the two had first entered the room earlier in the day now had all of the handler’s equipment, sturdy headphones attached to a top of the line laptop. Handler dropped Hana Lee and the bag of groceries off at the front and bee lined to her computer. Tip-tap- “All set.” She said to her partner as grainy images of inside the Prime Minister’s homestead filtered on the screen, her headphones tucked on one ear. Hana Lee nodded and dragged the groceries into the kitchenette, then headed towards her luggage, pulling out a sports bra, dolphin shorts, and panties. Getting dressed, feeling unburdened as she untaped the diaper, having to dig her nails to rip off the tabs, she winced at the sight of what was in the corner. A folding changing mat in the wall, next to a complimentary pack of diapers and changing supplies. It was a grim reminder to Hana Lee. The most popular reason for visitors to places like this in Yamatoa was how easily it was to adopt a Little. No where else in the world did they have such lax regulations. It was barely more than a single piece of paper, just sign your name, sign your Little’s ‘new’ name, a quick examination, and ‘Who’s your Daddy’? Trying to ignore the elephant in the room, Hana Lee finished dressing and wandered over to the fridge, putting away the groceries, flinching at the sight of more complimentary items, two bottles of premade baby formula and a few jars of baby food. Unpacking the bags, Hana Lee wondered what they did with the left overs, was it all disposed or donated to charity, or was it so uncommon it almost never came up? A pop of a can, Hana Lee cursing as suds spilled over the lip of the can of beer. Loudly, she slurped up as much of the foam as she could while grabbing a towel, throwing it to the ground and wiping away the mess with a foot. Taking a spot at the table, Hana Lee noticed the handler staring at her, the Amazon’s full bodied blond hair swept away to one shoulder, one delicate eye brow raised, long lashes fluttering with either disbelief or disapproval. “Yes?” Hana Lee sipped her beer, both hands gripping the Amazon sized can. The Amazon entwined her fingers together, hiding her mouth before saying, “It’s a little early for drinks, isn’t it Baby?” Hana Lee shuddered at her code name, no matter how appropriate it was. Hana Lee and her handler didn’t need to know each other’s real identities, after this mission, they would never see each other again. It was safer if they only knew each other as ‘Mommy’ and ‘Baby’, no matter how much she wished the woman would call her by her real name, she would never know it. Another sip from the can, and Hana Lee set it down. Getting up, she walked towards the window, the Amazon swiveling the office chair around to keep the operative in the corner of her eye. Hana Lee climbed on top of the inert economic air conditioner that sat just below the window and looked down. She could see the Prime Minister’s home just a few blocks away, the exact reason why they had rented out this particular room. Lying, Hana Lee told the Amazon, “It’s good for nerves. Drinking calms me down.” While the alcohol certainly did calm down anxiety, that wasn’t the real reason Hana Lee drank after missions like this. It wasn’t the first time she had to act like an innocent Little, there were even occasions when she would have to parade herself in frilly dresses and even frillier diaper covers for months at a time, just to have clear course to infiltrate one location for less than 5 minutes. For times like that and this, having a shot or a double pint of brew was more than cutting loose, it was an anchor, a reassurance that her brief stint as a baby was just an act, playing pretend, this was the real Hana Lee. The professional, mature spy. “Save it for later.” The Amazon commanded with airs. “Don’t want any surprise visitors wondering why my Little reeks like a brewery.” Hana Lee rolled her eyes. It was always like this when working with Amazons, they think just because they can pick her up without breaking a sweat and were used as the public face that meant they were in charge. There was never any equal footing with an Amazon agent. She took a rebellious swig of beer, in spite of knowing the Amazon was right and the glare it earned her. “Shouldn’t you be looking at the footage instead of watching your ‘Little girl’?” Wordlessly, the Amazon went back to the surveillance. Taking her drink to the sofa, Hana Lee climbed on to the cushions with the grace of a cat, balancing her can with one hand while lifting herself up with the other. “If you spill a drop on there, you’re drinking from a nipple for the rest of the trip.” A mean spirited snap came from the Amazon without looking away from the screen. Not entertaining the remark with another word, Hana Lee grabbed the remote and flipped on the TV, immediately flipping the channel when she saw magical girls wearing diapers. Hana Lee had heard about the Kawaii Chibi Sailor Babies, a show about Tweeners who used their magic rattles to turn into super hero Littles to fight off evil villains who want to make Tweeners and Littles more like Amazons, more than sheer propaganda she knew it was one of those shows that was rife with hypnotic messages and subliminal programming. Many of the channels Hana Lee surfed past had shows like that, a minefield designed to make Littles and Tweeners conform to their role in society. Hana Lee wondered how much of the programming worked on foreign Littles who didn’t understand the language, though she did know Yamatoa so no matter what, she didn’t press her luck on anything that featured anyone with babyish clothing. She settled on the news, conforming to her own standards instead of theirs. The handler took off her headphones and rubbed her temple, groaning. Hana Lee set her half finished beer down and asked, “Everything ok?” “Hmm? Yeah, just have a headache…” The Amazon leaned back in the chair, grimacing. Hana Lee thought back to their first meeting, the two had been introduced just before hopping on the plane to Yamatoa, She couldn’t remember a single thing the Amazon had ate or drank on the whole trip. Usually, Hana Lee gorges herself right before a mission, getting all the calories she would need and then barely eats if it only for a few days, she had assumed the same for the Amazon, but now she can see it was something else. “This is your first assignment, isn’t it?” Hana Lee inquired nonchalantly. The Amazon’s face went beat red. “N-no! I’ve been on plenty of missions!” That made Hana Lee burst out laughing. “Hahaha! You sound like someone lying about being a virgin! ‘My spymaster is in another country you wouldn’t know him’! Hahaha!” The handler the Little a look that could kill, but didn’t deny it. Hoping off the sofa, Hana Lee grabbed the huge woman’s hand and started pulling her away. “Come on.” There a was touch of kindness in her words, an olive brach. Glancing over at the computer, the Amazon let out an uncertain, “But we have to watch the cameras…” Shaking her head, Hana Lee kept pulling. “I’ve seen it all before, you got too jittery to even think about eating or drinking, and now your body is ready to shut down. Happens to a lot of newbies, well, unless they have a vice, then they’re smoking like a chimney, drinking like its going out of style, or messing with some hot little honeypot in the next room and keeping me up all night. Nothing to be ashamed of.” The handler insisted, “But the cameras!” “Will still be there when we’re done eating,” Hana Lee finished, “It’s all going to get sent to someone who’s more qualified to parse through every second, anyway, so calm down. Eat, drink, or you’re just going to fall face first on the keyboard and delete everything while drooling on the keyboard.” Face going pale at that, she asked, “T-that couldn’t really happen… could it?” Rolling her eyes, Hana Lee pointed out, “We have a direct feed going straight to HQ, see this is why you need a break, your common sense is showing.” Sitting the Amazon down at the small table, Hana Lee started spreading out some food for her, premade rolls of sushi that had gotten a bit messed up in the trip to the hotel, a bottle of water, and a can of beer. “Drink this,” Hana Lee tapped the lid on the beer, “Then drink this.” She flipped the top of the water. “I don’t drink,” The Amazon said sulking. Popping a bowl of udon into the microwave, Hana Lee shot her a coy look, “Oh good, another thing I can show you how to do.” When she looked back, everything in front of the Amazon was still untouched. Bashfully, the Amazon admitted, “I don’t know how to use chow sticks…” Hana Lee let out her exasperation. “I really didn’t think I’d have to show you everything. Why wouldn’t you learn how to use chow sticks before coming to Yamatoa?” She looked like a schoolgirl caught in a lie, “I didn’t- I just thought there was more important things to learn…” Once again, Hana Lee walked over, picked up the sticks and ripped them away from each other, delicately arranged them into the handler’s hand. “There, now keep the one on your thumb steady… The stick between your fingers move, kind of like you’re pointing at… Yeah, there you go…” The Amazon looked at the piece of sushi coming towards her mouth, then at Hana Lee in confirmation that she was doing it right, before feeling silly for looking at a Little like that. “Mmm!” The woman covered her rice speckled smile. “That’s really good!” A steaming plastic bowl was placed in front of the Amazon. “Good? You should try it fresh, it’s to die for.” As Hana Lee retrieved her beer from next to the sofa, “Have you been to Yamatoa before?” The handler asked conversationally, eyeing the bowl carefully. “How are you supposed to eat soup with chow sticks?” “Just eat the noodles and the stuff around the soup. At the end you can slurp it up.” The handler popped a questioning look at her. “’Slurp’ it? Haha, kinda sounds like a Little dish. Do you want Mommy to feed you some and when its nice and cool?” She teased, holding out a noodle in front of her. “Don’t do that.” Hana Lee didn’t shoot the opposing woman with a dirty look, just a frigid reply. She took a long drink from the can, set it aside and grabbed another beer from the fridge. “I’ve never been to Yamatoa.” She admitted. “Back state side, there’s a little sushi place off the coast that I go to, they serve portions that aren’t massive to me, and they don’t make me use a booster seat. Some times, the chef there will chat with me awhile. His wife will too if she’s not busy, always trying to set me up with their son, it’s cute…” She didn’t mention that they stopped trying to set them up awhile ago. The son had gotten picked up a few months ago, some black market adoption racket that zonked all intelligence out of a Little’s mind in a marathon of hypno cartoons and recordings. Hana Lee had gone to the son’s ‘wake’, a remembrance of who he was. Hana Lee hated admitting to herself, when she saw the Little man’s picture, that he was handsome, her type, hated staying up at night, wondering ‘what if’. What if she had taken the chance to go on that date. Would the son have gotten picked up, would she have gotten grabbed with him? Air rapidly escaped the next can of beer when Hana Lee opened the tab, as if in solidarity, the Amazon across from her did the same, the cans hissing in a chorus. “It sounds nice.” The handler said. Hana Lee nodded, drinking her beer, the Amazon copied her, then spat out her drink. “Ugh! That’s vile!” Letting out a hearty chuckle. “It’s that way at first with drinking. Try eating a piece of sushi then washing it down. The flavors accentuate each other.” The Amazon did as she was told. “Better?” She rapidly shook her head. “Nope! Pure cope.” But still she kept the beer in her hand and drank a little more, grimacing with each sip. “So… You’re pretty good with the rookies, huh? Do you work with a lot of them?” “A few…” “Do they like… set you up with all the newbies to weed them out?” She shook her head again. “Don’t give me that much credit, they wouldn’t do that with a Little.” There was just a tiny drop of venom in the comment, enough that the Amazon would drop the subject. “You get put with who they think will work well for the mission. No more, no less.” A few more bites of food in the silence. “I don’t like the noodles…” “Udon.” Hana Lee corrected. “I don’t like the udon. You want it?” The Amazon easily passed the bowl over the table, making Hana Lee envious of her long arms. “I’m good.” This made the Amazon narrow her eyes. “You have to eat something.” She insisted, her Amazon nature coming out, that internal knowledge that when it came to Littles they always knew what was best. Holding firm, Hana Lee drank a little more. “I don’t like eating on missions, besides, the chow sticks are too big for me and I’m not using the ‘child sized’ sticks. They’re always pink and have Greetings Neko or have Mega Ultra Sentai on them.” “You have to eat, we’re going to be here for three days!” She shook the bowl a bit, sending droplets of soup raining down on the table. “I’ll feeed you!” The handler offered again. Hana Lee snatched the bowl. “I’ll eat it on one condition, you never offer to feed me again, do you understand?” The Amazon nodded, pleased with her victory. The high tilt of the Amazon’s can told Hana Lee she was almost done with her drink. Frowning at the chow sticks held together with a pink plastic waving cartoon cat, Hana Lee despised how perfectly they fit into her hands and began to eat the luke warm noodles. A little bit ended up on her chin and like a well oiled automaton, the Amazon reached out to wipe the Little’s chin. Without looking up, Hana Lee said in a cold tone, “Leave it or I’ll stab your hand. “Intense! I’m just trying to help…” The handler complained. She tapped her chin for a moment. “So, it’s a little awkward to call you ‘Baby’ all the time, and I’m sure you like it as much as you like calling me ‘Mommy’… What’s your real name?” “No names.” A huff of irritation. “Well, I’ll tell you mine, if you like?” The Amazon offered. “You mean you don’t like me calling you ‘Mommy’?” Hana Lee shot her a pointed look. The blush on the woman’s face told her all she needed to know. “We only say things like that in public, ok? Should barely come up until we’re at the airport. It’s not a long mission, we just have to deal with it until then.” The Amazon helpfully replied, “Well- you can call me ‘Mommy’ h-” “No.” Hana Lee’s eyes raised to see the Amazon pouting. Sighing, “You can call me ‘H’, if you really want to. “Oh! Then you can call me “C” for-” “No names,” Hana Lee repeated. “Seriously, are you just out of school or something? The anonymity is in place to protect us, not just me, you too. If I get caught and end up on a torture rack you don’t want me to know your name so I can oust you.” “But-” There was a pause. “Who would torture you? You’re just a Little girl.” The awkward silence fell heavy on the room, besides cheerful jingle coming from the TV playing a commercial for a backpack for Amazons to carry their Littles in. “I’m not a ‘Little girl’. I’m a trained operative, like I assume you are, or had assumed you were until before this conversation. Drink your water, go back to mindlessly watching the surveillance. I’ll tag you out in an hour.” Hana Lee started clearing off the table of what was left, chugging the rest of her beer in an attempt to cover her rage. “Here- Let me help you.” “You’re on a mission, agent.” Hana Lee reminded her, “And its not mothering me.” C threw up her hands and went back to the laptop, water in hand. There was a pleasant monotony to cleaning, Hana Lee appreciated. Tidying up to her felt feminine, like nesting, it was something a woman should do, not a little girl, who may clutch at her Mother’s skirt and try to help as much as she could, but in the end, it was a kind of play to the girl, an activity to preoccupy her time, to the Mother, it was serious business. Keeping the dishes clean kept the bacteria at bay, kept her family from getting sick, getting rid of trash kept the vermin from having a place to hide, a place to feed, kept them from scurrying up her children’s face and biting them, keeping the dust from coating her home freed her family from the eyes of judgment, a clean house was a clean family in the eyes of society. This belief, this mantra, was all the justification the Little woman needed to clean. Maybe it was a thought process of a bygone era, women should do this men should do that, a relic of societal expectations, Hana Lee cared little, it was important to her. It made her feel mature. And no busy body Amazon would keep Hana Lee from feeling like a matured woman, not today, not yesterday, not tomorrow. She would abashedly stand fast in whatever kept her from being another Little rugrat glued to her TV watching hypno-toons until her Mommy came to tidy her up. The room became dark as the night set in, C’s face turning blue as she stared at the screens, the TV playing in the background. Her cleaning done, Hana Lee retired on the couch, having retrieved a book she got at the airport. She recalled the look the attendant had given her when she set down the cover with a bloody skull with a knife protruding from the top, “Hell Hath Fury”, a novel promising titillating scenes interspersed with moments of suspense and drama. Hana Lee gravitated towards the horror section ever since she realized that a good portion of the time, they tend to out right ignore Littles, something about Amazon’s clutching their pearls at the thought of Littles being in any sort of serious danger ending in boycotts for serious scary stories unless they specifically revolve around parenthood or evil Littles killing their adopted families. Easy to avoid any scenes with diapers or play, although, Hana Lee wasn’t opposed to any stories that involved a crazed little going axcrazy on the Amazons, the only issue was they usually ended with ‘Finally she was peacefully asleep in her crib, never to move a finger against her Daddy again’. She was a few chapters in under the lamp light, the 4th beer opened, enjoying the building of suspense between her two main characters, the TV shut off after the umpteenth commercial promising comfort in the new Kawaii Chibi Sailor Babies brand diapers. When she noticed C clutching her head again. She set her book down and gave the other agent a look of concern. The Amazon’s face was growing red. Hana Lee looked at the empty water bottle, couldn’t be dehydration. She only had one beer, and probably was feeling it slightly, so no hangover. She ate plenty, so it probably wasn’t hunger, though she might have had some bad sushi… “Hey!” Hana Lee cried out for C’s attention. “Hey! You good?” The handler couldn’t hear her, the headphones tight over her ears. Cursing, the Little went over and tugged at her partner’s sleeve. Out of a daze, C gave Hana Lee a strange smile, before frowning in pain again. “Huh?” She asked when she pulled her headphones off. C’s face wavered for a pick, acting as if she were coming out of a drunken stupor. “Huh?” She said again, a flicker of a smile when looking at Hana Lee. “I asked if you’re good.” Hana Lee repeated herself. “You look like you’re having a migraine. I have some aspirin in my bag…” She began to offer. Slowly, C pulled her arm away, giving a Hana Lee a look that was familiar put the agent couldn’t quite place. “I’m alright,” She assured her, a little too quickly. “I’m fine.” The Little nodded, her face speaking volumes about her uncertainty with the statement yet offered no resistance. “I’ll take over from here, go relax for awhile. Go take a shower if you want.” The strange familiar look grew on the face of the Amazon, “Do you-” “I’m fine,” Something told Hana Lee she didn’t want to hear whatever suggestion her novice partner was about to make. “Just go, I’ll watch for awhile.” She sat in the seat for a few more seconds, as if she were processing new information, as still as a gargoyle. Irritation was growing in Hana Lee, but before she could voice it, the Amazon silently got up, appearing to take the Little’s suggestion and entered the bathroom. Waiting a moment to listen for the water to start running, Hana Lee stepped away from the computer chair and rolled C’s luggage by the bathroom door, a friendly gesture. She looked over at the fridge, grabbing the last of the 6 pack, hesitantly wondering if she should save it for the Amazon, but shrugged and took it. If C, and that was a big if considering her reaction to the beverage earlier, wanted more, she could always go out and get some. It’s not like Hana Lee was a child that couldn’t be left unattended. Making herself comfortable, Hana Lee tried on the headphones, but quickly found them too cumbersome. An image briefly appeared in her head of her with the Amazon sized gear on her head, hanging off her like a curtain, looking like a fool. Retrieving her own pair, a cacophony of sound, making it sound like a swarm of flies was buzzing around the room, filled the room briefly before she plugged it back in. No wonder the girl was getting a headache, Hana Lee thought, if she was listening to everything all at once. Focusing on one room at a time, the sound became considerably more manageable. One by one she went through the cameras, looking for anyone important. Finding who she was looking for, she found the Prime Minister and her husband, standing and talking in the nursery. Setting her beer down, she listened in, with her elbow on the table she felt a thick pad of paper. It seemed, at first, C had been taking carefully detailed logs of everything she had heard, dates, where X and Y would be located on said dates, logs on who was coming and going, then half way through, the details became sparse, like the agent’s attention had been else where. The log went from large boxes of texts, to one or two lines, then single words. Worst of all, the lines with single words weren’t pertinent to the job, instead, they were single, unrelated names. Each starting with ‘H’. Hilda. Haley. Harley. Hannah. And a few more after that. Hana Lee couldn’t believe that brat, acting like she was doing something important but doing little more than playing a childish guessing game with her own name. And they said Littles were the immature ones! Like the professional she was, Hana Lee put that to the wayside for the moment, putting the notepad to a fresh page and listened in on what the Prime Minister was talking about. A meeting coming up next month, it seemed important, foreign ambassadors coming into the country… Hana Lee wrote down the information, only, before they could go on, that damned Little boy had stood up, or knelt up, on his hands and knees in the crib Hana Lee had nearly tumbled down into. The Prime Minister patted the Little’s head, and spun the mobile on the crib. In the headphones, she could hear the lullaby from earlier begin to play, and her eyes caught on the spinning mobile, the old biwing planes spinning above the baby’s head. It must’ve comforted the baby because he laid down and just watched it. Listened to it. The tap on her shoulder made Hana Lee jump. She spun around in the chair, seeing C in a fluffy white bathrobe, a towel wrapped around her hair with a stubborn strand peeking out from it. Earlier, C must have been wearing make up, her face considerably plainer now, but not in an uncomely way. “Huh?” Hana Lee said, a little like the way C had said earlier, pulling away her earphones. “I said: Did you hear anything interesting?” The minute caught back up to Hana Lee, though she hadn’t noticed she was lagging behind. “Huh? Yeah, they were talking about some ambassadors coming in a month. I have it written…” Hana Lee looked down at the notepad, pen in her hand, there had been a paragraph up above, but it seemed to end halfway through, after that, odd doodles covered the page, little stick figures of animals, people, a plane. Hurriedly, Hana Lee hid the paper from the Amazon’s view. “I think they’re about to say something else.” C looked over her shoulder. “Who is?” Looking back to the screen, Hana Lee only saw the nursery, the baby fast asleep under the mobile. “They were just there…” “That’s ok!” C reassured the Little. “They’re probably going to sleep, it’s getting pretty late. You can use the potty, if you need to, I know I was in there for awhile. Honestly, didn’t notice until the cold water came out.” Confusion rushed over Hana Lee. It was her turn to rub her temple. “I thought you just went in…” Raising a hand, “Nope, wrinkled as a prune. Come on, you go potty and we can get our Pjs on.” “No, I’m ok, you lay down, I’ll keep monitoring. Never know, the Prime Minister might have a phone call in the middle of the night.” “You sure? You drank a lot of those cans…” There was almost gratitude in Hana Lee when her confusion was swapped with anger. “Stop trying to get me to go on the potty! I’m a grown-up, I know when I need to go, thank you!” Hana Lin spun back around and put the headphones on. The pretty lights bouncing on Hana Lee’s face slowly pulled away. The hotel room was pitch black save for the TV, the intro music for the anime had just begun playing again, Hana Lee tried to inch herself closer to the screen, to watch the flashing colors as the transformation where the girls go from Tweeners to Littles played right before the title card read Kawaii Chibi Sailor Babies. Her legs were tired, she felt like had been standing in the same spot for hours. There was a long creek as the folding changing table came out. Her mind tried to catch up with itself, but as her back hit the changing table, Hana Lee realized how tired and dry her eyes felt. Just a little rest for her weary eyes, then she could figure out what’s going on. She’s only one! Sailor Chbi! The anime theme and the lullaby from the mobile bounced around inside Hana Lee for awhile until the slumber consumed her. Voices. Voices in her ears and morning light hit her eyes, the clinking of tea cups on a plate and the wafting aroma of said tea. She tried to move her arms, only to find she could barely wiggle about. There was a damp feeling between her legs, but that wasn’t a her problem. A few more futile attempts to move her arms, and Hana Lee was ready to scream, but the pacifier in her mouth she only just realized was stifled her. The voices in the kitchen stopped, and C popped into view. “Looks like someone awake!” Hana Lee was ready to cuss her out, swear at her, demand to release whatever was binding her down, only to forget that her pacifier was still in. To her credit, she wore a scowl on her face and let out her demands with adorable harumph sounds coming from her throat. “Let me see the Little darling!” Hana Lee stopped in her tracks, this was a new voice. Damn it! Back to playing the pacified baby. That must be why she woke up like this. C had a surprise visitor and dressed her down to meet expectations. “Here she is, Harper.” There was an attempt to correct her, “Haaahaaa,” was all that came out. An elderly Yamatoan woman sat across from Hana Lee, taking nearly all of the Little’s vision as her peripherals was covered by a thick hood around her face. “Awww, she is adorable!” The woman leaned over and pinched Hana Lee’s cheek. Did social contracts mean nothing to her?! “I’m a bit surprised, though… I wasn’t expecting a Yamatoan Little. I’m surprised you’re allowed to adopt her out,” The stranger chuckled, “You know we don’t go around giving our Littles to everyone, you know!” “Oh! Is she Yamatoan? I got her state side, I have the plane tickets right over here…” The elderly lady shooed C away with her hands. “Never mind that, I’m not accusing you of anything! I get the impulse. I’ve ran this hotel for decades now and I’ve seen thousands like you, dear. You met a Little who’s perfect, just the right size to fill the hole in your heart, but they don’t agree.” In am exaggerated high pitch voice, “I’m too big for adoption!” The two share a giggle. “But then, what’s a new Mommy or Daddy to do? Just accept that answer? No, we grab that wonderful Little, after all, we know best for them…” “Yeah…” Hana Lee tried to look up at C, that answer didn’t really sound convincing, more like convinced… The old Yamatoan reached out for her. “Let me hold the Little thing.” Hana Lee was swung back. “No!” C said in a protective voice. “I er- Sorry, I just- waited too long for her, I can’t bear to part for even a second.” That elicited another laugh. “Yes, yes, you say that now, just wait until every second of the day its crying and screaming and you need that one minute to yourself to reset. “Never.” C reassured her. “Hahaha, I believe you. How many days do you have left here?” The reply sounded a bit sad. “Only 2, I wish I could stay more, there’s so much to see! But… Even on vacation I still have to work.” “You can always come back for a visit, my doors will always be open for you and your Little. I hope, though, as long as you’re here, you take advantage of our procedures. You have no idea how many horror stories I’ve heard about how expensive it is. At least get a mastectomy. You know,” The woman pantomimed snipping at her own breasts. Hana Lee recoiled as much as she could in her tightly bound prison. C let out a polite chortle. “I don’t think that’s necessary. You can’t really tell, but she’s nearly as flat as a boy anyway!” Hana Lee let out the most ‘I never!’ noise through her pacifier. “I don’t think she seems to think so! Let me tell you, though, it’s not just about fitting them into those adorable clothes. Little girls, they get this idea in their heads, that just because they have boobies like Mommy that means they’re big. Gives them a perverse feeling of being ‘sexual’, heehee! Can you imagine! A little being sexual!” Hana Lee was moved to a different arm, and now only saw the older woman’s arm and the tea cups on the table. “But I read we should get one of the vibrators…” “On that, I completely agree, but that’s less about sexual gratification and more about training. Reinforcing the idea that from now on, the only pleasure she gets is when she’s in her diaper. She’ll be a lot happier in the long run. Some Littles, from what I’ve seen, after a few decades of not getting any kind of release, will hate their diapers. Whenever they get a chance they’ll run around nude! It’s cute for pictures but please, save yourself hours of cleaning up puddles and stains and teach her to stay in her diapers.” “Oh, but you were talking about procedures?” “Yes, yes, we have the best doctors in the world, if you want a crawler, they can fiddle with her knees, if you want your Little to be immobile there’s a special shot. I believe you can get that in your country to, but the professionals who can do that have such a long waiting list. It’s best to just get it right out of the way. It’s very damaging to their sense of security to take away walking a year or two into their new life. Makes it so they can’t trust you. Imagine! Not trusting their Mommy to know what’s best.’ C let out a long, “Hmmm…” Like she was really thinking about it. “You’ve given me a lot to think about.” The old woman started getting up. “Yes, well, I won’t keep you. Oh, did she like any of our shows?” “That one with the Tweeners who turn into those adorable Littles in the cute dresses.” C answered automatically. “Last night, I found her staring at it for hours.” “Ahh, I know the one, Kawaii Chibi Sailor Babies. I have a box of toys, I’ll bring one of the rattles up. Harper will love it! That’s a good one to get the girl into, you just have to be careful, so many Little girls will go to daycare and start whacking other Littles over the head with their rattles if they see them acting too ‘grown-up’, hahaha! It’s adorable, but can lead to petty squabbles.” “Aren’t all Little squabbles petty?” “Haha! You’re not wrong. It was nice to meet you, Cassie, and you too Harper. See you two soon!” A confused Hana Lee heard the sound of the door close. Around her, Hana Lee could feel the blanket come undone. The chill in the room almost made her want it back on, the only clothing she wore underneath was a diaper. As soon as the pacifier was pulled out of Hana Lee’s mouth, “What. The. Hell.” She gave C- Cassie the dirtiest look she could muster. “What?” Cassie said nonplussed. “Flat as a boy? Vibrators? This?” She gestured towards the Monkees that hung low between her thigh drenched with her own waste. “Oh… Do you want me to change you?” Hana Lee could scream. “Why did you let that weirdo into our room? Why did I get swaddled and diapered? You know it could be one or the other!” Cassie sighed, “I’ll have you know, I called the front desk because I woke up last night because someone had pissed on the couch while watching some silly hypno-toon and I asked for a replacement. By the time I saw you, you were so out of it you left me no choice but to diaper you and put you into bed. And when the owner of the hotel came to see my new Little, of course I made you look the part, gave you a pacifier so you wouldn’t start throwing a fit if you woke up, which, by the way, I’m glad I did, I heard the noises you were making, you would’ve blown our cover for sure.” There was strong desire to try and punch a hole in the Amazon’s logic, a very strong desire. “Yeah! Well why did you tell her your name then? Doesn’t that blow your cover?” “No? That was the name I put on the hotel registration. It’s not my real name. Why were you watching those cartoons anyways? You know those things will rot out your brain.” “I didn’t put them on!” Hana Lee objected. “You must have.” C threw up her hands. “The last thing I remember doing before bed is trying to tell you were drunk and needed to go to the bathroom, but you insisted you were a ‘big girl’ and can go whenever you want, so I left you alone to watch the feed. Next thing I know, it’s the middle of the night, you’re making a puddle on the couch and whining. I didn’t know how long you were going to be mush-brained, I did the only reasonable thing I could do, diaper you and go back to sleep. Speaking of which, get changed, you smell like a rest stop bathroom.” Hana Lee’s hands fell to her sides. “I- don’t remember putting on the TV.” “You were drunk, who told you it was a good idea to drink 5 cans of Amazon sized beer? Obviously you staggered to the couch after nothing was going on the computer, threw on the cartoons accidentally and got sucked into it.” The Little looked down, ashamed of herself. “Sorry…” She mumbled. “Don’t be sorry, go put on a fresh diaper!” C hissed, pointing to the changing table. Folding her arms, Hana Lee pouted. “I don’t wanna wear a diaper!” “Too bad! Because my Little girl is going to get a shiny new toy from the nice hotel owner soon and she’s not going to be wearing something an unadoptable Little is going to wear.” “Fine!” Hana Lee stomped her foot down before she could stop herself, and wandered over to the changing table. Before waddling back. “I can’t get it off…” She admitted. Rolling her eyes, C leaned over and undid the tapes, before Hana Lee covered her privates. “Really? Modest now? Couldn’t have been modest last night when I was changing your ass? Whatever… I’m going to go back to doing our job. Let me know if you need a baba, or do you not drink anything other than beer during missions?” Fuming red, Hana Lee shuffled back towards the changing table. “Throw away your diaper too.” C reminded Hana Lee without looking away. “I’m gonna!” Hana Lee sneered. “Just as soon as I figure this out…” The diaper goes that way, no, no that’s backwards… Can I do this standing up? Oof! That just fell right off. Maybe if I turn this way…. And there! “I did it!” The Little proudly announced, making her way over to the desk. The Amazon didn’t look towards her, too engrossed in her work. A little deterred, a little louder, Hana Lee said, “I did it!” Damn it, what’s the point of putting this stupid thing on perfectly if you don’t get praise for it? Hana Lee roughly tugged on the Amazon’s pants. Pulling the headphones away, C looked towards Hana Lee, half annoyed half bemused. “What’s this?” “I did it!” Hana Lee proudly put her hands on her hips, beaming up at C, ready to be told what a good job she did. “Yup, I can see you did it. But, did you do a good job?” Hana Lee looked down at her diaper, maybe the tapes were a little lopsided, and one leg was sinking lower than the other, but she had tried her best. “Yes?” She asked, looking up for confirmation. Without saying anything, C picked up Hana Lee, without questioning what she was doing, wrapped her arms around C’s neck. Hana Lee was a little confused when she was dropped on the changing table. “Why we over here?” Simply, “I’m fixing your mess.” “I did a good job though! I always do a good job!” “Let’s see….” C examined the work. “Your tapes are too loose-” The Little nearly shouted, “But I can’t take it off if its too tight!” “That might be the point… Going on, you didn’t wipe, you’re still super sticky, I’m gonna need to scrub my arms after this.” C pointed out while demonstrating with wiping down Hana Lee’s thighs, waist and everything in between very thoroughly. “You didn’t put on oil. We don’t know how long you’re going to have to wear this, so everything we can do to stop chaffing is needed.” The Little’s lips started to tremble, regretting ever asking for C’s opinion, while the Amazon applied the baby oil to every bit of the girl’s undercarriage. “No powder, keeps away the chaffing and makes you smell nice, very important…” She said as the Little’s whole bottom was enveloped in a cloud of the powder, she hated admitting how pretty and nice it made her feel. “And…” C pulled the diaper between Hana Lee’s legs, till it was covering up her belly button. “One…” The Amazon pulled the tape on the left side of the Little spy until it was tightened fast, “...Thing…” And the right side. This wasn’t the first time Hana Lee had to wear a diaper, but it felt different, it was so much tighter than the others, or so it seemed. Every breath she took, her tiny belly, with her abs out, would take with it the diaper, the plastic edge tickling her side. She was set down on to the floor, her feet feeling unsteady in the bulk spreading her legs. “Hey!” Hana Lee said sharply as she saw C pick up her used diaper. The Little walked steadily towards the Amazon, grabbing on to her pant legs. “I told you I was gonna throw it away!” C patted Hana Lee’s head. “Don’t worry about it, I got it.” “No, no, no! I wanna do it!” Hana Lee held out her hands, her fingers extending in and out. The Little ignored the eye rolls that accompanied the sagging padding changing hands. The thing smelled disgusting to her, Hana Lee’s nose wrinkling, she must have been wearing it for awhile. Shuddering as she tossed her old underwear into the trash Accomplishment filled her. She looked over at C, who was busy listening to that silly surveillance footage again. Hana Lee wished she would look over at her and tell her she did a good job, like she had after Hana Lee went through the process of installing those stupid cameras. “Good baby!”The memory played out in Hana Lee’s head, it hadn’t done anything for her at the time, but recalling it now made her feel funny, bubbly. Hana Lee spotted the dirty table, tea cups with thick lines of lipstick coating the rim, the kettle with the cooling water inside of it, empty wrappers that used to have cookies. She took the dishes and one by and dropped them in the sink, tossed the wrappers into the trash by the handful, landing on the yellowed plastic and cotton inside. Eyes darted towards the Amazon, still ignoring Hana Lee, annoying her for reasons she couldn’t quite explain. Sighing, a feeling of restlessness coming over her, Hana Lee looked down at herself, legs uncovered except the diaper that covered her crotch and half her thighs, her chest that lay bare, rising with every breath. Why had she taken her sports bra? Shrugging away that thought, she toddled towards her luggage, heading feeling fuzzy and heavy, hoping a few more clothes would help her feel normal, distract herself from that stupid Amazon in the corner of the room. Unzipping the bag, she started pulling out clothes and tossing them aside when they didn’t fit her mood. The jeans, leggings, and shorts were easy to discard, none of them were going to fit around her waist with the bulk around it. The shirts were another story. They would do in a pinch, there just wasn’t something right about any of them. They didn’t quite encapsulate the vibe she was going for… This kinda worked? It was more of a nightie, all things considered, the pink slip on negligee, the sheer silk fabric that hugged her curves, the spaghetti straps that showed off her lithe shoulders, the lacy hem that… Well, right now the holes that would show off a scandalous sneak peek at her upper thighs only revealed white plastic that was already quite apparent just below the nightie like the tip of an upside down ice ber, but the effect was more or less the same. It helped her feel more womanly, grounded her. She chased that fleeting sense of normalcy. On the side of the couch was her book from last night, right where she left it. Hana Lee gave it little thought as she climbed on top of the cushions like she had the previous night. She gave the Amazon a quick glance, almost hoping she would look over at Hana Lee and tell her how good she looked, how cute her nightie made her appear. Ignoring this desire, Hana Lee channeled her confused feelings into getting through some of this book. A welcomed distraction. The only issue with the task is how little Hana Lee could pour herself into it. For several minutes, she tried to force her attention to the words in black ink that lay on her lap, each time she found herself at the end of a page finding she hadn’t absorbed it at all. Must just be a boring part… The Little tried to justify herself. Maybe skip ahead a few pages… Hana Lee found herself skimming more and more, taking in less and less each time. Finally she seemed to get to an exciting passage. ‘The skin, scaled like a serpent with claws hooked and curved like a terrible bird of prey emerged from the mattress still wet with the blood of Caroline’s wounds, leapt towards the girl’s throat…” Hana Lee dropped the book, suddenly not feeling like reading, her goosebumps raising the fine hairs on her arm. Before she could process her feelings, the TV clicked on, a white Kitty wearing a diaper not dissimilar to the one on Hana Lee, crawling on her hands and knees towards a blue penguin and black bat. With urgency, Hana Lee snatched the remote and tried to turn the TV off. She breathed a sigh of relief when the image faded to black. And then flickered back on. The spy tried again, watching the light dim away only to turn back on with a vengeance. “Kutomi’s Daddy helped her pick out her outfit. Greetings Neko, did your Mommy dress you?” The penguin asked, as if the answer wasn’t obvious. There was a calming music in the background of the show that made Hana Lee feel relax and sluggish. The feeling sent spikes of anxiety in Hana Lee. Vainly, she attempted to switch the TV off again, just to watch it repeat its trick. Hana Lee did the only thing she could think of, tell her Amazon. C was glued to the screen, she seemed to be writing something on the notepad before her, though Hana Lee couldn’t see what she was jotting down and C wasn’t glancing at the paper. “C!” Hana Lee tried to call for her. “C!” The jingling tune the TV played caught the Little’s attention while her hands burrowed and clutched at the Amazon’s pants. Her eyes reflected the skittering bundles of color over the screen, they had started to sing, Hana Lee stared at the scene unblinking and unable or unwilling to pull away. Sense of awareness lost on Hana Lee, she didn’t feel herself picked up and placed in the Amzaon’s lap, the fingers running through her short hair weren’t actualized in thought, though it made her purr like a kitty cat. “Baby? Baby? Harper?” A voice called out to her, only that last word emerged Hana Lee just long enough to utter anything. A dreamy smile, the reply coming from someone waking up, “Hana Lee…” “Hmm?” “M’ name’s Hana Lee…” Now the fingers running through her hair were joined with another caressing her chin. “That’s a pretty name.” The voice mused. Hana Lee silently agreed, not straying her gaze from the screen. The hand stopped tickling her chin, and ran down her nightie. “I like this too, it’s pretty and silky but…” Hana Lee wasn’t paying attention, she bounced her bottom on the lap of the Amazon. Pointing to the pink negligee, Hana Lee corrected, “Sexy…” That only made the Amazon scratch her chin in thought. Suddenly, Hana Lee was on her own two feet again, slightly sinking into C’s thighs as she was carefully balanced with the Amazon’s hands under her armpits. “I think Baby needs something a little bit more appropriate if we’re going to get a visit from that nice lady, isn’t she?” There was a nod without understanding, not fully letting in that last statement. Hana Lee pointed at the TV, nearly losing herself again in the colors and music. “The TV won’t turn off!” She said in an accusatory tone, like tattle tale telling toddler. A look of feigned concern that Hana Lee couldn’t tell was insincere. “Oh? Let me try…” The Amazon, picking up the Little, stepped over to the couch and tried to flick off the screen, Hana Lee watching intently, when it instantly fired back up, Hana Lee hid her face into the Amazon’s collar. “Huh, well how ‘bout that…” “Hana Lee…” The girl was sat down on the computer chair, the impulse to spin in it was great. “Hana Lee…” Hana Lee looked up expectantly, almost surprised the Amazon knew her name. She seemed to be almost testing it, getting the feel for how the words rolled off her tongue. “I think I’m going to step out for just a moment, I need you to be a big girl for me and do two things, ok?” A determined nod came from Hana Lee, ready to accept any task. “I’d like you to watch the computer for me, let me know if you see any monkey business when I get back.” Hana Lee glanced towards the computer screen, the funny music from the TV still in the background. She wanted to see the monkeys now but only saw the flashing images of the house she was in yesterday. “And I need you to eat something for me…” The headphones were popped out of the audio jack and Hana Lee’s were replaced, for a second, Hana Lee could hear that lullaby that haunted her in her dreams, and then that’s all there was in the world as the earphones were pressed into her ears. Hana Lee sat on her rear like a good girl and stared at the screen, nothing else in the world until eventually a bottle was pressed into her mouth, hands slowly reaching up to hold it while she stared at the screen, the image going back to the nursery, to that pretty mobile. The bottle in her hands had a chalky aftertaste, but the cream on her tongue was glorious, rich overtones and incredibly sweet ambrosia. With each suckle sending the marvelous liquid down her throat, a thin film coated her throat that grew thicker with each swallow, like a wall of paint getting a new layer added. There was no telling, on Hana Lee’s part how much time had passed, how long had she been sitting there. The Prime Minister had come and gone with her Little boy a few times, though fortunately, as if it knew Hana Lee was watching it, the mobile remained spinning, a fantastic carousal that demanded all of the girl’s attention. Hands were around Hana Lee once again, pulling her free. Briefly, when her head rolled down, she saw the bottle she had been drinking from abandoned on the floor, the swallow remains on the bottom and a drop hanging threateningly from the nipple ready to fall. She couldn’t remember dropping the bottle, or drinking from it, she barely remembered it being placed in her mouth. The passing of time was a blur to her, memories were getting clumped up and cobbled together. “Hi, Hana Lee.” Something in the way she said it, possessiveness. Not Hana Lee, her Hana Lee. That said, whatever emotions conveyed in that greeting went right over the Little’s head. Looking up into the face of the Amazon, Hana Lee’s confusion melted away, the waves carrying it back to the sea that was Hana Lee’s mind in turmoil. There was no need to be concerned anymore. Clinging hands held C’s shirt, a feeling of neediness and dependency that Hana Lee hadn’t had in as long as she could remember suddenly dropped on her, unwilling to gain control of herself. Pressed against C’s body, Hana Lee conformed to the bumps and grooves of the woman, head placed on the woman’s wide (to a Little) shoulders. Briefly, she saw the TV playing another rerun of the anime with Littles in sailor onesies and diapers. “Wah wah-” Hana Lee tried to say she wanted to be near the screen, only nothing came out. The thick coat of chalky cream seemed to have an effect on her vocal cords, they were as heavy and cumbersome as the rest of her body felt. Though, that wasn’t the only effect the cream had on the girl she would soon discover. There was a bag on top of the changing table waiting for C and Hana Lee, a bright pink package sticking out of the top. Curiously, Hana Lee tried to ask ‘What’s that?’ little more than nonsense left her mouth. “Mommy got you pretty new diapies.” C said intuitively, or maybe she was just stating it regardless of whatever her new baby girl had tried to ask. Either way, that new word, that powerful title, immediately went to work burrowing inside of Hana Lee. Any identity other than ‘Mommy’, C, Cassie, the handler, partner, wiped out, evaporated. A final ghost inside of Hana Lee, the light inside of her balked at this. She scrambled to made her way to the top of her own consciousness, a corpse digging its way out of her own grave as dirt flew in her face, or in this case, infantile impulses and feelings that burned where ever Mommy touched her. Falling on to the delicate padding of the changing table, Hana Lee cooed up at her Mommy, in what was quickly becoming her new normal, ripped opened the tapes. The music and sounds from the TV, the haunting melody of the lullaby, not only telling her that this was ok but whispering that without this care life would be empty. That’s all there was now, Mommy’s Little plaything. The natural order. Repulse filled that last speck of Hana Lee’s maturity as it discovered the formula’s final trick. Her face tightened, her body tensed and arched, she pushed out the soft mess that had made itself known with no notice. The shell that formerly was Hana Lee giggled with relief as she fell back down on the changing table, a tiny dribble spouting from her slit making a little arc in the air down to the thirsty fluff. “Was that it?” Mommy cooed above her, rubbing the Little’s belly with a slight pressure coaxing anything else out. Hana Lee did not disappoint. A little pass of wind, then a tiny additional pile dropped from her. Head lulling back, Hana Lee’s eyes caught on to the flashing images on the screen, and became glued to it as Mommy finished with her messy chore. In the background, she could hear Mommy coo at her, give her bright affirmations that only seeped into her conscious. Both Baby and the remnant of Hana Lee’s maturity were locked into the show and became in sync, attention only taken away from it when Mommy showed her the new Greetings Neko diapers that she would be wearing for the next day or two, until she would inevitably need a new pack from Yamatoa’s wider selection or Mommy took her back to the states where the options weren’t quite as varied. Brief recollection made Baby smile at the image of Greetings Neko, but fell back into the important matter of watching the Kawaii Chibi Sailor Babies stop the villain of the week from making them feed themselves. Babbles excitedly cheered as the Sailors beat the villain back as Mommy taped her into a fresh diaper. Brought over to the glowing screen and plopped on the ground, the last bastion of maturity inside Hana Lee was transfixed as the show went into another episode, squealing in rage when Mommy ripped the negligee off her head, not because she was being disrobed against her will, but because she could only barely make out the scene through the thin fabric. Mommy showed her a couple of the outfits she had bought in their short time apart, though only the onesie that was like the star’s of Kawaii Chibi Sailor Babies really held her attention for more than a fraction of a second and finally her binge watching was interrupted by Mommy threading her arms through a beige dress with a happy octopus on the front, then she was left alone until the second bottle of formula was placed in front of the Little who took it with no heed to what had happened with the last one. The liquid mess that had quickly coursed through her and the way the formula made her speech incomprehensible was unconnected as far as the Little was concerned. In the background, there was a knocking on the door and quick words were traded. Mommy came over to Hana Lee with something hidden behind her back right around when the bottle was mostly drained.”Mommy has a surprise for you!” She pulled a rattle from Kawaii Chibi Sailor Babies that made Hana Lee bark out joy and reach out with uncoordinated movements for her prize. All eyes were on Mommy as she played a game of keep away with the Little, smiling at the Little’s attempts to grab the toy. Hana Lee came to then went past the verge of tears, cries and tears of frustration met with a gleeful, sadistic smile from Mommy. She would hold the rattle just out of the girl’s reach, only to pull it further away when she inched closer. The game was torture to both Baby and the Little that still screamed out inside of her. Until the the rattle was slipped out of Mommy’s hand and into Hana Lee’s hands. Mouth agape, she shook the toy, delighting at the rattle inside. A quick few munches testing the toys durability, then a few more for good measure when the mouth feel turned out to be so good. There was almost more tears from the girl when Mommy took it away from her and she was lifted up, placed on Mommy’s knee with one of her hands balancing Hana Lee. “Mommy’s going to show you the best way to play with your new toy.” She promised, leaning in to whisper in Hana Lee’s ear, a devious glint in her eye. Pressing the bottom of the handle, the rattle whirred to life, the head pulsing rapidly as the beads inside the head bounced against the walls, creating the music that Hana Lee would come to associate with her ‘special play time’. Ever so slightly, Hana Lee was leaned back and the toy was shoved between her diaper and her Mommy’s knee. Friction between Hana Lee’s mound and the cotton caused by the toy made the girl moan in surprise, she bucked her hips to the pleasure. Mommy let Hana Lee get used to the motion, her body getting into a grove while the buzzing, rattling, music from the show, sounds of contentment and excitement, all blend together into Hana Lee’s own personal symphony. Then Mommy threw in her twist. Knee rising, the bulb of the rattle pressed further into the plastic, Hana Lee’s grinding momentarily paused in anticipation of the new trick while the vibrations pulsed closer to her wanting sex. Then, a descent. Hana Lee groaned in ecstasy when her body bounced on and off the toy, a reprisal from the pleasure then the shocking reintroduction of it. Weakly, Hana Lee humped her Mommy’s knee and the noisy wand as the leg bound up then down, repeating. A breathy voice leaned into her ear. “It’s better if you’re wet…” Hana Lee didn’t know whether it was her caretaker’s instructions or if the messages that had been subliminally given to her had weaved a web in her brain to no longer notice the signals her body gave, either way, her diaper flooded with warmth with no input from Hana Lee. She found it true, the saturated padding yielded more to her, the hot plush of the diaper between her and the buzzing muted the pleasure, a little, but motion of everything cascaded into Hana Lee. The inhibitions inside Hana Lee’s inner maturity bent and bowed with her body, the orgasm that began in her diaper and pulsed through her body was the final nail on the coffin of the woman that Hana Lee once was. All that remained was a mewling Little girl, soaked and exhausted. Toy turned off and placed in the Baby’s hand to shake and enjoy the sounds of while she was left to stare into the brain rotting glow of Yamatoa’s hypnotic program. Two days later: Mommy and her Little girl, strapped in a baby carrier on Mommy’s chest left the airport after disembarking from the plane from Yamatoa. Mommy pulling two suitcases behind her. One, holding all of Mommy’s things, though it was lighter by one laptop, left in a trash as Mommy found a new, more important mission to over take, the other, completely refilled, anything left by the adult Hana Lee once was now stocked to the brim what Harper Lee would need. The Baby, Harper Lee, pawed at her chest, making whimpering noises in her new favorite sailor inspired onesie and the pretty blue bow wrapped around her head that told the strangers passing by she was a girl. She did not take the procedure to remove her breasts as well as the ones to take away her walking ability or the ones to alter her vocal chords leaving her mute except for the noises that Mommy called adorable. The threads that sealed her itched and scratched her, and left her confused. Mommy hushed the Little one, taking a hand off a suit case to brush away her new child’s pawing hands. The material the baby carrier was made of too thick for the Little to get to her front, but Mommy wanted to nip that habit in the bud. In time, the girl would get used the loss of her secondary sexual characteristics, further down the line, she’d forget she ever had them in the first place, a long with the rest of Hana Lee, her memories of exciting missions becoming little more than childish daydreams. It was going to be a long day ahead of Mommy. Her home was not yet ready for her new Little girl, her surprise souvenir from Yamatoa. There would need to be a lot of work to be done for her Little crawler to be safe and happy. Of course, Harper Lee would stay out of Mommy’s way, the DVD box set of the entirety of Kawaii Chibi Sailor Babies that sat inside one of the suitcases would see to that. There was a buzzing in Mommy’s back pocket. Pulling out the disposable flip phone she carried for work, she saw an unlisted number on the caller id. She smiled and snapped the phone in two, tossing it into a nearby trashcan. Mommy would need a lot of things for her and Harper Lee’s new life, what’s one more?

Possessive By RogueDratini Ophelia found herself in a hazy, bramble filled woods in the dead of night, only a scant few moonbeams lighting her way through the dead branches above her, the crunch of twigs underfoot echoing through the woods. How she got to this dark forest, Ophelia could only guess, as the realization of the dream state she was walking through only slowly dawning on her. It was an odd feeling, suddenly knowing you're dreaming, Ophelia rarely found herself lucid during her walks through her subconscious mind, but tonight she felt an air of control over herself, instead of going on auto-pilot through the woods, she hesitated and took a second to look around. The trees, menacing at first, were almost like card board cut outs in a play, the light in front of her had an ethereal, otherworldly weight to it, and as she looked down at herself, she found that she was wearing a pink nighty that she hadn't seen in ages, looking much like one she wore when she was 4. She felt like an actress, performing on screen for an invisible audience, and decided to continue her aimless trek through the scene. Soon, the sounds of brush snapping beneath her feet wasn't the only sound Ophelia could hear the sounds of whispering ahead of her, but in front of her lay a wall of thorny bushes, seemingly impassable except for a small hole at the bottom. As she drew closer, Ophelia could make out owner of one voice: her mother. The other voice, still far away, she could only barely hear, sounding feminine, and while she couldn't make out the words, there was something about it that unsettled Ophelia, a worry in Ophelia's chest told her that she needed to get her mother away from the owner of that voice. With her heart thumping in her bosom, Ophelia fell to the ground, the dry twigs under her palms and knees feeling much too real than any dream had a right to be and crawled through the hole under the thorns, scratching her, tiny scrapes and dirt covering her as she made her way through the bramble. On the other side, Ophelia saw her Mom sitting on a rock in a clearing in the woods, much more lively, the trees looked alive under the warm glow of sunlight, green was everywhere, from the leaves in the trees to the grass under Ophelia, birds were chirping, rodents in the woods chittering to each other, it felt like this could be real life instead of a dream, except, looking over her Mom's shoulder, a juxtaposed sight compared to the life around it, a shadow stood, no, was connected to her Mom, a void of darkness with a vaguely human shape, it would take one of its black claws and point to something in Ophelia's Mom's lap, what looked to be a book of some kind. "And that was Ophie's first bath in a tub, she loved splashing me, really fought me tooth and nail squealing the whole time..." The specter would point at something else, "Oh! Awww, that was her first baby tooth. She was so excited to see the tooth fairy, tried to stay awake the whole night, ended up asleep by my side trying to wait her out..." The shadow stopped, and looked in Ophelia's direction, a whisper that still sounded far off came from it, and it pointed its claw in a threating manner at her as Ophelia's blood ran cold, as Mom looked up and cried out. "There's my baby!" Jumping up from the stone and running towards her, the blob of darkness riding on her back, as she drew closer, Ophelia felt dwarfed by her Mom as she towered above her with each passing step, lowering her arms to pick her up, only for the shadow to stretch its claw out and envelope Ophelia's world in a shroud of inky darkness... Beeep! Beeep! Beeep! Beeep! Ophelia's front rocketed straight up, sweaty clumps of hair stuck together covering her face that she had to peel off her skin. Her hand rushed to grab her phone to shut off the alarm, before falling back into bed, grabbing her trusty teddy bear, Sir Bearington, who's been her companion since before she could remember, and brought his patchwork fluffy up to her chest in a hug, putting her face on his head and breathing in the reassuring scent of clean linen. Head on her damp pillow, she thought of the events of her nightmare, traveling through a facade of woods, her mother looking like a giant, the shadow... Bringing her knees to her chest, Ophelia hugged them in the fetal position while she tried to shake off the lingering feelings the dream left in her. Minutes drifted by in silence, before sticky wetness her night sweats left Ophelia too grossed out to stay in any longer, and got out of bed, putting Sir Bearington on her nightstand and giving him a kiss, thanking him for helping her feel better, before she stretched out, letting the kinks in her bones pop out with a crack. Yawning, feeling thoroughly unrefreshed from last night's sleep, she pulled open the curtains letting the morning into her room before finding something to wear. It had been several months since the last time Ophelia had spent time in her old room, not since she had visited her family for the holidays, and though she had only spent 10 months away from this room since entering college, it felt strangely nostalgic and open after the close quarters treatment she had in the student dorms. Stripping off the green satin pajamas, Ophelia went through the drawers, looking for something to wear, but nothing seemed quite right. While it was true, most of her more 'mature' clothes Ophelia had brought with her were packed away and brought to her dorm, she couldn't remember ever owning something like this back in High School, she thought as she held up a powder blue crop top with poofy shoulders with the Cookie Monster on it. Shrugging, she put it on, figuring she bought it ironically from Hot Topic or something, and still appreciated how it accentuated her midriff, and the short shorts she pulled up her legs she enjoyed how it showed off her long, toned legs. She modeled in front of the mirror, smacking her ass, checking out how sexy she looks, though she wasn't quite sure about the hearts all over her shorts or the rainbows on the back pockets, she looked good, except... The matted hair and dark bags under her eyes. Sighing, she told herself she wasn't planning on going anywhere today anyway, and left her make up alone, heading downstairs towards the rattling in the kitchen and smell of pancakes and fresh coffee. Walking into the kitchen led by the scent reminiscent of a cartoon character floating towards a freshly baked pie cooling on a window sill, Ophelia came in, mouth watering, "Mmmm... It smells so good!" Mom, standing by the stove, flipping some pancakes on to a nearby plate, looked back and grinned at her. Looking at Josie and Ophelia, a stranger could easily confuse them as sisters most of the time, Josie had her daughter before she was in her 20's, Josie kept her youthful look in spite of a stressful life as a young, single mom, and her daughter shared a similar face to her, they both had short, slightly upturned noses, thin eyebrows and long lashes, chubby cheeks, freckly, fair skin, they shared, as well, dark hair that they kept long, to the small of their backs, they only differed in two major regards to their appearances, Josie enjoyed a few extra inches in height, the top of her daughter's head reaching just the bottom of her nose, perfect for giving forehead kisses to Ophelia's shame, and Ophelia had had dashing emerald eyes, the only thing her wayward father left her as her Mother liked to say, while Josie had hazel eyes, while much more mundane than her daughter's striking gaze still left her with no shortage of compliments. "Good morning, honey!" Josie pranced over to Ophelia with a gait almost skipping. Planting a peck on her forehead, Josie patted at a chair with a plate and cup of orange juice in front of it. At least someone woke up on the right side of the bed, today, Ophelia kept the thought to herself, irritated at her Mom's jolly mood this morning, but a little uplifted by it. Looking at the plate, Ophelia had to note how 'cutesy' it was, two pancakes stacked on top of each other, already cut up evenly into bite sized chunks with a generous amount of syrup on top, bacon strips ripped apart and arranged in the shape of a smile, and two dabs of butter forming 'eyes'. She had to hand it to her Mom, the presentation was nice. "Morning, Mom. We certainly seem chipper today." Sitting down at the table, with a fork in hand, Ophelia stabbing the first bite of breakfast, eyeing something else on the table, a familiar looking book, of course it would be familiar, she had seen the book countless times in her childhood, it was 'Baby's First..." book, filled with photos her Mother had saved throughout the years and little mementos of her early years. It wouldn't have been strange, just signs her Mom looking through old boxes and finding a book of nostalgia, perfectly natural for a woman with an empty nest to look for, especially when her daughter was coming home for an extended stay, except, the dream from last night and seeing the same book from it left an uneasy feeling in the pit of Ophelia's stomach. It had to be a bad coincidence, Ophelia thought as she brought the pancake and bacon to her mouth, falling in love with how breakfast was prepared, the pancakes precut let all the syrup drift down into the cracks and get absorbed into the doughy chunks, paired with the satisfying salty crunch of the bacon was perfect. Ophelia forgot the book and the bad dream and inhaled her meal. Josie hummed as she sat down to Ophelia's right, as she began to dig into her own breakfast in a more reserved fashion. "I aaaammm," She practically purred. "I had such a nice dream last night. Having you back home is so nice, I was beginning to feel like an old lady, being home all alone, and having my baby back just, oh, I don't know, makes me feel young..." With a dreamy, far off look on her face, Mom opened up the book next to her and perused it. "Oh, I don't even want to think about dreams... I had an awful one last night... I feel out of it, right now. This is great, though, Mom." She said in between ravenous bites, punctuating each pause with a swallow, occasionally grabbing her juice. Looking up from the pages, Josie gave Ophelia a sad look of concern. "Is that so? I'm sorry sweetie. You don't have any plans today, right? You should take a nap, you'll feel much better." Her gaze wandered back to the book, giving it a small smile, "Look!" She pointed out a photo, showing Ophelia. "It's you, playing in your bubble bath, you wouldn't remember, but I was always hard pressed to get you out of those, you always made such a mess with your 'splashies'. And here's one in your bouncer! Oh! Look! You're eating the exact same breakfast here! You would always get so messy, absolutely adorable!" The image showed a happy dark haired toddler in her high chair, fistfuls of pancakes in both syrup, grubby hands grinning ear to ear at the photographer, presumably Josie. The picture put Ophelia off her appetite. As she pushed away her plate, she gave the drink a swirl in her hand, watching the pulp dance around and sticking to the side. Josie looked up from her daze, her expression going to one of worry. "You full, hun?" Then changed to a silly smile. "Awww! No matter how much you grow up, you'll still be Mommy's messy girl, huh?" Ophelia was confused, and was about to question her, when Josie reached over with a napkin in hand and wiped away some sticky pancake crumbs on to the table cloth. Before she get out a 'what the Hell' Josie was already pointing at the picture again. "Look sweetie, you're almost wearing the same clothes in the picture too!" Looking closer, Ophelia could see that she was indeed wearing almost, maybe exactly the same thing. The little girl in the high chair was wearing a blue shirt with poofy shoulders with a happy Cookie Monster shirt with a baby belly sticking out, and though it was hard to tell with the strap between the legs, it did look like there was a pair of short-shorts those chubby legs were coming out of. "Huh... That's something," Ophelia said, looking down at her outfit, now with the frame that she wore something almost exactly like it when she was small she didn't feel quite right with it on. She started looking around the kitchen for something to change the subject. "Is there any more coffee?" A craving for something more mature hit Ophelia like a car, needing a few more degrees of separation from that sticky kid in the photo and herself. Pointing at the Keurig in the corner of the counter, Josie said, "Single serve, it just makes more sense when I'm the only one home and only need one cup to get through the day." Going over to the machine, she picked out a mug from the cupboard above and started brewing a cup. "Hmm... Just a strange thought, you know, a lot of the time when a young mother has a daughter, the daughter has baby young, too." "Mom!" Ophelia cut that thought off. "You are NOT asking me for a grandkid right now! I'm not even halfway through college! Damn, give a girl some time!" Laughing, Josie retracted her statement, "You're right! I shouldn't be pushing you, not yet anyway..." Looking at her Mom, Ophelia was noticing more than just her actions being a little odd this morning, looking down at her sitting down, there was something off that she just couldn't put her finger on. "Still, I miss the pitter patter of little feet on the floor." Below Josie, Ophelia spotted her Mom's shadow drifting towards her, slowly at her, Ophelia watched in with a befuzzled expression while grabbing her coffee, until it lunged at her. Ophelia let out a squeal, dropping the mug on the floor and jumping back. Josie leapt to her feet, "Baby! What happened?" Staring down at her Mom's feet and seeing nothing wrong, Ophelia let out a half hearted excuse, "Sorry, I uh, I thought I saw a mouse." Josie folded her arms, swaying a hip to the side and putting all her weight on one leg, giving her a bemused expression. "A mouse? And you scream? Jeez," Laughing, she knelt down and started to pick up the dripping shards of ceramic off the kitchen tiles. "What are you, a house wife from the 50's? You wanna jump on a chair while I shoo it outside?" "Wait, Mom, I can clean up after myself." Ophelia knelt down and started to grab at the broken handle, only to get her hand swatted away. Still giggling, "I don't think so, I'll clean it up. Why don't you go sit down and I'll make you a fresh cup of coffee? You're being awfully silly today. I know kids coming home from college start acting young, but this is just ridiculous." Sighing, Ophelia obeyed and went to sit down on the couch in the living room, putting her legs under her, she lounged while flipping through channels on the tv. Boring hospital soap opera, "Pass," some stupid super hero movie, "Pass," documentary on irrigation, "Pass," Sesame Street... Ophelia wanted to switch off the station, but watching the pink Muppet Zoey play with Big Bird and a little girl with dark hair and green eyes. "Why are you sad today, Ophie?" Zoey asked the downtrodden girl, who looked frustrated to the point of tears. Ophelia sat straight up at the uncanny resemblance between herself and the girl who shared her name. The girl, Ophie, let a big harumph! Folding her arms, and cocking a hip to the side, maybe she learned it from her Mommy, Ophelia thought to herself, "My Mommy always treats me like a baby! She cuts my food, doesn't let me clean, makes me wear training pants, and use sippy cups! Why doesn't she know I'm a big girl?!" Big bird leaned down and looked straight into the camera, it felt like the big yellow costume was boring a hole through Ophelia's eyes into her soul. "Well Ophie, it sounds like your Mommy is just taking care of you, she just wants the best for you. And it's not bad to be a baby, that means your Mommy will love you and make sure you're always alright. If your Mommy treats you like a baby, that's because you are a baby, her baby. It'll make you and your Mommy much happier. Don't you want your Mommy to be happy?" Zoey and Ophie were now staring straight at the camera too, right into Ophelia. "Yeah, Ophie, don't you want your Mommy to be happy?" Zoey said to Ophie. All three characters on the screen were covered in a pitch black outline. Ophie took center stage, "Yeah, I do want Mommy to be happy..." "Even if it means she cuts up all your food, and doesn't let you clean, and puts you in training pants, and makes you use sippy cups?" Ophelia couldn't tell who was saying that now, the voice didn't belong to Big Bird or Zoey. "Yes," Ophie agreed, "Even if it means Mommy feeds me baby food, and makes me stay in a playpen, and changes my diapers, and makes me use bottles." Then the little Ophelia on the screen slowly drew her hand up to her mouth, a thumb out, and put it in her mouth. Ophelia mimicked the girl and had her thumb in her mouth, when... "Alright, Ophelia, here's your coffee!" The hand was back to Ophelia's side and the tv switched channels. "The Greeks used these Archimedes' Screws to lift up the water..." Ophelia glanced over to her Mom and held out a hand for the coffee, the thumb still slick with saliva. "Thanks Mom!" She said a bit too quickly, Josie gave her a grin not sensing anything wrong, and plopped down next to her on the couch, pulling her legs underneath her mirroring her daughter and leaned on her, Ophelia's Baby book in her hand, she gave the tv a look getting bored of it quickly and settling down to look at the Baby book, flipping through page after page, occasionally pointing something she thought was cute to Ophelia. With her Mom in such close proximity, Ophelia felt really odd, in the darkness between the two, something seemed to be mingling in the space. Whatever was going on was making Ophelia relax, she leaned back into the cuddle with her Mom, the urge to put her thumb back into her mouth growing, and only went away for a moment when she put the mug to her lips, the oral fixation only alleviating the urge for a second, and soon, a jittery Ophelia set the empty mug down on a side table, and started scrolling on her phone. "The Romans would build on these principles and put these aqueducts in place making the water travel for miles to their destination..." "Look, Ophie," Ophelia's head shot in her Mom's direction, she hadn't been called that by her in years, too shocked to even correct her. And why should you, a voice whispered in Ophelia's mind, that's your name. "It's your first time on your training potty!" Ophelia's eyes were drawn towards a toddler with dark hair and green eyes giving the camera a big toothy grin with a doll in her hand with Pull-Ups around her ankles, a pink shirt with a couple of Disney Princesses on it the only clothes she was actually wearing. "You were so hard to get on there. I thought I was never going to get you out of diapers, but once I got it into your head that Belle, Ariel, and Cinderella all were big girls who could go potty in the chair, you were glued to that thing. You wouldn't even need to go, that was just your seat in the living room, you'd just sit there for hours and hours, I don't think you even knew at first you were going." Mom sighed. "The water would drip down into the fields... drip... drip... drip..." Ophelia glanced up at the tv, it seemed like it was stuck in a loop of a trail of water falling from a ledge on to the thirsty surface, getting soaked up, then replaying from the instant the water fell. "Drip... drip... drip..." With coffee and juice gurgling in her belly, Ophelia realized she never used the bathroom this morning. "Drip... drip... drip..." Don't you want your Mommy to be happy? Even if she puts me in training pants and changes my diapers... "Drip... Drip... Drip..." Ophelia looked down at her waist and whimpered. "There's your first... Oh, Ophie..." Josie glanced down at the dark stains going from Ophelia's shorts and on to the couch. The warmth filling her pants wasn't stopping, once the drip began it didn't let up, Ophelia could only open her mouth and let out a whine, no thoughts going through her brain for a solution or action as the puddle of pee spread out from her. Clicking her teeth in a tut-tut-tut sound, Ophelia was pulled off the couch and taken to the bathroom. In front of her, Ophelia watched silently as the shower curtain was opened slightly and water began to run. Looking back, Josie gave Ophelia a tired look, "Well, miss? Are you gonna take your clothes off or do you want Mommy to help?" It sounded sarcastic, an incredulous inquiry, what 18 year old needed her mother's help disrobing, but underneath that curt tone, it was a genuine question. Does Ophie want her Mommy to take her clothes off? the shadow below the two connecting them pulsed, feeding off this interaction and the roles being established. "No, ma'am..." Ophelia, the thought of not taking her clothes off in front of her Mom not crossing her mind, took her top off chucking it into the laundry hamper, and slipped off her shorts and underwear and did the same with those. The bottoms felt considerably heavier than it should. Mom looked over at what Ophelia just threw in and sighed. "Baby, we've been over this. Do you want Mommy's washing machine to break?" Josie walked over to the hamper and took out the underwear, a thick pink and white pair of panties that sagged considerably. Walking over to the trash, she dropped it on to the pile of like wise pee soaked undies, in between the toilet and a large sized version of the training potty from the picture. Ophie gulped. When did she put on Pull-Ups? Don't you want Mommy to be happy? The shadow whispered in her mind. Ophelia stepped into the warm shower, getting away from the scary thoughts and changes behind her. "I'll be right back, honey, I'm just gonna go get you a change of clothes and clean up your mess." "Mommy?" 'Yeah, Ophie?" "Are you mad at me?" From behind the curtain, Ophie heard a sigh, "No, baby, Mommy's not mad, she's just disappointed. I thought you'd be out of this stage but... Ophie, no matter what, Mommy loves you." The warm water washed away some of the dark thoughts in Ophie's head. Why was this happening? Down the drain. When's this going to end? Down the drain. Is this going to stop? Down the drain. something tapped on Ophie's heel, and she closed her eyes, wishing the thoughts of shower monsters would go down the drain, too. Ophie wished Mommy would come back already, even if she was going to put her in something even more childish than what she was just wearing, even if she came back with a diaper, she just didn't want to be alone with her shadow or any monsters that her imagination brought into existence in her solitude. Tap. Ophie sighed with relief when she saw just a couple of bath toys nipping at her heels and knelt down. There was a plastic mermaid in one hand and a boat in another, a gaggle of rubber duckies around her feet. The water coming from above her came to a stop. The bath faucet was on, as though it always had been. Bubbles appeared one by one around her, some floating, others popping to Ophie’s delight. The water and bubbles rose around her, to her caff, to her belly, finally coming to a stop when it lapped at Ophie’s breasts. “Hi Miss Mermaid, what’s your name?” She asked the toy in her hand. In a mock, high voice, “I’m Grace, little baby Ophie, do you wanna play?” Ophie excitedly nodded her head at the toy, placing the toy boat on the bubbly surface, and gave the water a test splash, insurmountable joy filling her as the water hit the surface of the wall and floor. Ophie lost herself in her play, the laughter of her new mermaid friend at first being made by Ophie’s mouth, but when she stopped it kept going. “What am I gonna do with you?” Josie watched the havoc her daughter made in the bath, a change of clothes in her hand, a playful grin on her face. Mommy knelt down next to the tub, giving Ophie a little splash, a taste of her own medicine, fully aware that would only make the girl force a wave at her. The two went back and forth for a few minutes before Mommy said, “Alright, alright, time to get out, baby.” Ophie folded her arms over her chest and pouted puffing her cheeks out, “No!” Josie reached into the tub, pulling the drain out, earning her a splash in the face for her efforts. “Now, now, princess, it’s time to get out.” She had a fluffy pink towel in her hand ready for her. Shaking her head, wet strands of long hair sticking to her body, “Don’ wanna!” She pounded her hands into the surface of the water, on the verge of a full on tantrum. “Now, now, Ophie, you gotta be a good girl and get dry, can’t let you stay in here all day, you’ll turn into a prune and then… Mommy will have to eat you up! Nom nom nom!” With a few playful pretend bites, leaving Ophie in a laughing fit, distracting her long enough to get pulled out of the tub and have her hair wrapped up in a towel and Mommy to dry her off with another, keeping her attention preoccupied with a series of tickles. “Mommy, I look like you when you get out of the shower!” She pointed at her towel wrap in the partially foggy mirror while Mommy lifted Ophie’s feet into the pink Pull-Up and brought it up to her thighs, leaving it just below her crotch, Mommy took a bottle of baby powder a blasted a puff of white cloud at Ophie’s nether region before patting her down and bringing the thick, crinkly training pants all the way up. “Mhmm…” Mommy said, a bottle of lotion in hand, squirting some in her hand and began rubbing it in Ophie’s skin. “You sure do. You like when you look like Mommy, don’t you, short stuff? Hold out your arms.” Ophie obeyed without question as Mommy applied the lotion all over her arms, and the back, to her front, making Ophie feel funny when Mommy was rubbing it on her boobs. “Uh-huh. When I grow up I wanna be just like you Mommy!” Nodding along, Josie took the towel wrap off, eliciting a pout from Ophie, until her princess shirt was pulled over her head, and hair untucked from the back and retoweled. “Mommy! My shirt and Pullies match!” She excitedly pointed at the princesses on the shirt and then at the underwear. “That’s right sweetie!” Mommy took Ophie’s hand and led her out the bathroom and towards her room. “Can we watch a princess tonight, Mommy, can we, can we?” Chuckling, Josie agreed, bringing her inside where a confusing sight waited Ophelia. “Stay here for just a little bit, sweetie, Mommy needs to take a shower now.” Ophelia didn’t say a word, just looking at the room before her as the door behind her shut. Ophelia was lost in the sight of her own space stuck between two worlds. Next to her trophies for Debate club, the Spelling Bee, and Robotics club were now rows of dolls on her shelf. Her university hoodie was laying on top of a Minnie Mouse bedspread. Photos of friends from High school were hung up on wallpaper of pink carousels. She watched the personal computer on her desk flicker for a moment to turn into a TV playing the Power Puff Girls, Ophelia was hard pressed to pry her gaze away from the screen of pretty colors and action. Where the computer was, there was a stack of texts books, hesitantly Ophelia picked one up and stared at it as its weight fell off and turned into a picture book of… The girl blinked, as she realized the words on the cover had no meaning, it was just a pretty picture of a cartoon kitty with squiggles above it, the trophies on the shelf behind her popped out of existence and the empty space was filled with more dolls. “What is going on here?” Ophelia whispered to herself. Looking down, Ophelia checked out her own body, looking for any signs of regression there. Her breasts, not the most prominent feature of hers on a good day, were the same size as they ever were, a firm A cup. At least that was the same. Reaching down, she pulled her Pull-Up away and looked at her pussy, finding it completely bare of any hair. Ophelia didn’t like to keep a forest down there, but usually kept a bit of hair. Next, she glanced at her back in a mirror. Last spring, her and some friends had made a trip to a tattoo parlor, and Ophelia had the image of a muse put on her. She hated having to explain the difference to people the difference between an angel and a muse, but she apparently wouldn’t have that problem any more as the skin between her shoulder blades was as barren as the day she was born. “Why is this happening?” She whined to herself. “Because I wanted it to.” In Ophelia’s mirror, the shadow was there, right behind Ophelia, shrieking, she glanced behind her shoulder seeing nothing. “Don’t worry, I’m not actually right next to you, baby.” The shadow seemed to fizzle and fade, a blonde woman just a few years older than Ophelia stood behind Ophelia’s reflection, partially see through, like a ghost. “I’m rather surprised,” the stranger continued, “I was pretty sure after your bubble bath Little Ophie was coming out to play permanently. Oh well, I like it better when they struggle.” Backing up, the woman stayed behind Ophelia the whole time, until she backed into her nightstand, falling to the floor on to her Pull-Up which did little to cushion the fall, Sir Bearington tumbling off the nightstand and falling into Ophelia’s lap, the towel around her head falling to the floor. Whether it was Ophelia or Ophie who grabbed the teddy bear and hung on to it for dear life, who’s to say? It was certain who, in either case, stuck her thumb in her mouth. From the bottom floor, a voice called out, “Ophie! No bouncing around!” In the reflection, the blond woman leaned down and whispered to her, “Did baby fall down and go boom? Don’t you worry you’re pretty little head,” She brushed the hair out of Ophelia’s reflection, and her real hair followed suit, making the girl cry out. “Shhh, shhh, shhh, no need for tears Little one, soon enough, you won’t remember anything of this, anyway. Big Ophelia is gonna go on vacation, and there’s only going to be baby Ophie left. You won’t worry or stress, never again. You’ll be staying with Mommy for the rest of your life.” Ophelia hid her face in Sir Bearington, sobbing, not seeing that with each sob, a little more of the woman became clear, less opaque, with the panic in Ophelia growing, more of her maturity dwindled away, more things in her room were replaced with childish traits. “Ophie, what’s wrong?” Mommy stood in the doorway, clad in just a bathrobe and a towel wrapped around her long hair. Rushing over to her daughter, Josie wrapped her arms around the sobbing girl, who only pointed at the mirror, only showing the mother embracing her daughter. Giving the mirror a cursory look, Josie turned back to to Ophie. “Did you see something that scared you, honey?” Ophie stuck her head between her Mom’s chest, letting out a whimper and nodding. “It’s going to be OK, Mommy’s here, no one’s gonna hurt you with me here. Mommy lowered the short rail on the bed that had appeared during the ghostly woman’s ordeal and had Ophie climb up on it as she followed right behind her, dropping her towel next to her daughter’s on the floor. “I think you’re just over tired, you just need a nap baby.” Ophie shook her head as hard as she could, “Hush baby, Mommy is gonna be with you the whole time.” On the bed, Josie put an arm and leg around Ophie, and while still frightened to the point she couldn’t think, the reassuringly presence of her Mom was lulling her into a sense of security. Cuddling up against Mommy, soon, she was fast asleep, and while she had planned on getting up after making sure Ophie was fast asleep, Josie followed her daughter into dreamland. Ophelia woke up, feeling a lot better, the room she was in was dark, but the clear thoughts made her feel better. She moved her arm to the left, it felt like she was moving through quick sand, and her arms hit a pane of glass. Ophelia’s eyes suddenly opened, and she was surrounded by bright light and beeping. She was stuck in a glass case of some kind, with two holes out of it. Looking down, she saw beyond her boobs a belly full of baby fat and a diaper that was large enough to cover her belly button, which she distressingly found, itched like crazy. She screamed. “Oh my goodness!” A familiar voice! Mommy! Ophelia looked over and saw her Mom’s face and screamed again. Mommy’s whole head was nearly the size of her body, and incomprehensible terrifying sight. “She’s got a great set of lungs, doesn’t she? Can I touch her?” Another person came into view, a blond woman wearing scrubs. “Go ahead, don’t worry, you won’t hurt her.” The giant woman, the one from the shadows, the one from the mirror, grinned down at her, like she knew a secret Ophelia didn’t know. “Hiiii, princess,” Mommy stuck her hand in the case with Ophelia, a finger making its way through her hand, Ophelia instinctively grabbed on to it, her hand barely made its way around it, grabbing her mother’s finger was like holding on to a pillar holding up a building. “I know you’ve never seen me before, but we’ve known each other for awhile.” The sound of Mommy’s voice had a calming effect on Ophie, her fear was subsiding, and she knew she was supposed to be right here, with her. Ophelia was falling, her psyche was like a pool and she was drowning inside it. Little Ophie was peeing her diaper now, though feeling it was out of the question. “When can she come home?” Josie asked the older woman. Her anxiety and fears about being a 19 year old single mother were fading away as her little girl held on to her finger, she knew that there was nothing she couldn’t do if it was for her princess. “For now, let’s work on getting her out of the incubator, OK, sweetie?. For now, can you give us a moment? We have to run just a few tests than you can spend as much time as you want with her.” Josie nodded, her anxiety going back up. “Thanks Doctor. I’ll be right outside if you need me.” Josie took her hand away, and Ophie, not understanding what was going on, tried to ask her to stay. Looking back, Mommy sighed, “She has such pretty eyes.” With just the two of them alone, the woman grinned down at Ophie, and opened up the case, and darkness fell into the case, filling it up, until… she… was...submerged… “Hhhhheeeh!” Ophie gasped herself awake. Above her, Josie, roughly the same size of her, to her relief. “Mom, I just had the weirdest dream…” “Is that right, hun?” Mom said as she looked at something around Opie’s bottom. “Yeah, I was in a big, glass case, and you were huge! And there was a mean Doctor there, and she wanted to do bad stuff to me…” “Wow!” Was the reply that came from her. “I’m surprised you remember that. You were so little, pretty incredible.” Riiiiiip. Oh no, Ophie thought, no no no, not… Mommy pulled away a pink pair of undies and put and identical pair around Ophie’s ankles. She sighed in relief. She was still a big girl in Pull-Ups. Her thumb made its way up to her mouth, There was a cloud of dust hitting Ophie’s princess parts, and Mommy finished pulling her undies up, telling her to raise her bum to get it up all the way. “All done!” “Aww done!” Ophie repeated between her thumb, as she was lifted up and taken out of her bed, getting put on Mommy’s hip and carried out of her room, but not before she managed to grab Sir Bearington, who looked much less patchwork all of sudden, as though he didn’t have a little over a decade and a half of wear and tear. In the living room, there was new feature, a large playpen, that Ophie and Sir Bearington were deposited in. “Alright, Mommy has to make dinner, baby. Sir Bearington, this is an order from your queen! You keep princess Ophie safe and in her pen. Princess Ophie, Sir Bearington is in charge, you listen to him, you got it young lady?” Ophie gave her Mommy a solemn nod from her spot kneeling on the carpet, her thumb still in her mouth and her teddy bear stuck in her vice grip dangling from its arm just barely off the ground. For a little while after Mommy left, Ophie occupied herself by playing with the distractions in the playpen, playing with blocks that she stacked and knocked over again and again, she tried to fiddle with the matching shapes game, but that toy lost its appeal when the square wouldn’t go into the circle hole, and finally with a baby doll, she played house with Sir Bearington, pretending that he was the Daddy and Ophie was the Mommy. After giving the doll a toy bottle, she realized this baby was thirsty too, and started looking around for a drink. She looked around, seeing the TV on a distracting Sesame street episode, the one where the silly puppets told a baby that looked like Ophie that it was OK to crawl around and that talking was for big girls, fortunately, Ophie was a big girl who could walk all by herself and could say whatever she wanted (as long as it wasn’t the no-no words that she heard Mommy say sometimes and got in trouble when she repeated) drew her attention away from that. There was a book on the couch, lying open with some pictures on it, and Ophie wouldn’t mind going and playing with that, but first things first. Yes! Right were she left it, (or right where she left her coffee mup earlier) was a Peppa Pig sippy cup with some juice in it. Ophie was a smart girl, her Mommy told her so all the time, and knew how to get out of her playpen, even if it made Mommy angry, but this was an emergency! Ophie was thirsty and wanted her sippy now! Still though, she felt a little guilty for breaking the rules, so she asked her royal advisor. “Sir Bearington, is it ok if Ophie goes out of the playpen, for just a minute?” “Go over there, Ophie,” A woman’s voice spoke through her bear, “There’s something I want you to see over there. Go on, go get your drink.” “You sound funny, Sir Bearington. I’ll ask Mommy if you can have some bear medicine.” Ophie grabbed her trusty screw driver from her toy toolbox and unlatched the hook and loop on the other side of the gate. Ophie was so pleased with herself. She felt very grown up using her tools. The first time she saw Mommy grabbing tools from the boring store with the all the wood and shiny stuff she wasn’t allowed to touch, she thought they were dumb and boring, but after she saw her Mommy using those things she got from there, Ophie knew she needed to have her own. She was so smart, just like her Mommy! Tip toeing, Ophie stealthily toddled over to the couch and took her prize. Putting her Peppa Pig cup up to her lips, she got the satisfying treasure of juice hitting her tongue, sighing with relief, she wiped her lips with Sir Bearington, She turned around to head back to her playpen, “Wait,” Sir Bearington said in the woman’s voice. “The book.” That book did interest her a little bit, Ophie turned around and looked at it. Inside were pictures of Mommy and Ophie, and some of even Sir Bearington! It was the bestest book Ophie had ever seen. There she was on her tricycle! And there she was learning how to swim! Mommy looked so silly that day, she looked like she was going to leap into the water at any second to take her from the nice teacher lady. Oh, and there she was on her training potty! The pictures were weird tho, one second she would look at them at see a big Ophie and the next she was so small. It was really silly. But wait? Wasn’t she a big girl? Ophelia’s eyes widened as her maturity reasserted herself. “Oh, oh no… I have to go get Mommy- Mom, we have to get out of here before it’s too late.” “But it is too late, Ophie,” Sir Bearington spoke again. Dropping the teddy bear, Ophelia was ready to scream. “Just take a look, little one…” Still ready to make a run for it, Ophelia couldn’t help but take one more glance at the Baby book, only to see the photos change again, only this time not Ophelia flip flopping between being a baby and an adult baby, but what was going on in the photos. Ophelia wasn’t on her tricycle anymore, she was stuck in her walker, drooling on the toys built into it, she wasn’t learning to swim, little Ophie was reaching out to grab a mobile from the baby gym set above her during tummy time, Ophelia wasn’t on the training potty, she never had one, there she was, an honest to goodness photo, of her Grandma changing an 18 year old Ophie’s diaper. Ophelia’s legs started to waddle, no longer being able to hold her weight up, and she fell, the cushioning power of Pull-Ups no longer in question, Ophelia was just demoted to full on Pamper packer, her Pull-up had grown in mass, now ready for all of her bodily functions, the bottom of her princess shirt descended down, snaking its way down to front and back and joining together at a snap at the crotch. Ophelia didn’t have to wait long to test out the capacity of her new underwear, her body decided then and there that she had waiting long enough to unleash a full stinky load into the back of her pants as she sat down on the floor, she couldn’t help but whine when the mess hit the floor of her diaper and spread thoroughly around her bottom and front, and at the same time, where there was thunder there was rain, and her bladder unleashed everything it had. The only comfort she had, the sippy cup, had turned into a bottle, and she stuck that into her mouth, the soothing motion of the nipple offering some relief. “Ophie! How did you get out of your playpen?” Ophelia looked up and saw her Mom, her adult self felt a burning shame, being caught messy and wet. The bottle fell from her hands and she reached up for her. Mommy did not leave her wanting at all. Picking Ophelia up off the ground, her nose wrinkled. “Uuuk! Yup, you definitely need a change before dinner.” Mommy put Ophelia on her hip, the squish of her bottom an indescribable Hell, and the bounce to readjust Ophelia’s weight properly on Mommy’s hip even worse as the wet mess spread further into the front. “Baby, I swear you’re too smart for your own good! Maybe when you’re big enough to to talk, you can tell Mommy how you do you escape acts. Ophie!” Josie called to her baby in a sing-song voice, “Can you say, ‘Ma-Ma’? Come on, just a little ‘Ma-Ma’. I promise I’ll love you forever!” “Haba…” Ophelia tried her best, but her tongue and lips, like every other part of her body, was unwilling or unable to cooperate to any of her commands right now. Josie nodded, bringing Ophelia into her room, now reeking of dirty diapers and baby powder “Yeah, I know, I’ll love you forever regardless, you called my bluff.” Her room once again had undergone a metamorphosis, though it wasn’t nearly on the fence anymore, it was cemented completely, there was no doubt this wasn’t the bedroom of an independent, intelligent young woman, this was a far cry from a toddler learning how to navigate the world and her body, this was the nursery of a needy infant that needed to be monitored at all hours. Her bed with the short rails on it, thought Ophelia had only used it once, she will miss dearly, because now those rails rose so high even if she was confident in her ability to stand she doubt she’d be able to vault over that height. Her dresser, once holding hard earned trophies and academic achievements, and then a collection of dolls, was now loaded with plush animal friends and a baby monitor. And the piece of furniture she was being put on, once where she sat for hours, watching videos online, doing school work, chatting with friends, listening to music, then just a table for a TV for cartoons to keep a little girl preoccupied, now served a new purpose, a changing table loaded with diapers and supplies, perfect for a baby who wouldn’t have the expectation to even attempt to keep her pants clean. Somehow, Ophelia had managed to get Sir Bearington’s paw in her mouth and started to suckle on it, before Mommy tut-tuted her and pulled him away, instigating an outburst of anger and frustration Ophelia didn’t know she was capable of. Her little throat roared out in anger, or as much as she could, until Mommy put a pacifier into her mouth, the rhythmic motion of sucking working its magic right away, truly pacifying her while Mommy did her disgusting work. “Yup, that’s what I thought, we got a code brown. Full on blow out. Dr. Bearington, diaper.” Josie pretended to get a fresh diaper and dramatically fluffed it up in front of Ophelia, hoping to cheer up her cranky babe. “Dr. Bearington, wipes,” She said after getting the fresh diaper under her. The snaps breathed a snap of relief as their job holding the well filled padding was done, letting the mess breath. The air when Mommy un-taped the diaper was putrid, and even Mommy, a seasoned veteran apparently of messes like this, wrinkled her nose and had to wave the air in front of her. “Yup, baby, I don’t think those spare peas and carrots agreed with you at all. Lucky you, we can go back to your favorite, apple and bananas. I’m sure you’re excited.” Excited was a strong word for learning you probably weren’t on solid foods, but sure, if Ophelia could, she would scream out and do cartwheels. Yaaay, apple and bananas! Though if she weren’t trying to be sarcastic as a way from keeping her mind from having a well justified breakdown, apples and bananas were her favorite fruits. The cold wet wipes sent a wave of discomfort throughout Ophelia’s body as her Mom cleaned away the mess from her most intimate part. “Poor baby, no wonder you were so cranky. Mommy would be cranky too is she had poo up the hoo-ha.” I don’t need the play by play commentary, just clean me! Ophelia thought to herself while sucking the soothing pacifier. The cleaning job on her butt was a job filled with a lot more relief. This cheek, that cheek, down the middle, and Ophelia felt ready for date night. Both of them breathed easier when that diaper was rolled up and chucked into the diaper genie that had appeared. Ophelia was rather used to the powder by now, even enjoying it in a perverse way, and felt a lot better when she could enjoy the fresh diaper, Mommy giving her a smack on her thickly covered rear and called her finished. As a final touch, Mommy stripped away her onesie. “There we go, recipe for a happy Ophie, 1 part fresh diaper, 2 parts nakie time, and 1 part full tummy!” Finally, she’d at least get to try out that apple and banana puree or whatever, that’ll probably be goo- Oh God, Ophelia thought to herself, why is she taking off her top?! Mommy carried her over to a chair in the corner, and her breast presented to her Little one. Ophelia did her best to keep from latching on, moving her head away as much as she could, but the second those lips brushed up against that nipple it was game over. Ophelia was on the tit milk train and had no way or inclination to get off. The first few seconds, it was all Ophelia could do to keep Ophie down, the only thing she had left separating her from a true infant was her adult mind that came and went, but this was her hardest battle of all time. Sucking that sweet cream was intoxicating, the breast seemed to pulse with each thin stream of liquid that came out of it, and Mommy’s heartbeat was hypnotic. Ophelia was having a hard time thinking, even if she was still a big girl, the life changing experience had her in Nirvana. Her feelings were set to a full 10 and only when she was pulled off to switch to the other nipple did she want to cuss her Mother out. But Mom was good to her, she let Ophelia drink as much as she wanted. Mommy was so nice. Mommy… Ma-Ma…. Ophie’s head fell to a lull, resting on Josie’s breast, still sucking in her sleep. Josie would give her a few more minutes, before she put her in the cradle and let her rest for a few hours before they did it all again. Ophelia gasped and jumped, sitting up, groaning when she found herself on the nursery floor, though with the added benefit of being able to control her body and wearing actual adult clothes. Testing herself, she got to her feet and kicked her legs back and forth, happy with the results. Final test, “Hello?” “Wah!” the sound came from behind her, flipping herself around, she saw the blond woman smiling down at a bassinet that she was slowly rocking. “There, there, baby girl, it’s alright,” the woman said to the infant under the cover. “I think you’ll feel right as rain one way or the other.” She turned her attention towards Ophelia. “Hello, Ophelia, I have to thank you, you gave me so much energy, I think I’ll be able to go on for several years on that alone.” Ophelia put up three fingers, “Three things, first, what the fuck are you talking about?” She withdrew her pointer finger. “Second, who the fuck are you?” She put down her ring finger leaving only the middle finger. “Lastly, what the fuck are you?” The woman laughed, still rocking the bassinet, “Such a mouth on you! I thought you were smart or something, why would you insult me after the day I just put you through?” She put a hand under her chin and continued. “I’m Grace, a spirit from the bEyOnD,” she waggled her fingers at that last bit. “You see, I maintain my anchor to the mortal realm by eating the souls of people, which they only accrue more with age and experience, but there’s a quality over quantity component to it. The younger the soul, the sweeter and stronger it tastes, but the older they get, the more there is but it gets blander. I latched myself on you and your mother so I could get a bit of both worlds.” “Ok, that’s confusing as Hell, but then why torture me all day, why not just, rip the band-aid off in one go?” “Well,” Grace put up three fingers, “If I ate it all in one go, its sort of like taking a big bite all in one go, its uncomfortable, it can lead to choking, you know, nothing good.” She put down her ring finger. “Think of fear as a seasoning, those souls experiencing fear during their last moments as an autonomous being.” She put down her ring finger, her middle standing lone. “And third, for my own sick pleasure.” “So great, I’m what, being digested right now?” Ophelia felt defeat. There was nothing she could really do to this psycho phantom in front of her. “Sort of, that’s an interesting way to put it. You are, in a sense, being processed. Or more specifically, part of you is. You that are left, are the bit of soul still left from who you once were. You could go back, and I could even make it so that you’re in control of yourself. The little trip to infancy won’t be easy to come back from, but it’s possible you’ll be up walking and talking and wiping your own ass in less than a year. You’re in a university, right? You could call it a year abroad to anyone who asks.” “Or,” Grace continued, “I could put that little bit of you back into your body without the steering wheel. You’ll slowly go mad, being trapped in your baby prison, barely able to move your body, never growing up, your Mommy cooing at you and calling you her little princess and cleaning your messy accidents like you just had before you got here. I reckon, 2 years, after two years you’ll, probably break and be talking to Sir Bearington like he’s a real person and you’ll stop being such a ‘gwumpy gus’ to everyone who calls you an ‘adorable little shnookums’. I’ll leave the choice up to you…” Ophelia scratched her head, “Why would I ever take the second option? That sounds like a fate worse than death.” “Oh, I’m glad you asked. Dying would be better, but… Someone’s gonna do it, regardless.” Grace pulled the curtain away from the bassinet. Ophelia slowly made her way over to it, peering inside, and seeing the most adorable baby she’s ever seen, thick dark hair, thin eyebrows, a short, slightly upturned nose, fair skin, and the most beautiful yet fearful eyes she’s ever seen, pretty little hazel eyes. “The choice is up to you, if you go back to being a grown up (eventually), I’m gonna make little Josie here go through that same experience you just went through and worse. But hey, maybe you’ll adopt her, give her a nice life, maybe you give her away and let her cycle through the system for awhile and maybe she’ll find a forever home. Or you stay little Ophie, and you get your Mommy back and she lives happily ever psychologically torturing her only child until you’re brain is just a mad little baby.” Ophelia, looked back and forth between Grace and Josie, take the baby or be the baby... Possessive (Branching Paths – Ophelia) The choice was clear. There was no way Ophelia could let her Mom go through everything she just went through. Tears in her eyes, she made the hardest choice she ever had thrust on her. “Fine, I’ll go back to… being a baby…” The spirit in the chair stopped rocking the bassinet, a cruel smile on her lips. “You want to what? Go back to being Mommy’s stinky little girl. Come on, I want to hear you say it.” “I… want to go back to being Mommy’s stinky little girl…” The humiliation burned in Ophelia, she was well clued into the game Grace was playing, but it didn’t hamper the feeling of shame that was growing in her. Grace chuckled, producing a pacifier. “Go ahead, then. Put it in and you’ll be right back to where you were…” Ophelia took the pacifier, her hand shaking, and stuck the rubber teat in her mouth, hating how soothing it was. She closed her eyes, and began to suck on it. The world lost its weight, Ophelia felt like she was floating, and floating, and floating… Nuk… Nuk… Nuk… There was a draft going through the nursery, making Ophelia, dressed in only a soggy diaper with her blanket covering just a little bit of the bottom of her legs, shiver in her crib. Trying her best to control her unruly arms, she tried to grab the blanket, only for the neurons in her brain to cross causing her to kick the blanket off further. The feeling of helplessness fell over Ophelia, and she let into the impulse she knew was the only way to fix the problem. Her lazy tongue pushed out the pacifier and she wailed at the top of her lungs. Her relief came to her quick, but in the darkness of her crib, the only light coming from a weak nightlight dimly illuminating the door of the room, it was an eternity. Time ticked by at an abysmal pace when you couldn’t do anything for yourself. Finally, after forever, though in reality it was just a couple minutes, the door opened, letting in the light of the hallway. The rails of the crib lowered, and Mommy picked Ophie up, something warm and plastic touching her bare thigh, the reason for the (seemingly) late arrival. The crying slowed, but didn’t stop completely, as she weakly returned the hug. “There, there, honey, Mommy’s got you, everything will be all right. No wonder you were screaming, someone’s soaked!” Ophie was put on the changing table, and her sniffling hushed when a bottle was placed in her mouth. With one hand, Mommy held the bottle for Ophie, and the other, she impressively juggled the diaper change. “This is gonna be so much easier when you can hold that thing yourself, won’t it, shortie?” Ophie closed her eyes, trying to not remind herself that she’ll never be able to hold up the bottle by herself, and with her eyes shot, the relief of a dry diaper, the comfort of Mommy being right next to her, and the rhythmic sucking of the bottle, Ophie fell into a welcomed dreamless sleep. 6 months later… Ophie was doing her daily tummy time, under her play gym and the watchful eye of her Mommy nearby, in her usual attire on warm days, wearing nothing but a thick and well used diaper and a white bonnet. The adult inside Ophie was hanging on by a threat, the endless cycle of wake up, get fed, diaper changes, what could only generously be called play, get fed, diaper changes, go to sleep was eating away at her sanity faster than Grace had originally told her. The few variations didn’t do much to stimulate Ophie. Her Mommy and Me classes, where Ophie got to watch actual infants slowly progress from barely moving their own heads to crawling to their mothers was disheartening in her static position, and grew even worse when those infants had gotten cycled out for a new batch, a routine Ophie had many years to look forward to. The trips to the store, where thankfully no one saw her as anything else but a baby, only led to strangers cooing at her and playing with her bare toes, the other day at the grocery store, in the cereal aisle, a bored Ophie glanced over at a box of Cheerios, and found that her grasp on reading had faded away, and really, looking over at the rest the boxes, discovered that her knowing what those were because Mommy always got them, everything else was lost in the fog of her memory. Mommy’s work had thankfully let her work from home, mostly, on the few occasions she did go out, Ophie was left at a local daycare, or, if it was during the evening, there were several young women around who would happily watch little Ophie for a few hours. She didn’t know which was worse, when she was left in the care of a girl she knew in high school, or when she was left with someone younger than her. Wiggling around the soft mat, the baby managed to grab a soft cube and shove it in her mouth, Ophie and Ophelia enjoying the soft texture on her tongue, she hadn’t had anything more substantial than formula since her last real breakfast months earlier, she couldn’t help but enjoy the fuzzy fabric brushing against her tongue, her jaw feeling the resistance of the object was the most strenuous workout she’s had in awhile, one that she did without having to be in Mommy’s lap being held up. Out of the corner of her eye, Ophie saw her old friend, Sir Bearington, since her descent into infancy, had transformed into a brand new bear. With little thought other than she wanted to put her old toy in her mouth, she motioned to grab at him, sniffling when she could do little more than reach out for him. “Here you go, sweet heart,” Mommy to the rescue! She placed the bear into Ophie’s grasp, and into her mouth her went. FLASH. The old Polaroid camera went off, and Mommy waved the photo out to dry. “There we go, that’s a cute photo for the baby book. The End Possessive (Branching Paths – Josie) The choice was clear. Ophelia gave the baby in the bassinet a sad look for as long as she could, looking away not too long after, she couldn’t bear to say it. The spirit sensed her hesitation, urging her on, “Go on, say it!” “You already know… There’s no way I could live the rest of my life like that…” “Your decision!” Grace hissed with a mad look in her eyes that had long since lost the glint of life. “You have to say it!” Looking at the spirit, Ophelia began, “I-” before getting cut off. “Not to me, tell her! Unless… You two already look like twins, perhaps that would be a better option… Two babies forever together…” Shaking her head, “No! No, I’m sorry… I’ll tell her.” Ophelia put her hands on the bassinet and looked at the infant within. “Mom, I’m sorry. I’m going to grow up, and you’re going to grow down…” The nursery fell apart, the bassinet and Grace disappearing, and Ophelia and Josie fell into the void below. Josie woke up having the weirdest dream, she remembered Ophelia, except… Two memories of her daughter flickered into her mind, her college going daughter, and her little baby, both memories vying to usurp the other in her mind. It gave her an awful headache. Her dream though, the adult Ophelia, she was bargaining with a strange woman above her, they were both giants and, wait, was she a baby? Such a weird dream! Ophie was just a baby, after all! She had her whole life to get to being a college girl. “Mom?” A crackly voice came over the baby monitor on her night stand. Josie froze, there was no way Ophie was close to talking but, that was her voice. Her mind went into overdrive, the memories of watching her daughter grow up reasserted themselves, and yet, she had spent all of yesterday treating her adult daughter like a kid, and then a toddler, and… “Ophie?!” She jumped out of bed, her pajamas being looser the furthest thing on her mind. “Ophelia!” “Mom?” The voice came from down the hall. Josie barged into the nursery, seeing Ophelia standing on shaky legs on the bars of her crib. The rails of the crib were lowered and Josie and Ophelia were locked in an embrace while Ophelia cried warm tears on her Mom’s shoulders. “Ophie, Ophelia, I’m so sorry, I don’t understand what’s going on. I’m so sorry for how I treated you today…” She took a look around at the nursery. “Where did all this stuff come from?” “Mom, I’m really sorry…” Ophelia choked out. “You have nothing to be sorry for, baby, this isn’t your fault,” Josie’s pajama bottoms chose that second to fall on to the floor. “Wha-?” Josie glanced down, then back at Ophelia who was now looking at her own eye level. That didn’t make sense though, Josie hadn’t been that height since she was… Josie looked at the pajama top, her sleeves eating her hands as her age kept falling and falling. Backing away from Ophelia, who fell to the floor without support, she rushed to the bathroom, and screamed when she saw a fresh face of a 15 year old staring back at her. “What? How?” The changes were happening rapidly, she watched in the mirror as her breasts under her pajama tent went from mounds, to molehills, to nothing. Josie reached a hand hidden in her sleeve up to her mouth and shock, and ran back to the nursery. “Ophelia?” She cringed at the girlish voice coming out of her 11 year old mouth as she searched for her daughter. Seeing her near the crib, using it to stand up with Josie’s phone in her hand. The height difference between the two left Josie feeling small and insignificant, looking up at her daughter. Despite the fact that this older girl was her daughter, and she could see Ophelia’s diaper start to sag, when Ophelia told her to hush, she couldn’t help but listen, sinking down to the ground. She half listened to Ophelia, her thoughts growing foggy, the 9 year old grabbed a baby doll that lay on the floor and started cuddling it, “Yeah, I know, it’s late, I really need you to come over, it’s really important.” Ophelia said while Josie became engrossed in playing with the new toy, the panic fading away as the girl started playing with her doll. “I know, I know, please, you have to come right now. Thank you, Grandma.” Josie’s ears perked up at that. “Is that Mommy?” The 7 year old wearing her pajama top as a dress said. “I wanna talk to her!” Holding the phone up as her Mom jumped to reach the phone, Ophelia felt exhausted just trying to stand, it felt like it had been years since she stood on her own two feet, and it didn’t help that she was watching her Mother dwindle down to a little girl before her very eyes. “It’s- it’s hard to explain. No, Grandma, she can’t come to the phone right now. Please, I’ll explain everything when you get here.” Josie pouted when Ophelia put down the phone and slumped down to the floor, defeated. “That stupid liar…” She muttered to herself, while Josie climbed into her lap and gave Ophelia a hug, sensing they both needed the comfort. Ophelia held Josie for a few moments, until she noticed something on the shelves below the changing table. She reached over and grabbed one of the baby sized diapers that appeared there as she held 4 year old Josie. “Who’s that for?” The new toddler asked. “They’re for you,” Ophelia said honestly, noticing the changes around the nursery, not only was it ready for the teenager, and getting ready for an actual baby. That made Josie pout. “I don’t need stupid diapers! I’m a big girl! You’re the one who needs diapers!” She pointed at the evidence around Ophelia’s waist. “God, I knew this was gonna be hard…” Ophelia grabbed Josie and set her down on the floor. The poor 3 year old was confused at first, but when her pajama top was lifted up and saw the diaper, she started kicking her legs and screaming, the Mom that had to grow up fast for her daughter a long forgotten identity to the tot, who’s only thought now was that she was too big for diapers and wanted her Mommy, even as she shrunk during her tantrum. “Shh, Josie, it’s going to be OK, it’s going to be fine.” “I wan’ my Mommy! I wan’ my Mama! I wan’ I wan’ I wan’ iwa meh!” Her words became incomprehensible babble as little Josie shrank further and further down. Ophelia sadly wrapped her former Mom up in her new underwear, wondering if Josie’s adult mind was going through a living Hell just like she had. With that job done, Josie was put back into Ophelia’s lap, much lighter this time, and the two waited on the floor of the nursery for the morning or for Grandma to get there, which ever came first. The End

Melody's Melancholy Misadventures By RogueDratini “When you were a kid, did you ever think that you didn’t belong? Like you were dropped off at your parent’s doorstep to live an ordinary life but you’re really a Princess or something? You’re supposed to be something else, something different?’ Melody asked the bespectacled woman with the graying, frizzy hair with a bandanna keeping the chaos of her curls kept, so thick it looked like a bird could easily use it as a nest. Almost immediately she regretted her words. Melody had planned on being skeptical about her visit to this little hippie curio store, a friend of hers had told Melody that it had solved a few of her friend’s own issues when they were discussing issues a few weeks ago, Melody had just laughed at the idea that some old store owner could wave her hand and fix problems Melody had had with her own identity, problems that years of therapist couldn’t untangle. She just couldn’t imagine some exotic tea and meditation could instantly repair her own esteem. The elderly woman nodded, her eyes magnified by her round glasses, a plume of smoke coming out of the clove cigarette between her fingers giving her wrinkled face a more mystical appearance, she looked wavy, like there was something more behind the smoke and kind smile. “It’s common for kids to think that way.” She took a sip of the tea that Melody had politely refused just a moment ago. “Is that why you’re here? Do you still have that fantasy?” Resisting the urge to blurt out her thoughts, Melody took a more thoughtful approach, taking in her surroundings while she thought of what to say. Behind her was the curio store, between them and the patio a curtain of colorful beads, perhaps the most colorful item in this place. In the rest, there were earthly colors everywhere, dark green and brown dried herbs in brown glass and pots, books that taught people how to tap into their chakra and see with their third eye, little stands for incense right next to shelves full of incense out on display for those who wanted to smell before grabbing a box, crystals that reflected the candles burning light that promised to cleanse your aura in a glass case and a few dangling on black cords on small jewelry stands. And, who could forget the drug paraphernalia? Right next to the door in a locked case were pipes and bongs next to sweatshirts and reggae sweaters with a weed leaf on them. The whole place stung Melody’s nose, the stench of incense and potpourri and clove cigarettes wafting around her, in a way, it reminded her of her old bachelorette aunt’s home, though it never reeked like this, just that it was a very old lady smell. She got the feeling that her clothes would need several washings before the smell went back to normal. “Dear?” The hippie lady asked after awhile. “Hmm?” Melody bit her lip, her insecurity asserting dominance in her mind. She was feeling silly and stupid sitting in this place. More the latter than former. She always felt stupid, and slow. “I asked if you still had this fantasy?” She repeated herself. “Uh- I should go, I’m just wasting your time. Sorry! Sorry!” Even as she stood up, Melody was making herself smaller, neck retreating down like a turtle, shoulder’s hunched, arms folding in, as small and unimportant as she could to match how she felt on the inside. “Dear, please just sit down, I want to help you.” The older woman got up, much faster than her age would imply she could be, made several quick, long strides to be next to Melody, putting a firm hand on her shoulder to lower her down to the circular table with the tea set, one teacup steaming and the other empty at Melody’s refusal, and the large black ashtray riddled with old cigarette butts. Still insisting, “It’s ok!” Melody said, even as she allowed herself to be lowered back down. “If this is about money, I really wouldn’t mind buying some candles or something- I think I smelled a vanilla one that smelled lovely! I hate wasting people’s time.” The old lady offered Melody another cup of tea, with second, third, and forth thoughts, her hand raised and lowered and raised again, waving away to decline it. Shrugging, “You’re not wasting my time at all dear, I like talking to people and helping them with their problems. It’s something of a-” She let the a trail on for a second, “hobby of mine.” She said with a crooked smile, finally settling on the right word. “Now, you were telling me about feeling like a cuckoo bird.” Melody felt her hand raise to her mouth, biting the quick of her chewed nails, emanating the nervous energy of a small dog, “Oh, well… I guess when I was a kid, I thought that, but-” She trailed off for a second, gathering her thoughts. “When I got older- that feeling didn’t really go away? Not like- that I should be like some silly hero from a fantasy story, but I didn’t… belong? But in the opposite way,” Looking around towards anything that wasn’t the face of the stranger, Melody couldn’t say for certain why this was always so hard for her to say. It’s not like she hadn’t described this feeling before, she’s said it countless times, to school councilors, to therapists, to dates, to her Mom and Dad when this feeling first appeared. She’s had a lot of practice with it. “Like I’m not good enough. For this life, probably for any other. I’m not, well, good at anything.” A moment of silence, under the gaze of the hippie lady Melody felt like she was on the verge of tears. “Maybe I should’ve just been left on someone else doorstep when I was small, or probably in a gutter or dumpster.” She hated admitting that, Melody had grown used to the empty platitudes that usually followed her explanation, but there was always the underlying feeling that it was forced, fake words that only served to make the other people feel better, because they were good people that wanted to help and make others happier, unlike Melody, who only dwelled on her own hang ups and insecurities. Melody thoughts drifted towards her day earlier, before she had come into the store. In her classroom, standing in front of her 8th grade English literature class, trying to keep a discussion on the themes of Frankenstein coming to a screeching halt, like she always failed to do. When she was a kid, Melody’s favorite class was language arts, she adored getting absorbed into a world where girls meet their true loves, where gallant heroes saved the day, where monsters got their timely comeuppance, and wanted to spread that love to others, show kids that their was a wonderful world where they could escape their problems between the pages of a book, where they could escape to be someone else, if only for a few hours. But, Melody had quickly discovered after college that her fantasy of showing a love of reading was still just a dream. As a teacher’s assistant, she felt like the kid’s just never listened to her, she was just in the background of another teacher’s class as decoration, someone to pass out assignments, occasionally sub for her superior. Back then, she had told herself that it was just that she was an assistant, that when she finally had her own class she’d get the respect of her students, and almost as important, herself, though the tiny voice inside her that always droned on assured her that no, that would not be the case. And as it was, that little voice was indeed right, like it usually was, and Melody wasn’t, like she always was. When she finally earned her own class, the only way she could, in her mind, by seniority, running out the clock until people in charge had no other choice but to throw their hands up and give her the job. At first, she had been excited, going into that room, setting up her desk, her lesson plans and curriculum ready, a happy, peppy smile on her face that she rarely got to wear, that wasn’t forced in any case, that was, until she stood up to the class introducing herself and she saw their vacant eyes staring up at her, many of them ignoring her or twisting around their desks to talk to people they actually cared about. That first moment was disheartening, though she saved face as much as she could. She knew, after that first hour what they were all thinking, whispering about her. This new teacher was awful, she sucked, she was a doormat that they could wipe their feet on. It nearly kept her from returning the next day. Yet, she did, for months on end, that little voice in the back of her mind growing louder by the day. The old lady in front of her in the curio shop studied Melody with concern and a thoughtful expression. “And… You think if you found where you do belong that would solve these problems?” Melody’s posture dropped, folding her arms on the table and resting her head on them, “I dunno? Probably not? It’s not like anything else I’ve tried helps.” She looked down at the white lace table cloth that was sewed with an intricate pattern, a giant snowflake over a wooden table with burn marks seared into it. Her glum, uncertain body language told the woman she would never get a positive answer out of the girl, in any definition of the word. “I do have a solution. Though it is rather drastic.” The hippie admitted. Melody lifted her head up, though she still didn’t look hopeful. “Umm, well- I should probably say now,” Melody tripped over her words, “If it’s anything illegal- will show up on a drug test, I- uh, can’t really take it?” The woman laughed at this. “No no, it’s nothing like that! One moment, please.” She got out of her spot and went digging through a dresser that was situated neatly behind her, pulling out an ornate hand mirror and putting it into Melody’s hand. The object was very pretty, Melody had to admit, she wasn’t expecting it to be so heavy too when the cold handle was put into her hand. It was completely encased in a shiny, reflective metal, even on the back she could see her distorted reflection looking back at her, kind of like she would in a fun house mirror. Three blue gemstones were encrusted on the back, shining beautiful against the dim lights of the backroom. Melody was expecting something gaudy when she first saw it in the old woman’s hands, but this was no cheap plastic, she got the feeling that this was precious, actually made of silver. Melody’s self deprecation didn’t lessen, though, “I appreciate it, but, if this is about affirmations or anything, they don’t really work on me.” Melody set the mirror face down on the lace. “No, nothing like that. You said you think you belong somewhere else, right?” The woman reached out and tapped the back of the mirror with a long finger nail. “With this, you can truly find where you belong.” Finally, a wry smile appeared on Melody’s lips. “And just how would it do that?” “Very simply, darling. It’s magic! It’ll show you various lives you belong to, and you can just- step in, find the place where you really belong.” Melody let out a sigh. “That’s a nice thought and all, but A: magic isn’t real; and B: it’s not that I really don’t belong, my problem isn’t really that I don’t belong, it’s that I feel like I don’t belong, in here,” She tapped on her noggin. “Besides, this thing is way, waaay too fancy and expensive for me. I don’t have the money to buy it!” She pushed the mirror back towards the woman. The elder pushed it back in her direction. “I see your point, but it’s all a matter of perspective. You can step into new shoes and walk a mile, or however the expression goes, and really get a feel of who you are, maybe you’ll find you like it better there, and decide to stay, or you come back with a new lease on life.” “That still leaves the whole ‘magic isn’t real’ thing,” Melody pointedly mentions. “Well, let’s solve that argument along with the price issue. You try the mirror here, humor an old fuddy duddy like me, if it doesn’t work, go off and have a funny story with your friends about the crazy lady who believes in magic, or you don’t like what you find in there, come out and you leave without spending a dime, if you find a place you like, then money wouldn’t be an issue in any case.” The woman says with a smile. “Honestly, you can’t lose.” “Hrrrm, well I suppose…” A hesitant hand slowly reaches for the mirror, only to pull away at the last second. “I don’t know, what if I break it?” Melody pulls her hand back to her side. The woman gave an exasperated noise, “Please, dear, you simply worry too much, you can’t have all this indecisiveness mess with your head. I won’t charge you if you shatter the thing, you can’t, by the by, but I trust you won’t believe me at this rate.” In a small voice, Melody agreed, “Ok.” Before picking up the mirror and looking inside it. She takes a look at her reflection, eyes going wide when the surface seems to ripple at the movement, much like a pool of water making small waves when a stone falls into it. “Good! Before you go in, I must warn you, try not to dawdle in a place for too long, things get wonky if you go in and leave after awhile you’ll… start to adopt features in a place. Though, maybe that’s for the best, try to find a place where you can be confident, then even if you don’t like it, you can be like the Cowardly Lion finding his courage.” “The Cowardly Lion had his courage in him the whole time.” “And so do you!” The old hippie smacked the table, sending tea spoon tumbling off of saucers and cigarette butts flying. “Um, alright. How do I-?” “Just give the mirror a little poke, you’ll see! Just remember where you came in from, you should see my little shop.” Melody tentatively reached a hand for the silvery surface, “Oh!” The hippie exclaimed, making Melody look up with a start. “And do have some fun, dear!” The girl returned an unsure smile and reached out for the mirror again, tapping the center of her reflection until her finger and its copy met, then merged, and the world rushed towards Melody in a flash. Melody found herself staring at a body sized mirror, though she didn’t see her own reflection, instead she saw an almost still image of the parlor she was just sitting in, she would almost think that it was a still image, if not for the smoke coming out of the ashtray or the steam coming from a teacup. A bubble of excitement rose inside of her, the novelty of magic being real was terribly amazing to her, and for a moment, she couldn’t help but the possibilities flood her, imagining all the adventures this could. It boggled the mind. Turning around, Melody found herself in a scarlet hall, a plush red carpet that her heels sunk into, a deep crimson ceiling with gorgeous miniature chandeliers lighting up it’s section every 5 feet, and beautiful wine colored velvet curtains in the center of which was a tall mirror similar to the silver one that had brought her here only grown to make Melody feel tiny. Then, as far as her eye could see, lines of curtains and mirrors lined the walls. With a nervous excitement, Melody brought her fingers to her mouth and gave it a chew, marveling in the moment. The air of mystique and mystery overwhelmed, giving her a feeling of being high here, until she remembered herself, cursing, she wiped her hand on her pencil thin navy skirt, turning towards the closest mirror to her right and looking inside. At first, there was just her, in her dark blue blazer and contrasting white blouse, her stick figure that her Grandma had always told her to plump, her auburn red hair that she kept up during school hours, then as soon as that last school bell rung she was ripping that stupid hair tie out. Her sheer giddiness overwhelmed even her own negative body image, and she admired her view among the red everywhere in the room. She really did feel like a heroine, going into portals unknown to face the mystery and danger that was beneath every foot. For the first time, in a long time, Melody’s smile was big and sincere. Then, the reflection began to change. A violent wind blew at her from the shifting portal, an ocean air wafted around her, filling the space around Melody with the scent of salt and fish. In the center of the image in the mirror was a boat, fighting to stay upright under dark gray clouds. Melody even though she could feel the rain drops and sea foam, that is, until she realized she actually could feel them, looking down and finding her skin underneath her skin becoming dampened by the ocean. She was certain in the distance she could hear yelling. She stepped away, maybe that one would be too much adventure for her to start with. Get her feet wet before they got soaked. Undeterred, she stepped towards the mirror to her right, and expectantly waited for it to change, only for her face to fall to shock and immediately step to her right. That was a bloody battlefield! Literally. As soon as the image had shifted, her senses had been assaulted, the sounds of artillery shells bombarded both troops and her ears in the distance, the scent of iron and hot lead poisoned the air around her nostrils as the sight of a trench with barbed wire lining the top. Whatever waited for her out there could stay waiting as far as Melody was concerned, she wasn’t quite ready for the cure of 50 ccs of lead to fix whatever was going on in her head. Melody stepped in front of the next mirror, hoping for something a bit, gentler, only to be pleasantly surprised by the aroma of freshly baked cookies that made her salivate. She was greeted by the image of a child’s bedroom, with dolls and blocks scattered, a little beanbag chair in the corner next to an ankle sized bookshelf, a motif of clouds decorated the blue wallpaper, a holdover from when the room was converted from full fledged nursery to bedroom. That was a bit ‘suburban’, but Melody wasn’t completely opposed. Her imagination filled with the idea of tucking her little one into bed a reading them a bedtime story, giving him or her one last cookie afterwards and insisting they don’t tell their father with a wink and a kiss on their forehead. Melody had never pictured herself in the shoes of a mother, but here, with the possibility in front of her, she couldn’t help admitting to herself that it sounded like a dream. She reached out and tapped the surface, closing her eyes, and she felt the world whoosh around her. When she reopened them, she found herself standing in the room she just saw. Looking around, she expected to hear the pitter patter of little feet come out to greet her, or maybe a tiny body lounging in the beanbag, but no, Melody was alone. She went to peer out the window, opening it up, finding cool evening air, street lamps lighting up a cul-de-sac in front of her, front windows and bedrooms lit up. Melody felt a shockingly sudden descent as her extra two inches of height vanished. Looking down, she found her heels gone, and confusingly, in their place a matching pair of pink bunny slippers. “Huh?” Melody looked towards the mirror that was hanging behind the closed door to the bedroom, only instead of seeing her modest adult self, there was a pudgy faced toddler staring back at her, the girl’s short auburn hair tied into a little tuft above her head, mismatched pajamas on her, a thick green sweater with Santa’s reindeer just a tad too small with her belly hanging out and a pair of bottoms that had Moana decorated up and down her legs. As a test, Melody raised her right hand, in a greeting only to find the little girl in front of her do the same thing in return at the very instance. Damn it! She thought. I was expecting to be the Mother not get mothered! Rolling her eyes, she approached the mirror, instinctively feeling like she’d be able to return to the red hall the same way she left, only for door to pull open and be met with an unfamiliar lady, dressed in some comfortable house clothes, gray sweatpants and a maroon college sweater with a plate full of cookies in a hand and a sippy cup clenched between her forearm and abdomen. The woman resembled Melody by quite a bit, the two women could’ve been sisters in another life, they shared the same hair, eyes a bright emerald that shone, similarly too thin, though there were very slight difference that told Melody that this wasn’t a doppelganger, the nose was just slightly upturned while Melody’s was just a tiny bit hooked, a few more freckles on the stranger’s face, while Melody had a little mole on the bottom of her chin that she despised, and Melody could just barely see above the woman’s head. The stranger seemed to address Melody’s ankles when she opened her mouth. “Melly, I told you to wait for Mommy before you get dressed for nini, silly squirrel.” She gave a teasing chastising, wagging a finger. ‘Mommy’ set her dessert and the cup of milk on the nightstand by the bed, knelt down and reached out to pull Melody’s blazer, even though she seemed to be reaching for the entirely wrong spot. “You’re a little too big for this, Melly! Look, your armsies don’t even fit.” Melody took a look in her reflection just to get a proper reference for what was going on. Mommy was pulling on the sleeve of the Christmas sweater, showing her child it didn’t even reach her wrist. Unsure of what to say, Melody ventured out a, “I look cute?” That got a chortle out of the woman. “Of course you do, you’re my baby, you always look cute.” Melody gave an indignant huff at this, “I’m not a baby!” Mommy had to fight to keep from laughing again, the toddler in front of her folding her arms and insisting she wasn’t a baby was too precious to her. “No, of course not,” She corrected herself, “You’re my big girl! But… Not too big for Mommy kisses!” The woman leaned down and started showering the empty space near to Melody’s knees with kisses, and though space didn’t line up anywhere close to right, Melody still felt them on her face, tickling her. She couldn’t help but giggle at the funny feeling pecks all over her. “Stop! Stooop!” Mommy pulled away and gave a devilish grin. “’Stop’? And do what? This?” She lifted Melody’s top, revealing her smooth white belly and gave it some wet raspberries. Melody fell on the bed while the onslaught continued, kicking her legs and waving her arms uselessly. “No, no noooooo! Stop!” Melody’s face was growing red at this point, as well as hurting from laughing so hard. “Stop, I’m going to pee!” That made the woman pause her attack. Melody breathed a sigh of relief, relaxing with her back on the cot, until two probing fingers slid down Melody’s skirt. She let out a gasp at the invasion of her personal space. “Still dry, good girl!” Mommy pulled Melody upright from the bed by her arms and started leading her out. The hallway was brightly lit, walls painted white, small tables with picture frames and vases of flowers, Melody could see a few with ‘Mommy’ and a strange man with dark hair in several of the pictures, one of them as bride and groom grinning in a lovely green garden, another with the couple holding a tiny red blob wrapped in a pink blanket, a pink blanket Melody couldn’t help but remember she had seen on the corner of the cot in the other room, one with the two in matching black tank tops and jeans holding on to a squirming little girl dressed similarly. Melody felt an itch on her arm, looking towards it as she gave it a thoughtless scratch, she pulled the sweater away and gave it a lite massage with her too little nails, only to give it a second glance realizing that her blazer and blouse combo was gone, in their place was the out of season sweater her reflection had been wearing. Looking down, she still saw her skirt below her, but in between was her bare midriff. She was pulled along, sliding on her bunny slippers as Mommy confidently walked on her bare feet, a bit brave, Melody had to admit for a child she let have toys like Duplex, Lego’s big little brother. Glancing up at Mommy, Melody had to wonder if this was the world’s largest hallway or if her traveling speed was adjusted to be closer to what was deemed appropriate for someone her supposed side. Then she gave Mommy a double glance in surprise, finding that she was indeed a few inches shorter than the woman now that gave Melody a knot of anxiety in the bottom of her stomach. The bathroom at the end of the hall was bright and large, and very clean, no makeup or errant hairbrushes everywhere, only a single pink toothbrush in a cup that gave Melody the impression this was probably ‘her’ bathroom, Mommy and Daddy (why could she suddenly picture the man’s face vividly clear as day and why did the thought of him send butterflies fluttering excitedly in her belly, oh God was she a Daddy’s girl here?!) probably had their own bathroom in their master bedroom, the only messy area was a corner by the tub with a basket full of bath toys, must be easy to keep the place tidy when the most traffic it got was a tot. Melody let out a little wheezing noise when she saw her reflection in the bathroom mirror. It did not, like the mirror in the bedroom did, show the reflection of who she was supposed to be in this reality. No, this mirror showed Melody the way she truly appeared, and much to her displeasure, the young lady looking back at her was acne scarred teenager in a childish reindeer lined too small sweater, 15 maybe even 14 years old, a face she hadn’t seen in over a decade, including the braces she wore during her mid teens aaaand- pop! The braces were gone and Melody decidedly determined that she was indeed on the better side of 14, only getting those annoying bits of metal when she turned 15. “What’s the matter, baby?” Mommy looked down at Melody, to her, the little girl appeared to be staring at the cabinet beneath the sink. Melody looked up at her, even taller than she was a few seconds ago, wait, Melody was just shorter than she was. Mommy had just gotten the next instrument of torture out in this reality, as if her teenage face wasn’t enough (Melody swore if she ever got back to her home plane of existence, the first thing she would do is rush to her real parent’s house and burn every picture of her during those horrible years). On a fluffy blue rug sat a training potty that Mommy had pulled out in front of the colorful shower curtain covered in sea creatures. “Go on, sweetie, show Mommy you’re a big girl!” The woman urged to the teenager. “I uhhhhh-” Melody stared at the white plastic contraption with Disney princesses lining the bottom, the big poofy pink toiler seat on top and gulped. Mommy, out of Melody’s sight, rolled her eyes, and pointed Melody in front of the open bathroom door, and before Melody could say anything, had her Moana pajama pants (when did those get there?) lowered to her ankles and adjusted her to the potty chair by grabbing her hips and pushing her down on to the comfy padding of the potty chair that was both considerably too small for her, and yet contradictory too big. Melody just stood there, dumbly looking at Mommy, her growing embarrassment pausing any needs her bladder might have. Her peepee had a severe case of stage fright in the sight of the stranger (though Melody’s mind was quickly flooding with images of her and Mommy, getting chased in the park by the playful woman, Mommy cutting up her favorite breakfast, pancakes with blueberries and chocolate chip even though they made little Melly a little too hyper and rambunctious for even Mommy to keep up with, splashing a laughing Mommy in her bubble baff in this very room, Melly loved her Mommy). Sighing, Mommy lowered her sweatpants, making Melody blush at the sight of the woman’s hairy vagina, and sat down. “See? It’s okay, Melly, just let it out.” She said in an encouraging voice as a light tinkling sound filled the room as Mommy relaxed. Hearing the sound did do something to Melody, and she felt a foreign feeling from down below, looking down, she found her own urine coming out in a gush, that was where she saw the last vestige of her adult clothing, a white thong that a girlfriend had helped pick out for her when she admitted to her friend she never really felt sexy, undergo a change she got to see first hand, the sides lengthening, the core poofing out, much of it turning a pink color, the remnant of her attire turning into a fresh Pull-Up. Melody was so taken aback by her change in underwear, she didn’t notice that both her and Mommy were done with their business. This last alteration was too much for Melody. She jumped up, forgetting to pull her trousers up and was ready to sprint back to the room, to the mirror and get out of this hell hole. She took a few steps before her sweater was grabbed by the back of her sweater’s scruff and was met with a, “Hold it lady! Where do you think you’re going?” Melody looked at Mommy, confused. Mommy sighed, “I told you, honey, you always have to wipe.” She said offering Melody a few squares of toilet paper. Melody shuddered when she found she was barely at the woman’s waist now as she gave a very unneeded demonstration of the action for Melody, blushing profusely, mimicked the woman before being instructed to drop the used wad in the real toilet, where Mommy drained the training potty into before flushing it. “Now what do we do?” Mommy quizzed her little girl. “We uh- wash our hands?” Melody ventured. Mommy clapped her hands. “That’s right! That’s my girl!” The praise for knowing basic bathroom etiquette both embarrassed Melody and filled her with a strange sense of pride. A little too much pride, in fact, when she got up on the step stool to wash her hands side by side with Mommy, Melody barely gave any regard to the little girl who only just looked like she belonged in grade school. A fleeting look at the grinning child with a gap between teeth that was quickly replaced by baby tooth. With their hands dried, to which Melody only needed a little bit of help with the towel, Mommy offered Melody a little high five and a peppy, “Good job honey!” Before picking up her girl and carrying her to her bedroom, which in a short time away, had become a huge warehouse of distractions to Melody. In the barely closed door, on the mirror that Melody had entered into this reality in, Melody saw her true body’s reflection, a grown woman in her work outfit carefully balanced on the hip of a woman that was actually shorter than her. Melody let out an excited gasp when the plateful of sweet treats was placed in her lap. “Cookies!” The girl exclaimed, greedily grabbing one and shoving her mouth with an over sized bite. She didn’t know if Mommy just made the best cookies in existence or if her taste buds had become over tuned to the sweet flavors, but the woman knew how to bake. “Yes, yes, we love the cookies, but you know the deal, cupcake,” Mommy reminded Melody of something she had never heard before, yet somehow knew inherently. “We don’t tell Daddy we were eating in bed.” Mommy rolled her eyes. “He can get such a stick up his big butt over it, not like he’s the one who vacuums.” She playfully complained. “Oh, and no telling Daddy I was complaining, mums the word, but you tell Mommy if Daddy says anything about Mommy. Especially if he takes you out for any special jewelry stores. Just remember, us girls gotta stick together.” Melody gave a solemn nod at Mommy, barely listening, though she gave one word in that gave her pause. “Wha dhadhly?” She asked, spewing a mouthful of crumbs over herself. Mommy, with her own mouth full of cookie delight, said, “Noh tahling wif-” Mommy grabbed the sippy cup and gave it a few sucks before passing it over to her girl, “Ahem, no talking with your mouth full, sugar.” Gracefully ignoring how she had forgotten that rule of thumb herself. Taking the sippy cup, Melody drank a little bit to clear her own mouth, sharing drinks with the lady next to her felt as natural as breathing, she could remember quite a few times when Mommy shared stuff off of her own plate. “Where’s Daddy?” “You know he works late so he can spend the day with you,” Mommy stroked Melody’s head while she spoke. “I work days, he works nights. But yeah, I miss him too.” She mournfully agreed. Taking another bite of cookie, Melody thought carefully about things. It did feel nice being by Mommy, and she kinda really, really, really wanted to see Daddy, she could practically feel his beard tickle her face, but that was kind of the problem, wasn’t it? She was easing into this new life a little too well, too quickly, her new memories and old were reaching an equilibrium, and who knows? Maybe after they met in the middle, one would over take the other. The few feet between her and the mirror felt like a mile long, at least, it did with Mommy’s arm around her shoulder, nestling their bodies in for a cuddle while Mommy talked idly. Melody got the feeling that this was a conversation she wasn’t really apart of, Mommy was saying things about her work, complaining about her ‘butt-head’ of a boss, coworkers, and clients she had at her law firm that had given her problems today. It was probably therapeutic for the woman, lord knows Melody wouldn’t mind having a captive audience to tell her day to from time to time, the cookies probably sweetened the deal as well, but there was probably a practical purpose to this too, Melody reasoned, talking to a child just getting comfortable with speaking would probably make their social skills sharp, Melody wandered if her original (make that real, Melody corrected herself) Mommy had ever sat down and talked about her day. Her Mom had been a busy woman when she was growing up, she was always on the phone, trying to make deals and sell property as a real estate agent. It might not be such a bad thing to get raised by a woman who took time out of her day to chat to her daughter, in a weird way, though she really wasn’t following the conversation at all, Melody felt important. It might not be too bad to get raised again by this Mommy. She shook that idea out of her head. As nice as it was, she definitely did not want to go through growing pains again. “Last one,” Mommy said pointing at the cookie. “Eat it so we can go get our teefies burshyied.” Melody glanced at the lone treat on the plate, thought about the stressful day Mommy had confided in the half listening girl, and shook her head. “No thanks, you deserve it more.” “D’awww!” The plate was taken off of Melody’s lap and she was swept up and place on Mommy’s lap, looking up into the face of the doting woman who was positively beaming with pride. “You are such a good sharer! And ‘deserving’? What a big word! I’m so proud of you!” Melody was squeezed into a hug, her face smooshed into Mommy’s chest. She was almost certainly the age this place thought she belonged by now, but that was easily ignored by the love she could feel radiating off of Mommy. And Melly reciprocated. She really, really loved her Mommy. “Since you’re such a good sharer, we’ll split it.” Mommy took a bite then offered it to Melody. They went back and forth for a little bit until it was the last bite. “It your turn.” Melody told the giant. “Hmm, no? I don’t think it is, baby.” Insisting, “I just had one.” “Yeah, but I’m the Mommy and Mommy is always right.” Melody just let it go and finished it off, Mommy sighed with her little girl in her arms. “It’s not fair.” She pouted, suddenly sounding sad. “Pretty soon you’re not even going to want to get fed by me. Me! You’re own Mother! Little Melly will be off doing more important things like going to school, and dating, moving out! Moving out!” She repeated. “Promise me you’ll never move out.” With her eyes half closed, feeling exhausted for some reason, “Pwomise.” “That’s a legally binding verbal contract.” Mommy smugly replied. “Wegally binding.” Melody concurred. Kissing the top of her daughter’s head, “That’s it, you’re already picking up the lingo! You wanna be a lawyer like Mommy, right? Not some silly doctor like Daddy. We’re winners.” Melody gave out a tired, “I teacher.” “Ugh, a teacher?” Mommy groaned. “If you wanna get paid in pennies, sure!” Mommy had to purse her lips to keep from bursting out laughing at the tiny, adorable glare that earned her. “I suppose you just agreed to always live with me, so it’s not that big of a deal.” Melody was dropped off on to the step stool at the sink, staring at the cute girl looking back at her, before her vision was blocked by a wet washcloth that was a little roughly used to clean her face. The pink toothbrush was put into her hand, and bubblegum flavored toothpaste was spread among it too before it got wet. Melody gave Mommy a look, noticing her own toothbrush wasn’t in her hand. “You brush too?” She asked, innocently enough. Mommy gave her a shrug. “My brush is in the other room, let’s just focus on you for right now.” “You brush too.” Mommy sighed, “Ok ok! So disagreeable, must get it from your father.” Mommy stepped away and headed towards her own room. Finding her first opportunity to be alone, Melody dropped the toothbrush and raced back to the kid’s room, towards the mirror and her freedom of potty training. She must not have been going too quickly though, she was grabbed from behind by the disappointed woman with her toothbrush resting in her mouth. “Baby, we have to brush you teeth, I know it’s tedious, and you won’t even have those for too long anyway, but you want to have a shiny smile like Mommy’s, don’t you?” She flashed a bright grin down at her daughter and the two were standing together in the bathroom in seconds, cleaning their mouths. Mommy gurgled her spit out, and Melody did the same. It felt weirdly good to copy the woman, it felt right. “Ok, short stuff,” Mommy said, dropping Melody on the cot in the bedroom after returning. “Time to get you ‘for real’ dressed.” Melody looked down confused. “I am dressed?” “Yes, but no. You’re growing so fast you’ll probably burst out of that sweater by morning, not to mention I got that for you when you were 2, that was like a whole year earlier. Gotta get with the times, girlfriend. Plus, you’ve worn those pants three nights in a row, honey. My girl has got to have some self respect.” Melody looked down at that last remark, forced to be entirely too aware of how she really felt about herself. She barely said anything as the pants were ripped away from her, or the shirt, though she did put a hand in front of her flat chest that made Mommy snicker at her, but didn’t comment at the modesty. It wasn’t until Mommy pulled out a night gown and what she put above it that made Melody say anything. “Diaper?!” Melody said in shock at the thick diaper next to her, along with the changing supplies. Mommy began ripping the sides off the Pull-Ups on Melly, nonplussed by the reaction. “We’ve been over this, sweet cheeks, you’ll be ready for your big girl undies soon, but for right now, you just leak through your Pull-Ups,” Mommy already had the diaper under Melly before the Pull-Up was taken away, her butt falling on to the thick, pillow like cushioning. “And, you know you get messy at night anyway. You work on doing your business during the day then you and I can come to an agreement on big girl undies.” The realization hit Melody square in the face, her years of education and growing up meant nothing here, the fact was, in the morning, little Melly was going to wake Mommy or Daddy up with poopy pants and there was nothing that she could do about it. It was too much for the poor girl, she became in mind what she was in body, a little girl, and a considerably upset one at that. Uncontrollable tears were pouring down Melly’s face, low huffing groans coming out of her mouth. Mommy paid little mind to this, used to these little nightly tantrums her daughter made when her Pull-Ups were stripped, just did her change while mostly ignoring the tears. “Those crocodile tears won’t work on me, sister.” She said while applying the oil and powder to her girl, taping her up and lifting the kid up to pull the lavender nightgown with sheep in a bundle, little zzz’s coming from their heads, over her. “Ok, drama queen, all done, go pick out a book and we’ll get to cuddling.” Mommy looked down at Melly, who was still in the midst of her big cry. Her maternal instincts were staring to spike, usually the mention of reading and cuddling perked Melly right out of her evening tantrum, but this was weird. Very few thoughts were spinning inside Melly, stupid, little, too much of a baby to even keep her pants clean, stupid baby, useless, pathetic. Melly found herself in a spiral of self deprecating feelings. “Sugar, come on, that’s enough,” Mommy said, raising Melly on to her lap and hugging her. “I know, we don’t like the diapers, but its just temporary, ok? Let’s dry those tears, and get ready for bed. “Useless.” Melly managed to mumble out, face soaking her Mommy’s sweater. “What?” Mommy said, utterly perplexed. “Useless!” Melly repeated, loudly. “Dumb! Dumb stupid baby!” It was at this point that Mommy’s concern was beginning to melt away. Samantha Barlov-McKinson was a patient woman, she had to be, because underneath her calm, cool composure was the raging heart of angry bull. Someone had taught her little bundle of joy to say or think these awful things about herself, and Samantha didn’t care if that person was some snot nose brat, she would knock them out without remorse. “Baby- I mean, Melly, Melly, look at me,” She told the sobbing girl at her bosom, lifting her chin up to look her in the eye, “Melly, who taught you these words?” Mommy probably let a little too much of her anger show with that, though, cause that only made Melly bawl harder, pressing her face back into the safe space that was her Mommy’s sweater. Ok, ok, Samantha thought to herself, a little tactless, change of plan: Bribery. “Sweetie, I still have some cookies downstairs, if you tell me who told you those naughty things you can have one more.” She said in the most serene voice she could manage. When that didn’t work, “Two! Two more cookies!” Melly just kept muttering, “Pathetic baby.” Hearing the word ‘pathetic’ come out of her little girl’s mouth nearly drove Samantha to tears, not only hearing it, but in such a tone of despair and feeling, it really sounded like her baby really thought that about herself. She wanted to hit something. Right. Now. Patience didn’t work, anger didn’t work, bribery had no effect, it was time to pull out the big guns. Call for backup. If that wouldn’t help Melly get out of her slump, talking to her husband would at least keep Samantha from throwing something out the window. Samantha had her phone out of her pocket and pressed a few keys, there were his lovey dovey text messages that already did a considerable amount to calm herself down, then call button next to the name ‘Hubby’, the call was declined after the first ring. She sent out, ‘SOS’. Right away her ringtone went off, and the word ‘Hubby’ appeared in the center. She hit the button for a video call. “Honey, what’s wrong?” Rodger got out before his ears were assaulted by the sound of his wailing child. He saw his wife holding out her arm, Melly nestled under her. “I can’t really talk right now, baby, I’m in the middle of a consultation.” He tried to explain. Behind him, the white hair wisp of a woman asked, “Is that a baby? What’s wrong with the little darling.” “I’m sorry, Mrs. O’Leary, will you please excuse me for just a moment?” He asked beneath his mask. “Of course dear, but you must show me the little thing after you come back.” “Oh, sure, sure, we have a video of her mowing into a cake, it’s adorable, show you when I come back!” He promised. Dr. Rodger Barlov-McKinson stepped into an adjacent room, thankfully quite empty and silent, to pull of his mask and dropped into a chair. He almost didn’t want to look at the video again. He had only seen Samantha for a few seconds, but he knew that look too well, she was pissed. “I’m sorry baby, I’m back.” “Oh thank goodness, Rodger, I really, really need you.” Samantha said. Oh good, Rodger thought, she wasn’t mad at him. “What’s going on?” “Ok, so normal stuff, we had dinner, I let Melly play in her room while I made some cookies, we sat for a little while having dessert, you know, yadda yadda yadda,” Samantha’s composure was dropping, talking in an incredibly fast voice, Rodger nodded dutifully. “Brush our teeth, oh, Mellysaid shewants tobea teacherwhenshegrowsup. We’lltalkaboutthatlater, reallyadorabablebut that’snotagoodcareer-” “Sammy, take a breath.” Her face was growing almost as red as the little girl in her arms, and she did as she was told, still though, she said, “I am breathing!” “Baby, I really have to get back to work.” He tried to say calmly. “Baby. I’m getting there. Please don’t interrupt me, you know how I feel about that. Ok, ok, where was I? Alright, so I get Melly dressed and ready for bed and she starts crying, you know how she is about the big girl undies,” Rodger nodded, understanding. “Yeah, so I thought, just same old thing, like every other night, right? Wrong. She starts mumbling stuff about being ‘stupid’, and ‘dumb’, and get this, ‘pathetic’.” “Is- I get that’s weird, but it’s probably alright, she probably doesn’t even know what they mean.” “Rodger,” Samantha’s face dropped, “You didn’t hear it, the way she said it, it was like she really, really meant it. I swear it sounds like something you’d hear from a guy about to step off a ledge-” That only made the fretting child wail harder. Samantha motioned a hand like, ‘You see???’ “Alright, honey, we’ll- my hospital has some children’s councilors we can have Melly talk to, they don’t usually see kids Melly’s age but I’ll pull some strings.” “And- I take tomorrow off and we go to the park and I find the little monster that’s been telling my daughter this shit and I knock that bitch’s face off.” “No, baby, please don’t get arrested again-” “I can get myself off, you know I can do it again!” “Yeah but I can’t take the time off. Let’s get Melly into school before getting ourselves arrested for assaulting minors.” “Admit that I can get the charges-” “Problems for tomorrow!” Rodger put his foot down on that thought before his wife got too carried away, he could see Samantha was getting into a dangerous combination of enraged and challenged, which was kind of fun and sexy in a way, and which meant that given time to cool off but still be worked up, he’s probably have an exhausting homecoming waiting for him in the morning, he still had the problem at hand. “Melly!” He called out. “Melly, look at Daddy!” Melly looked up, hearing a distant voice call out to her, looking back down. Probably wanted a different Melly. Melody couldn’t even baby right without crashing down. So stupid! How badly can someone be to mess up that default mode of every human? She was such a screw up. “Melly, someone wants to talk to you!” Mommy said in a forcibly chipper voice. “Scwew up.” Melly told Mommy before plunging her face back down into the comforting shirt that smelled like Mommy’s soap and cookies. Samantha waved a hand, ‘You see?!?!” “Melly! Look, Daddy wants to talk to you.” Melly looked towards the phone the face of the strangely familiar bearded man was welcoming as the screen was brought towards her face, but something else on the screen caught her attention. She tapped the corner of the screen where she could screen where she saw the picture of her own face. “Ugwy.” She said with profound sadness. With the camera shaking with Samantha’s hand going wobbly with rage, Rodger knew that he had to act quick. “Daddy is kind of ugly isn’t he? But all I see is my cute Melly! Who’s my adorable little girl?” He was expecting either a quiet or enthusiastic ‘me!’ but got nothing more than wet sniffles from the tired almost-baby’s face. “Come on, where’s my happy girl? Where’d Daddy’s big girl go?” That last one got him a wiggle of the lips. That’s it. “There’s my big girl! Melly is such a big, strong, pretty girl, yes she is!” Daddy kept insisting, pushing back against the melancholy that was Melody. “Big silly girl!” Nervously, Melly lifted a few fingers to her lips and chewed on them. A bad habit to be culled another time. For now, his baby’s poutiness was on the ropes, so he brought out his secret weapons. In quick succession, Daddy kept making silly sounds and faces at the girl, and though Melody knew he kinda looked dumb, the sincere feeling came through all the same, finally, Melly let out a little giggle, and both parents let out their relief. “Melly, honey, Daddy’s got to go, I’ll be there to cuddle with you in the morning.” Melly gave him a bleary eyed nod. “I looove you.” “Wub you too, Daddy.” Melly said with a mouthful of spit. “I wub you too, Daddy,” Mommy said pulling the phone back to her face. “I’ll see you in the morning. Thank you, honey.” “Love you more baby. Sweet dreams.” Mommy dropped to the bed, lifting her toddler on to her chest. “What was that all about, sweet cheeks?” When that only made her kid’s lip wiggle, and knowing that super-Dad probably wouldn’t be able to answer any more calls soon, she dropped the subject. “Come on, squirt, I still owe you a bedtime story.” Melly’s eyes lit up, she even took her fingers out of her mouth to show Mommy a little smile. Mommy thought about giving Melly a change right now, she could already feel a bit of a sag coming from underneath the nightgown as Melly rested on her arm, but thought better of it. Probably best to wait until after she was fast asleep. “Do we want Jack and Jill? Three blind mice?” Mommy mused as a finger went down the knee high bookshelf. “Give a mouse a cookie? The cow jumped over the moon?” “Cat and hat?” Melly asked, pointing at a Dr. Seuss book. “We kinda been reading that one for a week straight, why don’t we give it a-” The pouty face made Mommy change her mind right away. “Cat in the Hat it is!” Melly was glad, it wasn’t like she heard that book for the past week, ok, maybe she did have a few memories of Mommy pouring over the book with her, but she hasn’t had a good book read to her in decades, minus the monotone readings of her students, or the audio books she listened to in the car to and from work, all those didn’t count. They didn’t have Mommy tucking her in, laying next to her to use her arm as a pillow, or a Miss Mouse to cuddle with, or Mommy showing her the pictures, Melly didn’t even mind that the words looked like squiggly lines, that was tomorrow Melly’s problem, nor did she mind when reading time was abruptly cut short when Mommy let out a fake yawn that was supposed to make Melly get all sleepy only for it to turn into a real one, and Mommy closed her eyes and draped the book over her daughter. Melly thought about it for a moment, ready to jump out of bed and race to the mirror and get out of dodge, but then she looked up at Mommy, snoring peacefully, and figured, when was the next time she was going to get away with this? And nuzzled the woman, who wrapped her arms around Melly unconsciously and the two lay with each other for the next few pleasant hours. At some point in the night, Mommy had woken up long enough to turn off the light, and get under the covers with Melly, the room was lit only by the light of a small nightlight in the corner, not that Melly really needed it, not tonight anyway, everyone knew monsters in the closet or under the bed never came out when Mommies were around. Half asleep, Melly could feel a pressure in her bladder, shrugging and pulling it close to Mommy letting it loose and flooding her diaper. Melody’s eyes shot awake. Why the hell did she do that? Shit, shit, shit! She crawled over her Mommy, wait no! That nice lady wasn’t her Mommy, that was Melly’s Mommy, and Melody was Melody not Melly. She already did enough damage here, to Melly, Mommy and Daddy (though not her Mommy and Daddy), and herself. That poor toddler will probably have to go through months of therapy given Mommy’s reaction to the whole thing. “Melly?” Mommy lifted herself up by the elbow, wiping the sleep out of an eye with her fist. “Where are you going?” She asked with a yawn. “Uh, potty?” Melody lied, feeling the weight of her underwear. Oh shit, did she shit herself too??? In dim light of the night light, Melody saw Mommy smile. “In the middle of the night? Good girl! Maybe we can see about those Pull-Ups after all.” She sleepily promised. Even if it was because of a lie, Melody felt that praise warm her up, the Melly inside her reaching from the bottom of her mind. She saw Mommy get out of bed, ready to help her little girl to the potty. Melody could see how the next few minutes were going to play out, she’d get taken to the bathroom, Mommy would be disappointed that Melly was in a dirty diaper but still make her sit on the potty, then get her changed into a fresh one and it’d be warm hugs and cuddles back in bed and- why was that a bad thing? Melody reached out for the mirror. Maybe she could whine for a sippy cup of milk and stay awake with Mommy for a few more minutes. No, no! The mirror! Mommy did say something about a cookie or two… Before Melly could talk Melody into anything else, she tapped the mirror and Melody’s consciousness was thrust back into the red hallway. Melody sighed in relief, already feeling the Melly girl recede into her mind. What wasn’t receding as quickly as she liked, was her clothes. Mouth wide, Melody looked down at herself, she had her chest, her hips, her flat belly all back, but the night gown had grown to fit her adult form, as did the discolored diaper that was barely covered by the pajamas. Melody swore as the change in attire started at her feet, her heels reappearing on her feet, at a mind numbing pace, her blazer and blouse reappeared on her torso, replacing the nightie, though that still left the diaper on full freaking display! Groaning, Melody looked like a baby playing dress up in her Mommy’s clothes (Mommy would’ve LOVED seeing Melly in a blazer and blouse), though the skirt that hid her modesty was barely better, as Melody could still feel the disgusting mess that her bowels and bladder had left in her underwear, until at long last, that feeling vanished too, and Melody was left in the airy comfort that was her big girl undies. “Ok, ok, no more baby time, from now on, only going to worlds where I’m a big girl- err, gown up- Adult! Where I’m a big adult!” As Melody approached the next mirror, she pulled away her undies that were riding up on her, not noticing she had left with a bit of a souvenir from Melly’s world, as what lay beneath her skirt was her very own, big girl sized Pull-Ups. “No...No… No…” After an evening of being an overly emotional toddler, Melody felt it prudent to carefully vet her destination. “Too woodsy.” She said, staring at a log cabin with a roaring bonfire. “Besides, that thing looks liable to set the whole place ablaze.” Though she had to admit to herself the crackling of the wood sounded inviting. “Too many legs.” She passed by the zoo exhibit with boxes full spider. “Not that spiders are bad, but they’re just not my thing. I’d rather put them on a magazine and let them outside.” “Too, dangerous,” She murmured towards the sight of a construction site. “Besides, I don’t see myself as much of a laborer. What would it be like?” Melody mused the thought over, trying it out. “Hey George, bring me a hammer!” She yelled out, only to jump back with an eek! When she heard: “Where are ye?!” Get yelled back at her. She quickly scurried away from that view. “Oh, now I swear that’s just the first boat I saw!” She muttered disapprovingly at the image of a fishing boat sailing in a stormy sea. Just after she stepped away from it, Melody missed the part where giant tentacles emerged from the water and wrapped around the ship. “Hmm…” She looked thoughtfully at the image of a schoolroom. She chewed on her nail in consideration. “Hmmmmm….” It looked much nicer than her own public school, firm, newish looking desks that were a deep, pleasant looking brown that shined and had no obvious scratching, the distant sounds of just girls chattering, in fact, Melody could tell that it was an all girl’s school based on the fact alone that she couldn’t detect that awful B.O. smell that teenage boys had an awful habit of ignoring and… there was even an apple on the teacher’s desk! “Wait… I should know better, I’ll probably end up a student or something, or a janitor. I suppose if I don’t like it I could always just turn around and come back!” Before she could make any other decisions on the matter, Melody had her hand up against the mirror, besides, she thought, even if she was a student, at least she wasn’t in diapers! Melody found herself in the very classroom she was just staring at, looking into the face of a girl she very much did not want to be. Melody looked a lot like the teenager she was once, only somehow much worse. Melody thought that she had a bad case of acne, but this girl’s face was covered in the stuff, instead of the colorful beads and metal that stayed in Melody’s mouth, this girl’s orthopedic eye sore covered half her face up, stuck in an awkward of of between 14-15. “Millie, will you please take your seat?” Melody turned around to find a stern woman dressed very similarly to how she was, only her outfit was a solid black instead of blue, her dark brown hair tied back in a bun. “But I-” “Now! Millie!” Melody looked towards the sea of sneering older teenage girls’ faces, each one looking towards her, everyone at them looking at the decidedly younger girl that had been dropped into their midst. She could read their faces like a book, wondering why this little brat was with them, young women who were just about to go on to the academic level, Melody could see that this girl who’s body she had been dropped into had been thrown into the lion’s den at the worst time in her young life “You can fiddle with your make up after class, thank you.” Melody felt compelled towards an empty chair, seeming to have have lost autonomy over her feet, while she made her way she heard harsh whispers: “Not that it does her any good.” “Needs a welding torch to do anything to her face.” “Loser.” “Metal mouth.” “Fat ass.” “Girl can’t even afford a dermatologist.” “Did you see her legs? Talk about Sasquatch.” “Oh my God, I’d never leave my hole if I were her.” “She’s probably the only one who will ever see her hole.” The cruel jeers were everywhere, it was as if her own inner monologue had been given life in the worst way in the guise of these terrible, judgmental girls, and the teacher in the front who was writing on the blackboard seemed to pay no attention to the whispers. Melody sat down, suddenly missing her Mommy. She had this funny mental image of herself as Melly sitting in the desk and Mommy storming in and smacking some of these girls around. “Eww! She’s chewing her nails!” A harsh whisper came from behind her. Melody looked down to find her bad habit really was happening, and she hid her face, only for the metal around her face to get caught in the rough cotton uniform she was now wearing. “Ahem.” A ruler was smacked on the desk upfront and all of the girls shot their faces towards the teacher. “Millie, if its not an inconvenience for you, would you please pay attention to my lesson?” Melody tried to look up, only for her arm to get caught up with her, sticking to the braces. The girls around her erupted into laughter. The glowering coming from the intense woman in the front burned Melody to her very soul. “If you cannot refrain from being a distraction, Millie, perhaps you should take your comedy routine out of my classroom!” Suggested the woman with the bun. “But I-” “Now, Millie.” As a last ditch effort, Melody tried to make her way towards the mirror she had entered through, to get her out of her own personal Hell. “The door is over there, Millie.” The teacher helpfully pointed towards the door with her ruler. Ok, ok, Melody reassured herself, just have to wait for the end of class, then I can sneak back in- Melody’s train of thought was interrupted by a foot that appeared in front of her, tripping her. She landed hard on her face, only for her next torment to make itself known. “Oh. My. God! Is that a diaper?” “It is!” “Why is she wearing that?” “Baby.” “Probably pisses herself.” Melody looked down, seeing the faces of several Princesses on the back of her padded underwear. The memories of Millie Black were already becoming entwined with Melody’s, and she could see that Millie certainly did not wear those so that means… Melody came in with those. Jumping to her feet, at speeds that could only be described as sprinting, ran out of that room like a bat out of Hell. She slammed the door behind her, trying her best to shut out the laughter at her expense. “Ugh!” She groaned, her hand covering her face. She probably just ruined this poor girl’s already shitty life. Looking around to cavernous hallway to see if no one was around, Melody pulled away the plaid skirt’s elastic to see that she indeed was wearing the same Pull-Ups little Melly had been dressed in, only large enough for an adult- Make that teenager, as she found her physical form was quickly matching Millie Black. As she stared at the stupid training pants, Melody heard a voice right next to her. “Children can be so cruel, can’t they?” Melody nearly jumped out of her, errm- Millie’s skin. Appearing to her left was a girl that she was positive wasn’t there a second ago, short, wild blond hair, a leer that Melody wasn’t sure whether was directed at her or the world at large, a white shirt that was rolled up at the sleeves and unbuttoned in a very flattering place, a skirt similar to her own only Melody’s went below to her knees and this girl’s was cut much higher. Melody couldn’t help but feel intimidated by the girl. The girl smiled down at Melody, standing a few inches higher than her. “You’re new.” She said with a hungry look. Looking through Millie’s memories, Melody corrected her, “Um no, I’ve been at this school for awhile now.” “You have, or Millie has?” Eyes going wide as now Melody was sure this weird girl was staring right through her. She felt vulnerable, naked under this girl, felt smaller than Millie or Melly. It was truly a humbling experience. The girl lifted her hands in an effort to appear nonthreatening, though that did little to make Melody feel better. She had just learned an important lesson, after all, that girls use their words as weapons just as well if not better that their hands. “I’m not here to mess with you, ‘Millie’.” The girl shot her a toothy smile. “In fact, I thought you might like to have some fun with me.” She said in an almost seductive voice. “Come here,” She commanded with a gesture with her index finger. She stood in front of the clear window into the class. “Miss Crabominable. Nasty piece of work, isn’t she? Not a sympathetic bone in her body, but… maybe we can give her a little bit of empathy?” Melody was getting uncomfortable under that devilish smile of the girl’s, though, she couldn’t help feeling like she wouldn’t mind seeing some just desserts. Plus, maybe whatever that girl was planning would mean she could sneak in and get to that mirror. “Watch this.” The girl waggled her fingers dramatically. Miss Crabominable clutched her stomach in surprise. From below her skirt, a stream of pee came from her spreading legs, gathering in a pool below her. Melody had a giggle behind her palm as the class again erupted in a fit of laughter. The mean teacher ended the performance with a thumb plugging her mouth and lightly nursing it. With a chuckle that was far too mean spirited to be called anything like merry, the strange girl pushed Melody into the room. All eyes were on the pair, one hand on Melody’s shoulder as she was marched to the front of the room, towards the indisposed teacher. “Did little Junie have a little accident?” A voice more mature than the one just speaking to Melody spoke. She looked over her shoulder and saw the girl was now a woman, looking at least 10 years older than she had a moment ago. In a short time, Melody had accepted the existence of forces she could not fully grasp, but there was a difference between the magic she had seen in the red hall and the creature that stood behind her. The red hall seemed tricky, could even be called mischievous, but this woman- thing? Could only be called malevolent, staring into the class where the girls shuffled nervously at their desks while the blond woman surveyed them with the interest someone might survey a fruit stand when they were hungry. Her eyes glossed them over like they were ripe apples. “Since little Junie here is quite in the mindset to be teaching anyone today, I’ll be taking over.” She turned towards the blackboard, erasing what Junie had been writing to put down her own name in large font, under which she drew a slender heart. “You may call me ‘Miss Grace’, and I specialize in life studies. Some people grow up faster, and in contrast, others slower than others, so slow, it might even be backwards. Take Junie here.” She begun to step towards the confused woman who looked to be on the verge of tears. Melody didn’t know why she did it, but she took a step between Grace and Junie, not wanting to know what would happen to the thumb sucking woman, but knew in her heart it wouldn’t be pleasant for her. In a shaky voice, she declared, “She-she’s suffered enough. Isn’t it b-bad enough that s-she’ll never be a-able to l-look anyone in this school?” A flash of rage filled Grace’s eyes, though her smile never faltered. She pushed Melody out of the way, on to the floor while she approached Junie, who stood in place, paralyzed by confusion and fear as Grace grabbed her. “No, no one has ever suffered enough.” She growled. Grace grappled Miss Crabominable and brought the two to the floor, behind the teacher’s desk where Melody nor the other students could see the two. There was sounds of a struggle, hands and knees trying to scamper away, only for those hands and knees to get pulled back. There was a silence, then the sounds of a little girl crying. The two emerged, Grace standing proud and triumphant with a girl that had to be about 10 looking out at the faces of the now much larger girls, softly crying as she saw the world now huge through tear soaked eyes. Junie was dressed much like how Grace was early, a neat white shirt with a skirt that was a tad too short, only Junie’s had a little extra, sticking out, clear as day was a thick white diaper that almost certainly wouldn’t let the poor girl press her legs together any time soon. Junie’s chest lay flat as a board, though it appeared she hadn’t noticed that yet as her face looked around towards the room that had grown huge around her, and hands patting the front of her skirt, realization dawning on her what she now wore as underwear, her hair still tightly bound together only now in two buns on the back side of her head instead of one. “Here,” Grace pushed the girl into Melody, Junie, not knowing who she was even holding on to, wrapped her arms around Melody, not caring who would give her comfort only that someone did. Melody, for her part, did the same, holding Junie and letting out soft hushing noises while she rubbed the inconsolable girl’s back. “Hope you’re a better babysitter than you were a teacher.” Melody didn’t have time to ponder how Grace knew that about her or how much she knew about Melody before the terror moved on to the class. Beginning to walk up and down the rows of desks, each pair of eyes that weren’t her own were glued to Grace, not a soul of the 22 girls, not including Melody and Junie, wanted any part of what had happened to the bitchy teacher that was being held to the weird, ugly girl over by the former teacher’s desk. “We’ll start with a fun activity. Every,” Grace clapped her hands for the attention that was already squarely on her, “Pair up!” “Go on,” She urged, “Find your friend, sit next to her,” There was a flurry of movement as the girls went into the familiar, time honored tradition of pairing up with their bestie. A few of them, not social with more that one or two others found themselves alone, in the end, four of the young ladies sat prettified to move, out of Grace’s presence or out of their own comfort zone. “That’s alright if you don’t want to participate.” Grace said in a sickly sweet voice. “If you’d rather, you can go ahead and go over to where Millie and Junie already.” She snapped her fingers and a pack of over sized Pampers appeared on the desk with a cloud of smoke, featuring an adult June Crabominable, nude except for the diaper below her, on her hands and knees and giving a drooling smile to the camera. Without another word, the four girls grabbed on of the other hold overs and joined together. “Good! Very good!” She praised them all. “Now, for the first life lesson, feeding a baby her bottle.” With another snap of her fingers, in front of each pair of girls was a bottle, a singular one. “Of course, it’s up to you girls to figure out who will be the baby, or if you’d like to join my lovely assistant without a discussion.” To Grace’s surprise, one of the girls stood up. With all eyes on her, the tan skinned girl with dark hair looked around, gulping with stage fright, she gave a brave huff and said what she was going to say. “I’m not going to shove a bottle into anyone’s mouth.” Nina said, “Its obvious whatever s in the bottle is just going to do whatever you did to Crabominable, only it’ll be us doing it to them. No, I won’t be an asshole like you, even if it means I’ll be the one getting babied. I still have my pride.” Nina was stared daggers at by Grace, not appreciating being stood up to right away, only for her expression to change suddenly. “Fine.” She gave a shrug while looking smug. “You win. Walk over to Millie who will take care of you.” Nina rose out of her seat, head held. She only got a few steps towards the front before she found she was walking with a strange gait. Looking down, Nina saw that her legs were quivering, shaking more violently with each step. Everyone looked at the girl as each inch closer to the desk where Melody and June were at became more of a struggle. Her legs finally gave away before her transformation got worse. Nina began to crawl, getting dirty from the class’s floor. They all watched as Nina’s hair rose to the top of her head until it was just a fuzzy little wisp, her cheeks getting chubby with baby fat, arms and legs that were toned with thin muscles becoming like fat little sausages with pudgy rolls, in her joining together and a powder blue onesie with a skirt that did little to hide her fluffy bottom. Nina stopped in her track, having completely forgotten why she was crawling this direction, it did disturb her that all these big girls were giving her weird looks, but found solace, rolling on to her back and trying to shove a blue, frilly sock into her mouth, quite successfully too. Grace tapped a finger on Nina’s friend, Rochelle’s desk. “Be a dear and carry your partner up to the front the rest of the way. I think she got a bit distracted.” The poor girl got out of her seat sending the chair she was sitting on rocketing back with a loud screech and her desk screeching forward. “Don’t forget the bottle.” Grace offhandedly mentioned. “I think the poor dear will probably be starving. She’s a bit too young to be moving around that much.” Rochelle grabbed the baby and took long, fast strides up to the front, behind the desk, making quick glances towards the door to the hall. “Would anyone else like to walk to the front of the class? No?” Grace cheerily asked. “Well then, figure out who’s going to drink that baba!” Melody watched the girls start arguing back and forth, trying to decide who’s putting that almost certainly cursed bottle around their mouth. The whole room descended into pandemonium, some screeched about promise and favors that haven’t been collected, others resorted to violence, hitting and hair pulling, trying to force the bottle in to their partner’s lips. Two girls bit the bullet, allowing the other to feed them without fight, a pair of friends and a pair of the girls who were forced to team up. As the fighting continued, Grace came up to Melody and Junie. “And they all thought they were big girls, didn’t they? As if picking on someone weaker than them didn’t prove it enough, they just can’t help but try and be the bully if it means avoiding punishment.” “Stop it!” Melody cried out, still holding Junie. “They’re just kids, they don’t deserve this!” “Oww! Nina, no pulling!” Melody and Grace looked over at Rochelle and Nina, who was giggling as she tugged on her friends braid instead of drinking her own milk. When Rochelle noticed her audience, she made an alarmed noise and crawled to hide under the desk. Wiping her eyes on Melody’s shirt, Junie stood up and stomped her foot in what she must of thought was an intimidating way. “You stop being mean to my students! This instant!” In any other circumstance, Melody would’ve thought the demanding chipmunk voice was amusing, but right now, she pulled Junie back by the bottom of her skirt. Junie swatted Melody’s hand away and stomped closer to an unamused Grace. Junie grabbed the ruler off her desk and swatted it against her desk, a sound the girls in room had been trained to pay attention to. All eyes, including the several young women who were busy sucking on bottles looked forward, a few even sat up with their arms straight against their sides. “You get outta my woom wight now!” Melody wanted to grab Junie and shut her up before she did anything to make matters worse, but as she watched the 10 year old dwindle down in size again, shrinking as her authoritative anger grew, she kept shoving her foot in her mouth, “Dese is my giwls! Yous can’ tawk to dem dis way!” She smacked the ruler over the side of the desk again, only instead of the loud thwack she was expecting, the there was instead the jingle of beads. Junie, now the size Melly was, looked at her hand, finding a rattle in place of the ruler. “Excuse me, miss fussy britches!” Junie yelped as two huge hands swooped her up. “I should’ve known you couldn’t go too long without being the center of attention.” Grace held Junie by the armpit and showed her to the whole class. The little 1 and a half year old kicked her feet pathetically in front of her students, each of them watching the little one’s diaper that was increasingly becoming less concealed as the seconds wore on, her skirt raising up to become little more than decoration. “Since we all need to have a little reminder, I think I’ll hold on to Junie here, I just think the little darling will be upset if no one is looking at her!” Junie hid her face as soon as she was brought close to Grace. “Or, at least she will when she gets over her shyness.” Stepping over to the desk, Grace tapped a few fingers on the hard mahogany surface. “Speaking of reminders, I don’t think little Nina is being a good one hidden under that.” With a poof, the desk vanished, replaced by a playpen, soft plushies and block scattered all over it with Rochelle making an eep while Nina bit her friend’s hand with gums instead of nursing. “Aaaand, I bet a lot of you thought the girls who drank their babas were going to get the worst of it, well, maybe they will, but you’re not out of the woodwork.” Rochelle tried to inch away as Grace reached out to her with curled fingers. Rochelle squeezed her eyes shut, holding on to Nina like a lifeline, only to forget what she was doing, not to mention feeling the weight in her arms growing heavier. The class, half of them experiencing a similar change, watched as Rochelle shrunk in her spot against the playpen, her uniform shrinking as well, until she wore just a pink t-shirt with Peppa Pig on it, her underwear the last thing on her that was ‘grown-up’ turning into a large diaper on her 2 year old body. 10 girls of the 20, each one holding on to a bottle for a friend or associate found herself the same age and same state of dress, though some wore dresses and skirts, while over got pants or overalls, each of them regressed by 16 years, a little confused, but their minds had already caught up with their body, ready to play, get picked up by their parents, or in a few cases, yawning for their overdue nap time. More than one took the half drunk bottle and started nursing on them. “They’re just so cute when they’re not so big and tough! Everyone on the better side of puberty, will you please pick up your partner and drop her off in the playpen? Thaaaank yooou!” The remaining teenagers each grabbed a toddler and one by one deposited them into the playpen, a few giving their old friends a pitying look as they chewed on blocks or started holding dollies. “Just a moment, girls, before you return to your seats-” The remaining 10 and Melody stood in front, watching as the room changed into what Grace considered to be more appropriate for them. Two large, round tables with small chairs around them, walls were lined with finger paintings, a few of the girl’s flinching when they saw signatures like, ‘Luna, age 27’, ‘Tommy, age 30’, and “Carol, age 20’ beneath paintings that looked like they were done by a child a fraction of the listed aged. Grace shooed the girls towards a seat, Grace giving Melody a pointed look. “You too, ‘Millie’, unless you’d like to skip the wait and hop into the playpen, then by all means.” Melody marched with the others and found a seat, blushing when she discovered her Pull-Up was damp when she sat her butt down. “Now, girls,” Grace addressed the teenagers in the too small seats that had their knees lifted up in front of them. “I think for our next project, we’ll work on multitasking.” A box of crayons and a coloring page appeared in front of each of the 11 girls, and in the center of the room, right in front of the dreaded playpen, was a training potty that was eerily similar to the one Melly had been using. “You’re little snack time bottles are probably rushing through most of you right now, pretty soon, it’ll be time to go potty.” Grace strolled over to the training potty, giving it a little kick while Junie snoozed in her arms, too tired from this drama to stay up any longer. Grace continued, “Here’s the easy part, just draw me a pretty picture, you don’t even have to stay in the lines-” One of the girls started furiously scribbling on the page, before she got a dumb look on her face and shrunk before everyone else. The rest of the 10 girls eyes went back to Grace, who had a pointed finger outstretched before the now infant girl, who had decided that coloring wasn’t as fun as sticking the wax crayon in her mouth. “Will one of you please add her to our newly formed nursery program?” She watched with a careful eye as one of the girls picked up the onesie wearing baby and dropped her off. “Need I remind you all the impatience is a sure sign of immaturity? And we should all know what happens to immature brats by now, right?” She gave it a few seconds, “Riiiight, girls?” In a chorus, the girls repeated, “Right!” No one wanted to be the next example. With a smirk of self satisfaction, Grace eagerly said, “Right, what?” “Right Miss Grace!” “Good! As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted,” She gave a look towards the newest baby that was rolling on the floor, her diaper already bulging out of her onesie with use. “You just have to color until I say it’s time to line up for the potty. I think it goes without saying that anyone who can’t manage to stay dry is clearly not ready for her big girl panties.” The girls anxiously looked towards Grace, hands twitching, ready to go towards their respective crayons, like racers ready at the starting line. “Go!” Melody grabbed a crayon at random, an orange, and began to shade in the cat in a basket that laid in front of her. She was barely done with its head before the girl next to her started to quiver. Then the girl on the other side of Melody reached a hand down below and had her legs pressed tightly together. Soon, every girl at both tables had red faces doing their own versions of the potty dance. “No!” The girl that Melody had first noticed shaking jumped out of her seat, kicking it on to its back in a desperate attempt to get to the potty chair. An obstacle fell in the girl’s path though, Grace stepped between her and the chair. “Where are you going, baby? You’re not even finished with your puppy!” She said, pointing at the green dog at the empty spot. “Please, please!” The girl begged, holding herself as her urgency grew the catastrophic levels. “I just- please! Don’t make me!” “I’m not making you do anything, dear. You’re the one not able to hold it like a big girl. If you’re not ready, I’d be happy to get you ready at the chang-” Before Grace could finish her sentence, it was already too late for the poor girl, her bladder had given way and spilling on to the soft carpet beneath her. Shame and relief danced on her face as the other girls looked on, their own issues getting worse with the sound of liquid hitting the carpet. From the other table, another girl jumped up, holding the front of her skirt. “I didn’t even feel it! What the fuck?!” “Aww, looks like the two of you just couldn’t cut it. Come along girls.” When neither girl stepped forward, Grace added, “If you’d rather not walk, I can make you crawlers, or worse.” With twin looks of panic on both their faces, both of the girls hurried towards the playpen, finishing their short journey as blushing 2 year olds, no longer needing a change as their skirts and underwear had become something much more absorbent by then. Grace gave everyone else a look, “What are you waiting for? I need new pictures for my wall! Go on!” With 8 remaining, and the time running out for more of the girls, Melody couldn’t help feeling like she had an unfair advantage, not having drunk the bottle and was already wearing training pants, ones she could feel cold and saggy by now. She had never felt so bad for not suffering. Her guilt when she saw another girl try to sneak for the potty chair, crouching down on all fours when Grace wasn’t looking and only reaching the training body when her age could only be measured in the months, was both heartbreaking and maddening. The coloring and waiting wasn’t the torture for Melody like it was for the rest of the girls, it was watching each of the girls that at the beginning of the day had a scant few months before they were officially adults, out of school and ready to take their lives into their hands, now only on the cusp of getting ready for pre-k was the best hope for many of them. She was feeling a twisted form of survivor’s guilt, watching the crawler get dropped into the playpen, it was like watching a casket get lowered into the ground. Melody wondered if there was anything left of the girl inside, or was her body now on autopilot as her mind screamed on the inside. Either way, by the time the girl grew up again, she’d be a completely different person. If she grew up again. A terrible realization hit Melody like a bucket of cold water, she really didn’t know the extent of this crazy woman’s magic, she gave Grace a glance, who was side eyeing her with a cruel smile as she held little Junie on her shoulder, a macabre trophy, and winked at Melody. Sweat was pouring down the other girl’s faces by this point, so many girls looking like they were ready to burst, until the lifesaver was tossed out to them. Melody was grabbed by the arm and pushed towards the training potty by Grace. “Alright, girls, line up!” The relief on the faces of the remaining girls was palpable, until they saw Melody getting forced on to the potty before them. “That’s not fair!” One cried out! “She’s already wearing a diaper let me go first!” Another said, then as Grace ‘helped’ Melody’s undies down, the girl exclaimed in frustration, “She’s wet too!” As soon as Melody was put on her throne on humiliation, Grace sauntered over to both of the young ladies with the big mouths and plugged them with pacifiers as the 6 remaining girls got into a line in front of her. One of girls with the pacifier spat out the bulb and reached for her mouth, Melody could see why, each of her teeth had gone missing when the bulb was tossed in. She tried to say something, but when only none sense babbles emerged from the back of her throat, she broke down in a screaming fit, unable or unwilling to care that she was making her own mess of the floor, and led to the playpen still yelling. The other pacified girl was just crying in futility. “Now, we can all wait until little Millie here is done, like big girls.” Melody, even if she didn’t have 6 pairs of eyes on her giving her way too much attention, really didn’t need to go, and the growing pressure and urgency each of the girls in line was radiating made Melody feel like the weight of the world was on her shoulder. The girl that was standing behind the girl who had the screaming fit, smelling the pee the other girl left on the carpet below her, gave up, and started begging Grace for a diaper before she wet herself. She girl gave a strange happy smile as she was led out of line, a pleased and relieved tot all to ready to rid herself of that stress and play with the other girls. The rest of the line, so many reaching their breaking points, looked on at Melody, some mouthing ‘please’ while other let their eyes do all the talking. “Please, Miss Grace,” Melody looked up to the waiting ‘teacher’, “I really don’t have to go, let someone else go ahead of me!” “Now Millie, don’t give up just yet, you haven’t even tried.” “But-” “Or you can join the other little girls.” Grace offered. With all hope out, Melody pushed her body as much as she could, eyes shut in concentration, trying to get anything out, frrrrrrt-PLOP! Melody jumped up after her way, way, waaay too public release, the next girl practically pushing her out of the way, not caring what she was sitting on. Grace at least had the good grace to make the mess Melody had left vanish before the entire room smelled like an outdoor venue portajon. As the next girl in line made a loud splash in the too little training potty, the pressure got to the final girl in line. Dropping to her knees, no one had to guess what she was doing as she started sucking her thumb and giving in. The girl in front of her used all her willpower to keep from looking back, lest she fall prey to her base desires. By the time the girl was picked up, the gurgling 18 month old was just pleased to be held as Grace carried her to her new peers. The next girl jumped at the training potty, not caring that she looked a fool and made record breaking time getting done, even having decency to help the final girl in line pull her skirt down before she dropped down. The girls who had all managed to make it on time where finally led to a square carpet on the far side of the room and made to sit in a semi-circle around Grace and little Junie, who kept herself busy tugging on Grace’s collar without a care in the world. “Congratulations, girls!’ Grace gave the 4 of them a round of applause. “You made it to the finals! I think we can officially say you’re each in the ‘potty training’ phase of your life.” With another finger snap, Melody felt her Pull-Up magically changed into a fresh one, and as each of the other girls shifted uncomfortably in their seats, she suspected that each of them were now wearing ‘big kid now’ undies. Their was a heaviness in the air, as each girl wanted to voice their displeasure, though they had learned better by now, there was nothing to be gained by being vocal. “I see we’ve learned that children are to be seen and not heard. Why, I’m proud of you all!” She gave Melody a side eye look again, “Well, most of you all. Why, I may even let one or two of you stay big enough to help babysit the others.” “Now, who will it be?” Grace stared at a thin athletic girl with short blonde hair that looked exhausted after this whole ordeal. “Is Tracey the track star going to be running around after the little ones?” She looked towards the dark skinned girl who was doing all she could to not stare daggers at the witch, “Bethany? I believe, if I’m not mistaken, you were most voted to be a housewife in your yearbook, fancy getting an early jump on that?” Drawing her attention towards a girl with dark hair that went down to the small of her back, “Maybe it’ll be Yolanda, you’re one of the most popular girls in school, right? I’m sure the babies will love you.” Grace’s gaze finally fell on Melody. “Or is it Millie? The already proven babysitter, the girl with the suspicious amount of favoritism from yours truly,” Grace gave the baby in her arms a little rock while the other three girls shot her a glare, “Just to let you know dear, children can be a little too honest. Even more so than that class over there!” “Hmm… Who to choose, who to choose…” Grace pretended to muse to herself, looking each girl over with considerable scrutiny. “Oh, this is just too hard! Like picking out which child to give the last cookie to.” She said, jostling the baby, Junie for her part cried out before resuming slobbering back on Grace’s shirt. “You can always share it.” Melody muttered. The other girls nodded earnestly at that remark, only for it to get show down by the adult right away. “No, no, that won’t do.” Grace pretended to think. “What we need is a contest! Yes, that would do.” Grace patted the center of the group, and out appeared a stack of books. “You girls go ahead and read these text books for as long as you can. Last one remaining will get to keep her status as ‘almost a grown up’. Pretty fair deal, honestly, seeing as each of you is a sneeze away from needing Miss Grace to change your butts.” Bethany, directly across from Grace asked, “Is- is that it?” Tracy sighed, resting her head on her knees. “That’ll be easy.” Feeling like her nightmare was nearly over. Yolanda and Melody looked nervously looked at the books, neither trusting this challenge. “Oh, it won’t be that easy. Or it shouldn’t for a big kid.” Grace waved her hand, and all around the girls several toys appeared, then she beamed like she pulled out for ace in the hole. “Umm yeah, that’ll make it much harder.” Yolanda couldn’t keep the sarcasm from creeping into her voice, poking a doll that had appeared to her right, only to jump back like the thing bit her. “Like I said, it won’t be terribly hard if you’re as big as you say you are.” Grace got up, readjusting Junie in her arms. “Now if you’ll excuse me, there are other little ones- ooh, force of habit- little ones that need tending to. If anyone is ready to throw in the towel and join them, just let me know! Gooood luck!” Tracy, Bethany, and Melody each reached for the pile, Yolanda gave the doll she just touched an odd look. Tracey groaned as she looked at the physics book in her hand, while Bethany gave the psychology text book she had grabbed an interested hmm, Melody nearly flinched when she saw she almost grabbed the ‘Cat in the Hat’, before grabbing the book beneath it, a book on poetry, Yolanda had grabbed the doll and put it on her lap, when Tracy, in a misguided attempt at good sportsmanship snapped her out of it, giving her a nudge. Yolanda looked up, not sure what was going on and nearly grabbed the Dr. Seuss book before shaking herself out of it and grabbing a book on history. The other 3 gave the toys around them a weary look. Going through the book like her life depended on it, Bethany leafed through her book, looking for any passages or blurbs that would keep her attention. In an effort to keep on task, she began to read out loud, “-Impostor syndrome is not recognized by the American Psychological Health Organization-” Melody frowned at this, and Tracy gave an irritated hmmph at the distraction, desperately trying to keep her eyes glued to her pages, fighting back the yawn that was crawling up her throat. Yolanda was busy showing her dolly the pretty pictures of the men in funny costumes, giggling at their silly wigs. There was a box that sat next to Bethany with a crank that started moving by itself, the jingly tone of ‘Pop Goes the Weasel’ played from it. Bethany tried to ignore the best she could, continuing to read off descriptions of mental disorders, only to jump when a jack-the-box came popping out at her. She gave a little shriek, slamming the lid close, a fatal mistake for her part, her eyes now resting firmly on the crank that moved by itself. Melody and Tracy were no longer getting descriptions mumbled into their ear, now Bethany was idly humming along to the music coming from the box, jumping again when the jack emerged from its box, only this time she was clapping for it. When she shut it back down again, she looked at the crank, expecting it to turn by itself, when it did it, she figured she would take matters into her own hands and started cranking it, giggling all the while. Her anxiety growing, Tracey tried to be interested in the book in her lap, knowing how much boredom and distractions would cost her. She let out a yelp when something lightly tapped her back. Looking behind her, she saw a toy police car with sirens that lit up. For a second, the spinning lights mesmerized her, getting caught up in a memory of her older brother playing with a similar toy, she would watch him pull the car back and spring forward by itself. She shook away the memory and tried to get back to her reading. Another tap on her back and Tracey schooched forward. The book was brought very close to her face, Tracey pretending like that would do her any good to ignore the silly thing. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tracey shut her eyes, reached back and threw the stupid car away from her. Only when she opened them she saw the car bounding back towards her, stopping just in front of her. Her senses taking a leave, Tracey reached down and pulled the car back, both feeling and hearing the clicking of the mechanism that propelled the car forward. When it stopped a few feet away, Tracey crawled after it, leaving the book opened and abandoned. Melody looked at Bethany, singing misremembered lyrics to a nursery rhyme, Yolanda pointing out silly men to the doll in her lap, Tracey making ‘vroom-vroom’ noises at the toy car. It was a hollow feeling victory. “It should’ve been you.” “Huh?” Melody looked everywhere for the source of the voice, only to see the doll in Yolanda’s lap glaring at her with button eyes and a sewed smile. “It should’ve be you, you nutcase. You damned all these girls to a life of pissing their pants. If you weren’t here, the Mistress wouldn’t have found this room interesting at all, she only came here because she saw some crazy woman who didn’t belong inside a body that’s not her’s. All those things you say about yourself. They’re truuue. You don’t belong anywhere. You should’ve stayed with Mommy, at least she wasn’t a full person yet,you only got Melly a couple of weeks seeing a nice lady who would give her suckers and just wanted to talk to her, for Millie you made everything so much worse, anyone who didn’t hear about Millie in Pull-Ups will definitely find out she spent the day in this school’s brand new daycare. Which is worse, if she comes out of all this a laughing stock and never able to live down the day she spent in diapers, or if she becomes a mindless toddler like the rest of these girls?” “I…” Melody began to say something in a squeaky voice. “Why don’t you pick up your little book, you don’t even have to pretend to read, just imagine you’re back in bed and Mommy is showing you the pictures again, wouldn’t that be better than pretending you’re a big girl?” The doll asked. “I- am a big girl!” But the temptation was there, right in front of her, Melody felt herself reaching out to grab the book, but stopped herself. Melody stood up and looked towards the playpen, at Grace who gave the girls inside it a wicked grin. “Grace!” She yelled out. Grace leered at her and marched towards her. “What’s up, buttercup? You giving up? I was just about to put the other kids down for a nap, I’ll give you the first bottle if you come right now. Think about it, it’ll be all nice and warm, and you can pick out the best spot for a nap, whaddya say, Melody?” “It’s over,” She growled her response. “It’s- over? What, no, look at little Yolie here, still reading her book like a big girl. In fact she’s the winner, go Yolie! Yay!” Yolanda looked up and clapped at the nice tone and her name. “Did you hear that, Yolie?” Melody asked her, she looked at Melody confused. “It’s nap time, why don’t you put your dolly down for a nap.” Nodding and smiling, Yolanda set down the book and rocked the toy back and forth in her arm, yawning while she was at it. “I think your contest is over, Grace, I won.” “All things considered, I respectfully disagree, I think I won. I always do, that’s kind of how I play my games.” “I bet you do.” Melody felt an anger started to burn up inside of her as she looked around at everything, the teenagers playing like they were in preschool, the girls in the playpen forced to relive their lives, that poor teacher in Grace’s arms who’s only crime was that she wanted her class to pay attention to her, something Melody could very much sympathize with. “Why me, Grace? Why them? Why any of this?” Grace shrugged, and lied, “Because I wanted to.” Shaking her head, Melody angrily stepped forward. “No, no way. As soon as you saw me, you knew I wasn’t me, that’s why you started all this bullshit.” “Maybe, I just like seeing girls in diapers, did ya ever think of that. I just saw a girl too old for potty training and amped up the fun.” “You definitely take a sick pleasure out all this,” Melody said, “But we both know there’s something more going on.” Throwing her hands up in mock surrender, “Fiiine, you got me. I saw inside that little head of yours, and the head inside that one, by the way, if therapy really isn’t working out for you, going back to being a little girl and getting a fresh start is 100% your best bet-” “Get to the point please.” “I was getting to there! Jeez, you’ve been spending too much time as a kid. Anyway, I like what I saw in that red place you were at. I want in. But…” Grace let the sentence hang. Melody didn’t have much of a choice but to take the bait. “But?” “I have to piggy back off of you to get in there. Of course, as soon as I’m there I can go around touching mirrors and spreading havoc to anywhere, everywhere, to my heart’s content.” “Then- It seems like we’re at an impasse.” Melody sat down, satisfied. Grace looked at Melody, baffled. “An ‘impasse’? I don’t think so, in case you haven’t noticed, I hold all the cards.” Melody shrugged. “Not really. You need me to go over there and tap that mirror. I’m not gonna.” She grabbed the Cat in the Hat and started looking through it. “If you don’t, I’ll make you a newborn.” “Probably was going to do that anyway. Besides,” Melody looked up, “Didn’t you say starting over was my best bet.” “Fiiiine,” Grace rolled her eyes. “I promise I won’t make you baby brained if you let me go with you.” Shaking her head, Melody went on to say, “That’s not good enough. I want everyone in here to go back to the way they were before I got here.” Grace gave an exasperated sigh. “Look, as much as I’d love to do that, I can’t. I can grow them up, but most of the girls over there will never regain the ability to talk. Spent too much time infantilized. Look at this widdle face,” She held out Junie, “Do you want miss hot cross buns here to spend the rest of her days in a mental institution instead of getting adopted by a nice family? Look, honestly, her sister wouldn’t mind taking her in, and she doesn’t have a stick up her ass, getting raised by her is a net gain for Junie here.” Melody pointed at the three teenagers. “What about them?” Begrudgingly, Grace admitted, “I can probably put them back to normal, if it’s that important to you.” “’Probably’ isn’t very reassuring.” “Ugh,” Grace massaged the bridge of her nose, “They’ll be able to walk, talk, drive, go to college, just there’s going to be a little part of them that will always want to be pampered a bit. You know, a little accident at night and asking her partner to help her into her incontinence underwear, keep a toy or two on her desk at work to fiddle with, maybe get a pacifier to suck on when she’s alone. Pretty much the best I can do.” “Fine, go ahead.” Grace snapped her fingers, Tracy, Bethany, and Yolanda all came out of their stupor, looking around wildly. “Ladies, Millie and I have come to an arrangement, you’re all free to leave, off you go!” The three didn’t need to be told twice and sprinted out of the room without a word. “And what about them?” Melody pointed at the girls in the playpen. “Them? That’s easy, they were just 18, they’ll get picked up by Mommy or Daddy, Aunt or Uncle, Grandma or Grandpa in like a couple of hours, There’s even a couple of girls at this school who, as of today earn credits in early childhood development by watching these kids, they’ll be in here when their classes are done, easy peasy. They’ll be a little confused where the teacher is, but a sub will come in tomorrow and everything will be right as rain.” “So then…” Grace gave her a grin. “Do we have a deal?” She held out a hand. Melody sighed, reaching out, “In spite of the fact that this is a text book case of a Faustian bargain, we have a deal.” The two shook on it. “Wonderful! Let’s just get these girls down for a nap and then we’ll be off!” “Wait I have to help you with that too?!” “Sooner the better, right?” The two of them set off to get a fresh bottle into the hands of each of the little ones and on to a mat, under a blanket. It was busy work, with a lot of the babies wanting to play with Melody’s headset more than they wanted to get laid down. Melody had to sing a lot of lullabies before each of the girls was ready and her and Grace stepped up to the mirror, the last remnant of what this classroom used to be. “Wait, what’s going to happen to Millie when I’m gone?” “You’re just thinking of that now? That’s the easy part, she’s just going to be the first one to watch the kids, get the feeling that the teacher didn’t show, and be really confused why she’s wearing a Pull-Up. At least it’ll be dry, right?” Melody reached down, blushing. “Riiiight, okay, she’ll be confused why she’s in a wet Pull-Up then, she’ll figure it out, she’s really a pretty bright girl when she doesn’t have a clinically depressed teacher running the ship.” Grace held out a hand. Taking the outstretched hand, Melody reached out for the mirror, already regretting her decision. Back in the red hall, Melody found the silence of the never ending room broken the shuffling of another. “Ahhh! This is total freedom!” Grace went to and from several mirrors, looking for her first destination. “Ooooh, this one will be perfect to start my grand tour. I think there’s a couple of super heroes in it. When was the last time you saw a super hero team end up as babies? That’s just a good ol’ tale for the ages!” “Yeah, well have fun, hope to never see you again.” Melody said, beginning to walk away. “It’s a big place, but then so is the world and they’re always calling that small- Oh!” Grace snickered when she looked back at Melody, who was back in her regular attire, though she was all too aware of what now laid under her suit. “What? What is it?” “Ahh, it’s nothing, Just go be someone rich enough to afford some really good concealer, you’ll be fiiine!” Grace made no attempt to hide her laughter at Melody’s expense. Getting the hint, Melody ran a few fingers up against her face, finding the telltale signs of acne scares all over. Swearing to herself, Melody tried to think of what to do. “Or,” Grace added helpfully, “You can just go to a place where you’re too young to worry about that sort of thing!” Melody continued on to another mirror, looking inside seeing an oil drill and dismissing it. “Yeah I’ll think about it.” “Suuure. See ya around, partner.” Melody didn’t look back, but heard a telltale whoosh coming from a portal, and once again, was left alone. Melody passed by many mirrors at this point, not spending too much time examining them before jumping inside, then leaving. There was a gorgeous city built on the branches of skyscraper sized trees, cable cars everywhere bring the denizens to one side to another. A rich, earthy scent was everywhere, and the people were friendly, giving Melody or the body she inhabited at any rate a wave. Her clothes were stiff and unfomfortable, made up of a leather material, around her chest she could feel tight binds that kept herself from flopping about, and the Pull-Up that she had SOMEHOW, to her dismay, kept ending up with, at least kept the scratchy leather from chaffing her too badly. Fruit vendors with wares so exotic offered Melody slices of odd food, some so hot she had to wipe the spicy feeling off her tongue with the sleeve of her shirt. Water fell down on her in big droplets from the leaves above, and when she looked up, she was amazed to see the sky had two binary stars lighting up the heavens. The place was too incredible for Melody to put into words. Except for the bugs, caterpillars the size of cats crawled up her arms, she saw people walking along with creatures that looked like flies the size of mastiffs on leashes. People gave her odd looks when she was weary of them, a boy even tried to tell her the praying mantis he was playing with was ‘friendly’ when it started poking at her leather shoes. The novelty of the place wore its welcome after that and Melody found her way back to the mirror. In the next world, Melody was overlooking a green and blue planet on some kind of space station or satellite, a room of metal and plastic that had a minimalist vibe. Anything that wasn’t being used folded into the walls, or fell apart to let the nanobots that made up the object do something else. There were a few people around, Melody saw as she explored the empty halls, but it was too silent, everyone seemed to be off towards a timely goal and there wasn’t time for small talk. The only company that she could really have any conversation with, as one sides as it was, came from a little machine that looked like an advanced roomba that seemed to follow her everywhere, spraying some kind of solvent everywhere she walked. The view was incredible, as she stared out one of the windows down towards the alien looking planet and the backdrop of space. She was lost in the scenery for a little while, gazing out in the vastness of space and feeling like she was the size of a flea in the grand scale of the cosmos. Melody almost felt like she could stay here for that alone, just to observe the majesty of the universe before her. Maybe, she thought to herself, sticking a hand up against the window, she didn’t need to find a permanent world to stay on, she could just be a sightseer of the multiverse, traveling like a hitch hiker, jumping from one body to the next just to discover what all was out there. There was a romantic appeal to that, it scratched a certain itch in Melody’s mind that made her smile. Though, the white jumpsuit she wore wasn’t the most comfortable, it had a bad habit of wedging her padded underwear up her butt. She kept having to do an embarrassed look over her shoulder to make sure no one was looking before adjusting herself. She put a pin in this one, another place to check out again, if only to look out the window. The last world left Melody with a feeling of zen, she didn’t need to be afraid of what she found as she explored the red hall again, walking towards another mirror in front of her, only to step back out when she saw that there was a baby girl in a cape flying around shooting lasers out of her eyes at an unseen foe. Melody promptly left that world for Grace, chiding herself. The realm Melody explored after that she immediately smelled the ripe scent of animals and death. She was on a game trail, surrounded by yellowed grass that came up to her shoulders, standing in front of a large ATV that was painted with a savanna camo motif. There was the sense of danger in the field on each side of Melody as she looked around, interested in what she was going to see. It would be pretty cool to see a lion or elephant in person, though she stood by the side mirror of the vehicle she came in through. She glanced around, excited to see whatever kind of animal was out here waiting for her, only when the sound that was somewhere between a croak and a screeched did she let out a little scream and look into the mirror. Holy fucking shit, that was a Goddamned dinosaur! She thought, clutching her chest when she was back in the red hall. She sat down against the wall, letting her heart settle back to a natural rhythm. That was a 90 lb, brightly feathered freaking raptor that was LEEPING at her and it took more than a second to catch her breath. Then Melody winced at the thought of her host, whether she was a hunter or a scientist, definitely was not left in the best position to fend off any dinosaur attacks, leaning down to check her reflection in the mirror Stupid, stupid, stupid! Melody told herself as she walked away, trying to forget her carelessness though the little voice in her head made that impossible. Melody walked for a little while until a glint in a mirror caught her eye. A beautiful view of the skyline of an impressive city all around the perspective of the person in the mirror, an important looking desk with a sparse pile of files and organized black, leather folders stood on top of the desk, fancy looking chairs, more comfortable and expensive looking than any car Melody ever owned sat there, and the aroma of fresh coffee and freshly printed page in the air. Melody tapped on the mirror, if only to see what the chair she would be sitting on felt like. And oh boy, was it good. Melody fell into the body of executive director Mrs. Miley Miller, a wrinkled face staring back at her in the compact mirror that sat on Mrs. Miller’s desk, and that body was currently sitting on the best office chair Melody had ever felt. It was like a sturdy marshmallow, and it curved in just the right places to Melody now old back. The lumbar support was unbelievable, she thought as she lounged back, inadvertently cracked something in just the right spot. “Awww-gh!” Endorphins flitted through Melody, barely even registering how that little release let out a different kind of release in the bottom of the fluffy underwear Melody was forced to endure, though she couldn’t make herself care too much about silly matters like incontinence when- Spinning around to look out the floor to ceiling windows towards the skyline, only, she didn’t stop there. She placed two heels down and spun the chair again and again, until she got dizzy. She got up on shaky legs, feeling a little sore after her bout of strenuous movement this body almost certainly used to on a day to day basis. Melody smoothed out the black dress with red pinstripes she wore. There was a kind of confidence and power Melody wasn’t used to she could feel from being Mrs. Miller. It was intoxicating, she could see the memories of the woman, dropping husbands in the trash as easily as someone might drain a cup in the sink, firing countless employees over her long, esteemed career, making or breaking people’s entire companies just with a yes or a no. Looking out the window, Melody felt a fear with this kind of authority at hand. Are you sure a little loser like you should be in charge of this body? Melody looked down, she was right, she would probably screw something up. After all, that’s what she did. With a sound of resignation, Melody turned around and headed towards the desk, towards the little compact mirror on the surface- “Mrs. Miller!” Hayden, Miley’s secretary burst through the door, a tiny mouse of a woman in a black dress with a tacky and tasteless, at least to Melody’s eye, flower bracelet on. “The board of directors for Bay-B enterprises is ready for the mee-” Hayden’s palm flung to her face, keeping Mrs. Miller from seeing the smile that had started to form on her lips was a matter of living in her suite uptown and bedding in a gutter. “What is it- Ms. Richards?” Melody asked after searching for the name for a second. It must have been the most difficult parsing of someone else’s memories Melody had gone through yet, there were so many nameless assistants floating around Miley’s brain it was hard to keep them straight, not to mention show little the old bag regarded them. Hayden continued, feeling a little pleased with herself that Mrs. Miller had actually called her by her name, and that her almost slip up went unnoticed. “I- erm-” “Spit it out, girl!” Melody spat out with venom. She felt surprised, she hadn’t meant to say it like that. “Y-your face. We need to get someone in for m-makeup right away.”Hayden stuttered out, preparing to close her eyes at the vitriol that was about to get spewed her way from the observation. Melody reached up, feeling the sure signs of acne that was on the wrinkled face. “Oh, yes. You better send them up. Make it quick!” Hiding her relief, Hayden slid out the door and began making calls. It was looking to be a good day for her, Mrs. Millers wasn’t in her typical mood, even with the face thing going on. In the office, Melody slouched down into the insanely comfortable seat. That was weird, she thought, I’m not usually that- mean. Except to yourself, her insecurities whispered back to her, but you deserve it. Right, she agreed, she deserved it. There was little time between sitting down and a trio of makeup artists being let into the room, seemingly appearing out of thin air at Mrs. Miller’s beck and call. A man with pointed hair with square framed glasses in very fashionable attire seemed to be calling the shots to two haggard looking girls to his left and right. Melody rolled her eyes at the man, she detested fruity, flamboyant men like this- wait, why did she think that? The man grimaced at Melody’s face, “Hilda, Gretchen, code red, pull out the big guns. We need to get this sorted right away.” Pulling out creams and brushes, the girls in unison said, “Right away, Mr. Fletcher.” Mr. Fletcher held his chin and carefully examined Melody, leaning his face in to get a good look at her, matters as trivial as personal space far removed. He made a clicking sound with his teeth and barked orders at his minions, “Ointment. No, the good one! Cream, Gretchen if I have to say the good one again you’re fired. Cloth.” He demanded items like a surgeon, and in turn, Melody felt like she was on an operating table. “Is this going to take all day?” Melody snapped, glaring at the man. Rubbing something into her skin with a gloved hand, Mr. Fletcher let out a snarky reply, “It’s going to if you don’t shut up and let me work.” An inkling of respect emerged out the barren garden in Mrs. Miller’s esteem for people other than herself. “Remind me again why I hire rude reprobates like you?” “Because I’m the best at what I do, duh.” Melody grabbed the compact mirror off the desk and looked at Fletcher’s handiwork, she really did have to admire the craftsmanship, not only was that dreadful acne invisible, in the matter of minutes Fletcher seemed to have lifted 20 years off of Miley’s face. “Good, I got appointments.” She waved the man off with a hand. As the two girls gathered up the makeup back into the carrying cases, Fletcher dropped his used gloves in the trash, “Yup, you’re not the only one. You’ll get my rush job bill in an email in about 30 to 60 minutes.” “Miss Richards will handle it.” “Oh? You actually know this one’s name? Color me impressed. Let’s go ladies! We have more bags to make look like Prada to get to!” Melody breathed out as soon as she was alone. This was getting weird, she was acting way bitchier than she ever had, even on her worse days. She grabbed the compact mirror, taking a look into it, only seeing Miley scowl back at her. She was definitely ready to leave this body behind- “Mrs. Miller!” Hayden opened the door, an arm full of folders clutched to the front of her desk. “The directors are ready in boarding room 3C on floor 52.” Slamming a palm on the desk, Melody snapped, “Didn’t anyone ever teach you to knock?!” In a small voice, Hayden replied, “But you told me to-” “Don’t tell me what I said. I was there, I don’t need reminders from girls who can’t pay off their student loans without handouts.” “Yes, ma’am.” Without really realizing what she was doing, Melody was up and stomping towards the door. Outside the door, there was flurry of movement, phones ringing with men and women scurrying everywhere between cubicles with a tireless energy fueled by one of three coffee pots that sat by the elevator doors, it was a soulless environment, everyone except Melody and Hayden dressed identically, the only color in the whole place that wasn’t a monotone black and white was the stripes on Melody’s dress, the flower on Hayden’s wrist, and a scattering few plastic ferns that lined the walls. One of her drones ran up to her as soon as the young man saw Melody. “Mrs. Miller, I have these forms you need to sign to finish the deal with-” Melody strolled past him, barely acknowledging his existence. “Richards can sign it, she knows my signature.” “W- wait, who’s Mr. Richards?” The man asked Hayden. She pointed to herself and mouthed, ‘me’. Melody marched over to the elevator and pressed the button to go down. When the door opened up revealing a few office workers inside, she growled, “Get out, I want to be alone.” “But this isn’t my floor!” Objected one of them. Barring her teeth, Melody snapped again, “Out!” She commanded. Grabbing the door before it closed, Melody gave Hayden an expecting look. “Get in.” “Oh! But I thought you wanted to be alone.” Rolling her eyes, Melody clarified, “You don’t count as a person.” “O-oh…” Hayden dutifully stepped inside. A digital display above the sliding doors told Melody, floor 103-102-101. “Can’t this stupid thing go any faster?” Melody muttered under her breath. “N-no, I don’t think so.” Hayden replied in a timid voice. “It’s a rhetorical question.” “And I gave you a rhetorical answer?” Hayden flinched when she saw the look Melody gave her, as if she just psychically received the smack Melody wanted to give her. A few minutes of heavy, uncomfortable silence later, they arrived on floor 52, though Melody could barely tell they had left floor 104, it looked practically identical, down to the fake ferns in the exact same positions and the three coffee pots next to the elevator, Melody couldn’t even really tell the difference between the men and women on the previous floor and the ones on this one. She felt like she was in urban version of an anthill, workers scurrying about to appease their queen, who in this case, Melody thought smugly, was her. Only, it wasn’t, it was Mrs. Miller, but differentiating between the two was becoming a tedious effort. Melody confidentially forged through a maze of cubicles and copy pasted halls, effortlessly side stepping the obstacles of workers in her way and managers that wanted only a second of her consultation, though they didn’t try very hard to keep her attention. A balding, thick man stood in front of a room with an open design, four clear windows looking into the space filled mostly by a conference table and chairs, a handful of people dressed in pristine business suits were already sitting in chairs. Next to him, a young woman with an armful of folders, thick glasses and a handbag strapped to her shoulders stood at attention, barely blinking when Melody and Hayden stepped up to them. “Miley! You look better than the day I met” The fat man boomed when he saw the executive, holding his arms wide open. “Bradford! You look… as good as the day I met you” The two exchanged a quick hug, the man’s hand reaching down to pinch the cheek under Mrs. Miller’s dress. The two assistants exchanged a look of disgust at the casual groping. “Oh you little tease! How’s Susan doing?” “Passed away, I’m afraid.” “Oh, what wonderful news! I’m sure the mistresses are pleased.” “Just the one, at the moment, she thinks she’s about to be moving up in the world and she’s getting rid of the competition. Doing such a good job of it I might consider it. How’s Harold?” He inquired about Mr. Miller. “Regretting the prenup, I imagine.” They exchanged a hearty laugh at this, and Bradford held open the door for the three women. Melody took a spot on the empty side of the conference table, facing the side of a building and some well dressed men and women that Bradford took center of. In front of her, Melody observed three inconspicuous black packages. “What’s all this about, Bradford?” Melody only addressed the man in the center of the others. “I was under the impression we were finished in finalizing the documents for the take over.” “Ahh, yes, but the boy in the R&D department came up with some fascinating toys that I thought might pique your interest and let us reopen negotiations.” “’New toys’?” Melody asked, confused. “Last I checked Bay-B made products for babies, I don’t see how a fancy new diaper rash cream is really going to make me reconsider.” Bradford grinned widely, “We try to keep open to widening demographics.” He pointed towards the bag directly to his left and her right. “Go ahead and try that.” Curious, Melody opened the bag, showing a labeless plastic can. She pulled the lid off the top and the room smelled of lavender and vanilla. “What’s this?” “Top of the line youthening cream. The effects are miraculous and instantaneous. Go ahead, try some on.” Melody took a fingerful of the cream and applied a dab on to the back of her left hand. Before her eyes, she could see it smoothing out the wrinkles of her hand, making the skin firm and taut while Bradford and the other directors smiled on pleased. Eyes wide at the effect a little did, Melody reached in and pulled out a good amount of the goop and started spreading it all over her hands and wrists, up to her elbows, marveling at the effects. “T-this is incredible!’ Mrs. Miller was as close to a loss for words as she had been in decades. “I can really feel it!” She wagged her wrist back and forth. “I don’t- This wrist barely moves, the arthritis keeps me from doing much with it but I feel-” “It feels like when you did when you were 20?” Bradford hazard a guess. “Yes!” Hayden looked down in amazement, watching the skin on Mrs. Miller firm in front of her. She caught the eye of the other assistant who gave her a sly smile and a wink filled with conspiracy. Hayden raised an eye at this, but knew it wasn’t her place in raising any objections. Melody cleared her throat. “Yes, well, as impressive as it is, the paper work is still finished.” She said nonchalantly. “This is mine to keep, yes?” Bradford nodded and passed the cream to Hayden, “Make sure Fletcher gets this, he can use it the next time he touches me up.” “That’s fine, I didn’t think that would really convince you, but my team insisted we try that road before the next. Why don’t you look inside our next gift for you?” He pointed towards the bag. As greedily as a spoiled child on Christmas, Melody snatched the bag in the center, pulling out a small white box, and inside of that, a glass vial of amber colored liquid filled it, a bronze top with a little rubber ball on one end and a tip for the applicator. Melody looked at the vial disapprovingly. “I appreciate the thought, but I really am quite picky with my perfumes. Why don’t we see what’s in the next bag?” She asked, already reaching out for it. “Wait! Please, at least sample it, you’ll be pleasantly surprised, I promise.” The other girl nudged Hayden, pointing towards the far window out of the hall and started pulling blinds. An obedient girl, Hayden didn’t stop to question it as she went to the other side and doing the same. The two young women were basically invisible to Mrs. Miller, and didn’t give it another thought on why they were doing what they were behind her. If she did, she would just think they were making a private deal that didn’t need any unwanted attention, anyway. Shrugging, Melody pointed the tip of the vial in the direction of her wrist and gave the rubber ball a squeeze, sending a spritz of strong smelling liquid on to her skin, lifting it up to get a big whiff of it. “It’s fine, but really Bradford, if you want to change my opinion, that last bag had better have a blank check in it addressed to me- I-” Melody blinked rapidly. “I- You know- Moneyis- Just, the gifts they’re good, but…” Melody grabbed her head, her hair tangled between her finger nails. Hayden was looking towards her boss with some growing concern. “The gifts aren’t good enough? How about this?” Bradford took out of his pocket a shiny set of keys. “Well- a new- Did yooou gets me a new carrr?” Melody said, her words slurring, reaching out for the shiny pieces of metal. “I’m afraid not, these are mine. I just thought, and my team agrees,” He motioned towards the people on each of his sides. “You might like to hear them jingle. Would you?” “Nooo, thas dumb-” But her tune changed as soon as he started shaking them, and the combination of the sound they made and light they reflected truly did make them very enticing. Melody pushed her front on to the table, trying to slide on it while reaching out for the funny sounding keys, a line of drool coming out of the corner of her mouth as she pushed her heels up, standing on her tippy toes with her arm outstretched. “Stephanie, if you would.” “Right away, boss.” The other assistant rooted through her handbag and taking things out. “Young lady?” Bradford addressed Hayden, who was looking at her own boss with a mixture of bewilderment and disgust. “Umm- Y-yes?” Hayden looked up. Bradford waved before resting it under his chin. “Sorry, I didn’t quite catch your name.” “Richards. Hayden Richards, sir.” Her full attention was on the man, though it briefly went on the woman besides her who was putting on a pair of rubber gloves, snapping them at the wrist to ensure they were on tight. “Hayden, do you mind if I call you Hayden?” Hayden shook her head. “Well, Hayden I’d like to offer you a promotion, executive assistant. It comes with many perks, access to your former boss’s estate, whatever financial needs you have, you’ll probably have to make yourself a room at her place, but that’s fine, I understand besides a weekly cleaning service, Miley doesn’t have many guests. Imagine that, not very popular! All that until the deal is finalized, then we can claim she had a mental breakdown, make her a ward of the state, or you can have her, if you get attached, some people do that.” Hayden cocked a head, “And I don’t have to do what Mrs. Miller says any more?” Bradford let out a laugh, “It’s best if you call her Miley, now. And trust me, she’ll be as demanding as ever, but-” He grabbed a ring box and flung it across the table, landing into Hayden’s hands. She opened it and saw a shiny clear pacifier ring, took it out and smiled at it. “You can always shush her with this.” Nodding, Hayden tapped Melody on the shoulder, when she looked up, mouth agape, her open hole was plugged with the rubber bulb. Melody started contentedly sucking on it, a relaxed look falling on her face. “I think I’ll graciously accept the promotion, thank you.” Stephanie, now wearing a mask, handed Hayden a box of gloves and a mask, she immediately started putting them on. “Excellent! Oh, by the way, how good are you at forging Miley’s signature.” “It was the very first thing I was taught to do under her.” “Good, why don’t you go ahead and open Miley’s last gift bag right there?” Hayden ripped open the bag, the contents falling out on to the table. A large changing mat decorated with happy cartoon bees, a bottle of powder, some wipes, and one large, thick, twice folded diaper. Hayden heard a snicker to her her side. Stephanie was pulling off Melody’s dress, showing the sagging training pants that lay below, Melody reflexively put a hand in front of them. “Hey boss, looks like Mrs. Miller wasn’t quite as big and bad as you thought she was. She’s still in diapers after all.” The board members all snickered at Melody’s expense. “Looks like you were already part of our demographic after all, Miley. I had no idea!” Bradford laughed. “Poor thing is soaked too!” Stephanie said, “Heehee, I don’t think she’s ready for potty training, do you, Hayden?” Hayden stepped up to Melody, getting to her eye level. “You should have told me, Mrs. Miller, I would’ve given you a change. What are assistants for, we’re great at cleaning up our boss’s mess!” Melody whimpered, having the vague impression that everyone in the room was making fun of her. She squirmed as Stephanie and Hayden helped her up on to to the table, on to the unfolded changing mat. “Get out that cream, it’ll be better if you have to manhandle her if she’s not brittle.” Stephanie instructed Hayden. “What ever you do, that perfume stuff, don’t smell it, don’t touch it. Getting it absorbed through the skin is slower than the substance going through the nasal cavities, but it’ll still hit your brain eventually.” Stephanie took a smear of the cream and started rubbing it into Melody’s legs, treating the job with the callousness of a professional, but Hayden was getting a lot of pleasure out of the turned table, relentlessly cooing at her. “Miley, baby, you’re all skin and bones! As soon as Nanny Hayden gets you home we’re going to work on fattening you up. Lots of cream and cake is in your future, baby girl, look forward to it!” Hayden said, rubbing the cream on to Melody’s belly, sagging skin righting itself at her touch, the muscles and organs below rejuvenating to back when they were fully functioning. Melody whimpered as her bowels started working at full capacity, evacuating everything on to the changing mat. Beginning to cry, Melody sat in her own poop, while Hayden softly rubbed her cheek, the ointment on the glove erasing the years off of her below the layer of make up. “Get used to it baby, I see a lot of stinky diapers ahead of you!” Melody got the strangest massage of her life, as Stephanie and Hayden literally worked the years off of her body. Saggy tits turned into perky breasts, bags under the arms became smooth and soft, years of stress vanished on her face. By the time the pair was done, everything but Melody’s hair, which remained an ashy gray, looked like it belonged to a fresh college graduate. “Not too shabby.” Stephanie said. “You get on one side, I’ll get the other, make the change a little easier, don’t want her getting a dirty diaper just from the mess she made on the mat.” Melody could do little to stop the girls from pulling her up, and even less to stop them from pulling her lower half up and sliding her new diaper below her. Her body worked just fine, but there was a missing link between telling her limbs what to do and her appendages. She could do little more than whimper and move her head, and every time she looked around, she was met with the eyes of strangers who were laughing at her expense. She was taken off the table and forced back into her dress, completely exhausted from the ordeal, dropping into the chair she was just in. Her head felt heavy, Melody had to put every ounce of effort into the unfamiliar body to move her hand. “Don’t you guys have some cute clothes? I would love to get into some onesies, maybe a few dresses. What she has on her is a little too mature for her now.” Hayden said, dreaming of future photo shoots she would enjoy with her former boss. Bradford laughed. “Later, later. I’ll have Stephanie leave you with some catalogs.” “This season we have a line of bug themed outfits. I have my battleaxe of a mother in law dressed as a ladybug back home. She’s adorable!” Stephanie added. “For now,” Bradford continued, “Just focus on signing these documents and getting Miley out of here without too many people asking questions.” “That’s the easy part, I’ll just say she got drunk in her meeting, wouldn’t be the first time I had to drive her home.” “Perfect!” While the room discussed Miley Miller’s future, Melody managed to get her hand into her pocket, pulling out the compact mirror, giving the cute girl in it a smile, with the last little bit of her strength, Melody tapped on the glass. As soon as Melody stood back in the red hall, she gripped her head and let out an echoing, “Arrrrgh!” It was worse than a handover, her head was throbbing as she felt the phantom pains of whatever crazy chemical concoction had put Miley in that state of mind, and adding to that ache, was the terrible vestiges of Mrs. Miller’s bombastic personality reeling through Melody. It felt like a bigger person had jumped into her head and stretched her out. Melody thought about what she felt in that last world. It felt like that old bag was more in control of her than she was. It was terrible, treating the people around her like, made her want to curl into a ball and hide. At least she wasn’t as bad as her. Epiphany! Melody stared at the ceiling for a moment, as if to see the light bulb that idea made. She wasn’t as bad as Mrs. Miller, or Grace for that matter, but she honestly didn’t know if that woman was even human. She wasn’t the worst person ever. She supposed she had always known that, but really being in that awful hag’s skin really showed her that. It was funny how meeting such an awful person really put herself into perspective. Melody was actually happy as she walked away, head still pounding, towards her next jump. A decrepit town in the middle of the desert, the sun setting, two gun women standing, hand to their sides ready to snatch their revolvers. Melody may not have the quickest hands in her real body, but as Catastrophe Mane, she was more than fast enough to beat this upstart sheriff that had funny rules about who’s cattle belonged to who. The sun set. The church bell rung. Bam! Bam! Bam! Catastrophe Mane dropped to the dirt. “You no good cattle wrangler ain’t got no room in the two for the two of us.” Sheriff spit her tobacco chew on to the ground holstering her revolver. In burning agony, Melody dragged herself off the main road, towards her horse (She named him Biscuit cause he was the golden brown of a perfect roll), heaving herself on a barrel, looking into the still water she saw her reflection on, reached out with a blood covered hand and sent herself back to the red hall. “Oooowwww!” She groaned, grabbing towards her belly where the bullets hit her. “Uggh, that was fun, but no more getting shot for awhile.” She promised herself,”And at least I didn’t end up a baby again, so I got that going for me.” Over time it had become easier to talk to herself in the endless hall, there was just something peaceful about being able to speak your mind in a place where there’s literally no one around to hear and judge you. Melody had gone through a couple of different mirrors after her time as Mrs. Miller, never spending more than a day there, a few of the worlds she left with traits left behind by her personas. She was pretty sure after spending a day as the punk tattoo artist from Taiwan she could draw the most intricate butterflies ever, and would probably visit a tattoo parlor as soon as she was back in her world for some fresh ink and a piercing, she wondered what she would put on her virgin skin. In the Outback, she had learned that blonde boys that loved animals were peak attractiveness in men, though that may have been more of Melody’s preference than Mayday’s from down under. In a reality where she got to spend the day as a bank robber, Melody had learned to love a life of thrills and waving off the pesky consequences of the law (She wondered what her Mommy from the first world would think of that; ehh, she’d probably get pretty excited at the prospect of a challenge getting her bank robber baby off scott free). And after several hours of being Catastrophe Mane: she knew how to ride a horse, shoot an old gun, and chew tobacco. Though, only that first one was really that appealing to Melody. God, she hoped she wouldn’t become a smoker when she went back to real life. “Maybe- I could use somewhere a little more relaxing?” Melody thought to herself as she looked into the image of a peaceful sea. She couldn’t see herself, or who she would be, but she could hear the sounds of people playing and having a good time, the squawk of gulls in the air, scavenging for an easy meal, the smell of barbecue on a warm grill, and most of all, she noticed water lapping at the sand, inviting those on two legs to come for a dip. She reached out, and grabbed the waves. Sun baked sand rested comfortably beneath her toes. She could already feel the warm breeze on her skin, each world made the adjusting to who she was easier. Melody felt the waves brush against her legs as she looked out towards the huge tides. Melody took a step into the water, through her reflection, before two hands grabbed her and pulled her away. “Missy, what were you doing out there?!” Melody looked up, finding herself in the arms of her older sister Amy- wait, shit, Melody thought as she ran through her new memories, she was a baby again, this time she didn’t get the luxury of starting out in Pull-Ups. Amy trotted through the sand towards a woman in a very revealing bikini, her face shaded by sunglasses, an oversized hat, and a parasol as she lounged on the beach. “I thought you were going to watch the baby!” Amy accused. “Huh? Wha-?” The woman looked up. “I was.” Amy glared at Uriel, their new stepmom, the younger woman Daddy had picked out after a messy divorce and a harrowing midlife crisis. Melody could recall the countless conversations from her perch in a highchair Amy and Mommy (but not her real Mommy, Melody had to remind herself) where the two cattily chatted about the younger woman. They called her stuck up, a gold digger, scatterbrained, and, Amy’s favorite way to describe the woman, a bitch. It was funny, Melody seemed to hear rarely use that word in many other contexts, when she did Mommy would always correct her, but not when it came to Deirdre. “Then why did I find Missy about to try to swim?” Amy said. At 15 years old, her tone had started going from bratty adolescent to righteous anger that Melody couldn’t remember many others teenagers use so well. Especially when it came to her baby sister. “Goood, she was just playing with her sandcastle. You’re so melodramatic. Really, sweetheart, there are more important things than watching Maggie all the time-” In a voice layered with indignity and disbelief, “It’s Missy!” Amy corrected her. “Whatever!” The sunglasses kept Amy from seeing the eye roll but she could feel it. “What happened to those cute boy you were playing with?” Deirdre lowered her shades to give a lecherous look at the group of teenagers in the distance, playing volleyball with no shirts on, One of them waved at Amy when he caught her looking at them. Amy face grew red and looked away quickly. “They look like a much better way to spend your morning than watching that brat. But hey, if you’re too much of a little girl to play with the boys, I’ll go over there show them the company of a real woman. Don’t worry, I’ll go tell them you said they had ‘cooties’ or something.” Grunting a low, “Unbelievable!” Amy stomped over to her next irritation. Melody could smell the sizzling meat on the grill as she drew nearer, Turning around, Melody could see Daddy, a tall man with salt and pepper colored hair, talking to a blue tooth headset as he flipped burgers in a pair of swim trunks that would almost certainly not get used today. Melody reached out towards the man, wanting him to hold her. “Dad!” “Tell Alan the bunkers account needs to be finished by Monday. No, I don’t care that he’s at his Dad’s funeral, business comes before personal-” “Dad!” Looking over to Amy, he whispered, “Daddy’s on the phone- Like I told him on Friday, what’s more important, losing his Dad or losing his house-Hahaha! That’s a good one.” “Dad! Deirdre let Missy get too close to to the water.” Pausing just a moment to look over, Dad gave her a look that barely registered. “That’s nice, dear.” “Dad!” Melody reached out of Amy’s arms to grab the hot dog that was closest to her. Melody was pulled back and adjusted to Amy’s other arm. “No, Missy, hot, hot. Dad!” “Hold on a second- Yes Amy, what?! What’s so important it can’t wait 5 minutes?” “Deirdre wasn’t watching Missy and she almost went into the water.” “So? She can swim.” Amy rubbed her eyes, “No, Dad, she can’t, Missy can barely walk.” “No you’re wrong, I took her to the pool awhile ago and I taught her how.” “What? Whe- wait that was me! That was like, 13 years ago!” Dad shook his head and pulled at a chain that went into his pocket, pulling out a thick wallet and handing Amy a few crumpled up bills, his go to move for getting her out of his hair. “Go buy the two of some ice cream and leave Daddy alone, he’s very busy.” He went back to flipping meat, “No, no it was just my kid. Huh? I don’t know, I think she’s 11. You know how they are at the age, always gotta have Daddy’s attention. Anyway, so I told Alan-” Sighing, Amy looked down at the crisp bills in her hand and the baby in her arm. Trying to put on a brave face, she smiled at Missy. “You want some ice cream?” Melody nodded solemnly. The two walked past some families on the beach, Amy looked on jealously towards the families with more attentive parents, heading towards a long flight of wooden steps. Putting her sandy feet on a wooden plank, Amy gave Melody a smile. “Probably for the best we get some lunch, I think Daddy was burning that food. Yes he was, yes he was!” Melody recognized this tone, it was something Mommy would often use on her- Missy. “And-” Amy added, a little sadly, “Those guys probably didn’t really like me. No one ever does.” Melody reached out to grab her big sister’s face. “Aaaah aaaah!” She was a bit irritated at the lack of vocabulary, but hoped the message was clear, she could feel her pain. “Yeah, ok, besides you. But you don’t count-” Melody agreed, she rarely did, “At least you listen to Sissy, right?” “Mama!” Melody tried to add something, anything, to the conversation. A smile slowly showed on Amy’s face. “Riiight… Mama would care, she would care a lot that no one was watching you in front of the water… You’re so smart!” She planted a little kiss on Melody’s head, grinning and chortling at having, warming up at the praise. They got in line in front of a weathered looking stand. Melody’s mouth watered at the sight of big kids walking by licking their ice cream. Sitting up in Amy’s arm, she looked towards the line that had several people in front of the pair of sisters. This was suddenly a very important trip to Melody. With grabby hands, Melody was pulling towards the front, straining in Amy’s grasp, trying to will the people in front of her to move. “Don’t be so squirmy, Missy.” She said, holding on to the baby slippery with sunscreen. “I don’t- Oh.” Melody’s leg lifted up towards her chest, and a mooshy deposit fell into the back of her swim diaper. The feeling of relief her gut felt was quickly replaced by the discomfort the little amount of room the swim diaper actually gave her for the mess that sat below her seat. “Err, that’s the last thing I needed-” Amy said to a wiggling Melody, who was about ready to voice her displeasure of the situation. “No, no, please,” Amy begged the scrunched face little girl in her arm. “Look, Missy, ice cream!” Melody turned her head, her eyes getting moist. They were indeed just about to the front of the line. The jostling Amy gave Melody to try and keep her spirits up did little put a smile on her face, but the ice cream cone that was thrust into her quickly sticky hands made up for the moosh her bum was just smashed into. They started making their way back to where Dad and Deidre were, though Amy would rather be anywhere else. On the way, the scoop of ice cream that laid on top of Melody’s cone came toppling off, right on to Amy’s foot. Amy made a sort of defeated noise out of her mouth and traded cones with Melody before the child could make so much as another sound. Melody was dropped on to a beach towel and allowed to enjoy her treat while her sister got out some changing supply out of a diaper bag, beginning the task of cleaning up with a wet wipe on her own foot. Amy, while Melody was learning how to ignore the mess in her pants, had retrieved her phone out a bag and was tapping away on it. Melody had given up on her cone, leaving it half way done when the waffle got to be too hard for her little teeth and too much of a bother. Melody had put two stubby hands on Amy’s legs, looking up at her with interest when the phone started ringing. “Hey-” A loud voice Melody sort of recognized came screaming out of the transmitter on the phone. Amy continued. “Can you please pick us up?” The voice grew softer. “I tried to, they weren’t listening. I dunno-” Melody watched as the older grew started getting more upset. “I’m sorry.” Amy looked small and vulnerable. “Over by the east pier. I have to go, Missy needs a change- Yeah, love you too.” Amy looked like she was on the verge of tears as she sat the phone on her lap and looked down at Melody, giving her a brave face. “Come on Missy, let’s get you clean.” Melody was lifted for just a second and brought over to the center of the towel. Melody was getting too used to people airing out her goods without her consent, she miserably thought as the sun hit her where the sun don’t shine places when her swim diaper was ripped away. She couldn’t get herself to do something like try to cover herself up, she was learning that it was almost more embarrassing to try and hide herself when no one else seemed to care. A bruise to her ego when she found out that the only person who really considered what she had something to look at herself. So Melody just laid back, licking the sweet off her fingers while her kind big sister chatted to her. “Mama will be here, soon.” Melody looked up at Amy with interest. That would be fun, Mommy would take her into the water and splash around, and then Amy could go play with the big kids and have a good time- hold on, Melody thought to herself, that didn’t sound right. Melody had never been married, and her own folks were still together, but she knew divorced couples almost never wanted to spend time around their ex spouses. And definitely did not want to spend time around the younger person who had replaced them in their ex spouse’s life. “Ho’?” Melody tried to sit up, only to get pushed back down by a gentle, but much stronger hand as she was eased into what was certainly not a diaper meant for swimming. Melody gulped as Amy taped her up. “That’s right! We’re going home!” Amy said, sure that would get some happy squeal out of the little girl. It didn’t though. Melody made a panicked look on her borrowed face, which was quickly wiped away by the wet wipe Amy used to clean the vanilla off her face and started moving down to her hands, arms, legs, chest- Dang, was there anywhere her silly baby body didn’t get ice cream? She pushed her head up and looked towards the water edge, her way back, and realized her time to return would be dwindling with each second. Every second they spent here meant another second a furious Mommy would be on the road, rushing to save her children from their negligent caretakers. The few yards between Melody’s spot on the towel and the spot where she had entered into the world might as well have been the length of a football field for the good it did to her with the world’s best sister a few feet from her. Melody got a shirt pulled over her head, and watched as Amy started pulling out a shirt to cover her own top. She took this as her chance to get away, giving Daddy and Deirdre a glance, one was yelling at someone in front of the grill as food turned charred and returned to carbon, while the other was busy ogling men who weren’t twice her age and half her net worth. Melody took off at a waddling pace, cursing the clumsy body she had jumped into, the sand giving her no purchase for good footing. Screw it! Melody got down to all fours and crawled the rest of the way there. Shimmying her jean shorts on and putting on a pair of flip flops, Amy looked towards the towel, “Alright Missy, let’s get you- shit!” She swore as she saw her infant sister crawling towards the water. “Bad baby!” She muttered under her breath. Melody looked over her shoulder and saw Amy closing the distance between the two in a speed walk. Inches crept by, Melody tried to quicken her pace by there was only so much she could do to get speed on the gravely ground. “Shit!” She heard Amy swear as she tripped on something. Melody hated how glad she felt watching the teenager trip on a plastic bucket, concern falling on her face as she stumbled on to her feet to resume the chase. The sand below Melody turned damp. She could feel the most shallow waves kiss her finger tips. She was riiight there. And… Melody saw her reflection in the water, reaching out to touch it- “Gotcha!” Melody felt Amy’s hand go around her ankle just as she touched the surface of the water. “Ahhh! That was a close one.” Melody sighed as she felt herself back in her own body, though she was suddenly aware that her underwear was much thicker and more crinkly than her Pull-Ups usually were. A new development, Melody feared, letting a hand explore the front of her skirt and confirming her fear that her underwear had been promoted to the next step in her stage of incontinence. Shrugging, at least she wouldn’t even have to worry about finding a bathroom, and it seemed like there were plenty of places where people wanted to change her in one way or the other anyway. An ear piercing scream shook Melody to her core. Another shrill, “Aaaaaaiiiie!” Rocked Melody before she turned around to see a short teenager looking everywhere with fear in her eyes, her modest chest heaving under her tiny black t-shirt. “Where am I? Who are you? What’s going on? Where’s Missy?” Melody watched as questions fell out of Amy’s mouth in a torrent, no pause in between for any answers. Her questions devolved into sobs as her hid her face between her knees, dearly hoping that by the time she pulled away she would be back in a place that made more sense. Melody, feeling terrible for accidentally bringing the girl along, lowered herself to Amy’s level, lightly putting a hand on one of the exposed knees. “Hey, it’s going to be-” Before Melody could say anything calming, or attempt to, a hand came flying down to karate chop her square on the dome. “Owww!” She cried out. While Amy was far from a black belt, that still hurt. Amy jumped to her feet, standing a little shorter than Melody, rubbing her head. “HEEEELP!” Amy screamed out, her cries only answered by her own echo in the great red hall. “HEEEELP!” “Hey, stop screaming for a second, no one can hear you-” Evidently, this was the wrong thing to say, as Amy’s cries for help were replaced by screams of, “KIDNAPPER! I’VE BEEN KIDNAPPED!” Steeling herself, Melody stood back and let the girl tire herself out. When no one was coming, Amy did the only thing she could think of: she ran. “W-Wait! Hold on!”Melody called out after her and chased her. Let no one in fast paced action or suspense films fool you, running in flip flops or heels was no easy feet. And even more so when above the heels was an extra absorbent undergarment that didn’t let its wearer get a comfortable stride in. Though, admittedly, the flip flops did have one notable advantage to the heel. Amy kicked off her footwear and sprinted on ahead. “Hey! Wait!” Karma had a way of coming back to you, Melody found as she tripped on her own feet and came crashing down as Amy got some distance between them. Cursing, Melody fought her own shoes off and scampered on to her feet, trying to grab Amy before she wandered into something dangerous. Feeling like she was away from the strange woman, Amy was in the middle of the hall, looking for some way out. Melody slowed herself to a tip toe pace, holding her hands out trying to look as nonthreatening as she could. “Amy, I know you’re confused, but I need you to calm down.” Melody said with as much authority her short time in the education field could give her. Standing petrified, Amy looked like a startled bunny,“HOW DO YOU KNOW MY NAME?” She demanded, slowly backing towards the wall, and towards a mirror, Melody noticed with concerned. “Amy, I need you to listen-” She said calmly, slowly approaching the girl, “Just stop and I can expla- Damn it!” Melody didn’t know what Amy was thinking as she ran towards the mirror. Maybe she thought it was a hidden doorway, maybe she thought she could break it and use it as a weapon. But Melody doubted she had any clue that it was a doorway to another reality. Melody managed to grab Amy’s wrist before they shot into the new world. The pair were in a cramped bathroom, the wall made out sturdy wooden planks, the bathroom attire was in a word-minimal. Melody could smell the acrid sour smell of weed covering up everything, and heard the sounds of teenagers chatting in the other room, and heavy raindrops falling on to the roof, through the loose spaces between the wall, a chilling wind ran through as it whistled through the air. Amy, in the guise of a girl who for some reason was wearing a cheer leading skirt and a varsity jacket, sat on the side of the old tub, looking around, “W-where am I?” She asked the girl in front of her, wearing a sweater, glasses, and pants that did little to hide her humiliating underwear. “Who are- Wait, you’re Maisey? Why do I know that? And… I’m… Amber? Ugggh, my head!” “Ok, ok, cool, listen, Amy-” “Amber.” She corrected automatically. “No, you’re Amy.” Melody said slowly. Nodding, “R-right. I’m Amy… Did you see a weird old lady around here?” “Amy I need you to l- old lady? I’m in my 20’s!” “No Maisie, you’re 17, just like me. Am I 17?” A look of excitement fell on Amy’s face. “That’s so cool! Can I drive- Dad got me a car last year, yes!” The confusion was back, “Only, no Dad wasn’t even around for my last birthday. I- uh- what?” “Shhhh, shhh, no more think no more remembering.” Melody grabbed Amy by the shoulder and lowered herself. “Just listen. Amy, you came in here through that mirror over there.” She pointed at the bathroom fixture. “When it did, you stopped being Amy and became Amber, I stopped being Melody and became Maisey.” “Who’s Melody?” “Me, I’m Melody. I was in the red hall with you, oh, and I was Missy for a bit. By the way, your Dad and Deirdre suck.” “I know.” Melody nodded, “I really, really hope your Mom gets full custody of you and Missy.” “Yeah,” Amy let out a sigh. “Me too.” “Ok, you following me so far?” Amy shook her head. “No? None of this makes sense- If you were Missy, did you shit in line on purpose?” “What? No! It kind of just happened- That’s not important right now. We have to get you back home.” There was a knock on the door. Hank, a football star with perfect hair and a better smile opened the door, “Hey babe, I brought you a beer.” Amy lit up at this. “Thaaanks babe!” She accepted the drink, before commenting, “I never had a beer before!” Hank laughed at that. “Suuure, babe, we didn’t have drinks last weekend or anything haha!” The boy looked over at Melody, regarding her like someone who just found something unpleasant on the bottom of their shoe. “You want one too, Maisey?”He asked in a way that said he would rather her be anywhere else. “I’m good, thanks Hank.” “Cool, babe, you gotta check out this thing Bret and Louise found in the bedroom.” He offered her a hand. Amy looked a little excited, though strategically drew herself back. “Oh yeah?” She asked, fluttering her eyes a bit. “In the bedroom?” “Yeah!” Then he added in an almost bored voice. “It’s like this weird old book. Kinda looks like a face. But it’s right next to the bed.” The jock and cheerleader walked away, Hank whispering something into Amy’s voice that Melody couldn’t catch, but it made Amy giggle like a schoolgirl, which made sense, Melody thought, after all in all meaning of the word she was one. Melody followed the two out, looking around she saw a pretty couple making out by the window, around a worn and beaten looking sofa a lanky guy with red eyes passed a dirty bong over to a pale girl wearing all black while a nerdy looking guy sat at the end looking very uncomfortable. On a coffee table, empty cans of beer strewn everywhere among little baggies filled with green herb. Melody took a look outside, seeing a vague, dark treeline behind the downpour of rain while the crackling boom of thunder roared overhead. “Teenagers who have by no right should be associating with each other? Sex and drugs all over? A dark and stormy night in a cabin in the woods?” Melody sounded unimpressed. “Do these kids not understand horror tropes?” The loser timidly stepped up to Melody, “H-hey Maisey,” He sneakily tried to snake a greasy arm around her shoulder. She side stepped away while frowning at him. “Y-you wanna go somewhere and t-talk?” “I’m too old for you.” Melody said frankly. “B-but you’re a year younger than me.” She rolled her eyes. “Then you’re too old for me! What’s it matter? Don’t you know the virgins are the only ones who live in stuff like this?” The goth girl looked up and helpfully added, “I’m a virgin.” “Hell yeah girl!” Melody raised a hand up to her, the goth slowly gave her a high five. “Good job you’re not going to die!” “Huh?” The lights went out suddenly, and Melody was sure in a flash of lightning she would see a figure standing outside the window with a hook hand. When the power returned, Melody grabbed the loser by the shirt. “H-hey! I like a girl who’s forward!” “No time! Where’s Hank and Amber?” “O-over there.” He pointed towards a closed door at the far side of the room. Melody hurried off, trying to ignore the crinkling that was coming from below her. The loser kicked an empty beer can. “Why do all the hot girls go after douchebags?” The goth girl sighed, “Why do all the cut guys go after the bitchy bimbos?” In front of the bedroom door, Melody gave an exasperated look at the lampshade hanging from the doorknob. “This fucking place.” She muttered as she threw it off and tried to open the lock door. After finding no luck with that she started pounding the door. “Hank! Amber! Open up!” Hank opened up the door with his shirt off, pissed. “Do you know what a lampshade on a doorknob means?!” He demanded. “Contrived writing?” Hank just gave Melody a look of confusion. “Nevermind, Amber! Get out here!” Amy came forward, with a giddy smile on her face, and bedsheet covered her top. “Whaaat?” Amy asked in a teasing voice, running a hand over Hank’s pecs. “We have to go. Now.” Amy leaned in close. “But me and Hank are going to do it for the first time! It’s such a big night! He got the game winning touch down and now he’s gonna touch my down!” She whispered excitedly. All at once, several things happened, the power shuttered off, leaving the cabin in the dark, a loud crash as a window broke letting the cold wind and rain in, there was a loud scream, and finally, “BREEEET NOOOO!” Hank bellowed out, “My uncles gun is in the closet. Don’t worry Amber I’ll protect you!” “Take me with you!” Amy called out as Melody grabbed her by the arm and pulled her through the cabin. Loud banging was everywhere. A flicker of lightning illuminated a bloody scene of Bret and the loser’s mangled bodies and the visage of a man in tattered overalls wielding a hatching and holding the head of Louise with his hook hand. It’s safe to say Maisie wouldn’t be getting her body back with dry panties as Amy and Melody screamed in terror. Melody pulled Amy into the bathroom, shutting the door in the darkness. “Come on!” Melody held Amy in a deathgrip as she poked at the mirror. “What the fuck? This is supposed to work!” “What’s supposed to work?” Amy asked in a shaky voice. “The mirror portal thingy, we should be back by now… Maybe we need to see the reflections. “Well then pull out your phone!” “I- we don’t have phones, it’s like the 80s or 90s or something!” “What?! Why we wouldn’t we have phones?!” Melody groaned. “No more commentary!” Loud banging on the door, then the distinct sound of a hatchet hacking its way through the solid door, the sounds of three teenagers screaming. Three? “Is someone else in here?” “It’s like me, man!” The stoner answer. “Thank God, you have your lighter?” Melody could hear the sounds of a grown man rocking back and forth in the tub. “Bad trip! Bad Trip!” He mumbled out. Reaching out towards the direction of the tub in the pitch black, Melody grabbed the boy. “Give me your lighter!” “Like fine, whatever, man! Zoinks!” Melody blindly snatched something in the dark, flipping open a zippo and lighting it, illuminating the bathroom dimly. She snatched a topless Amy and touched the mirror and… Found themselves standing in the red room again, dressed mostly normally, though Amy now wore a varsity jacket over her black shirt. “Well, that was stupid.” “This is all stupid.” Amy mumbled. “Just be glad no ones seen you in a diaper yet.” Amy looked towards the woman. “Wait, what do you mean ‘yet’?” “Well, I mean, out of like 12 places I’ve been in, 4 of them made me a baby.” Melody scratched the back of her neck, not bothering adding that in all of them she was in either training pants or worse. “Oh.” Amy sat down, looking lost and worried. “Sorry.” Melody waved her hand. “Yeah, don’t worry about it, I would’ve ran away too if I was here with some ‘old lady’ without any explanation.” “I screwed up, though. I didn’t listen to anything you said, and we almost ended up chopped up by a cliche.” Amy hid her face behind her hands. Melody could hear the girl whimpering. “I’m such an idiot! No wonder no one listens to me. I’m the worst person ever.” Sitting down besides Amy, Melody wrapped an arm around the girl. “You’re not an idiot, some times, when you’re someone else, you hold the reigns, and other times the other person is, and it gets hard to tell when both of you want the same thing. I bet Amber really wanted to touch down in there, right?” Amy nodded. “And I bet you thought Hank was pretty cute.” “Dude!” Amy threw out her arms. “He was stupid hot!” “Not really my type, but you do you kid.” Settling down, Amy rested her chin on a fist. “I was still pretty bad. Complete moron.” “I don’t think so. Honestly, I wish I had a few students back in my world like you, kind and caring, willing to listen, even if I had to fight a little to make it happen.” Melody thought to herself, maybe they might be willing to listen a bit more if she was assertive like her life depended on it. “Students?” Melody shrugged, “Back where I’m from I teach kids maybe a year or two younger than you.” “Oh… What subject?” “Reading, writing, stuff like that.” Amy made a face. “Not your thing? What’s your favorite class?” Amy thought for a second. “History.” “What? You just thought there were smart phones in the 80s!” “Phone were invented in the 17th century by American inventor Alexander Bell. They should be in the 20th century too.” “Not smart phones! Those only got big in like the twenty tens, I think.” Melody laughed. “Sorry.” The girl repeated. “I’m stupid.” Melody conceded, “I’m pretty stupid about things too. But, I can be smart about somethings too. Like when someones a really cool person.” “Oh?” “Yeah, you’re the best big sister Missy could ever hope for, so you’re pretty good in my book.” Melody got on her feet and held a hand out for Amy. “Come on, let me show you something cool before I take you back home.” “Did your butt just crinkle?” Amy asked, eyeing Melody’s skirt. “This isn’t going to make me a baby, is it?” Melody blushed and led the way. “Promise, nothing bad is going to happen to you.” The two held hands as they made their way through the hall. Occasionally Amy would peer into a mirror and look at the fleeting images and senses that would come out of it before getting led back. On the way, Melody and Amy collected their shoes, their walk now with the soundtrack of plop plop from the flip flops and tap tap of the heels. Melody stopped dead in her tracks and hid Amy behind her back when Grace came out of one of the mirrors and shot the two of them with finger guns as she headed towards the mirror across from her. “Byyye little Melly! Change ya later, Amy Alberto!” As she disappeared into the next world. “Who was that?” Amy whispered to Melody. “Why did she know my name?” “Trouble. If you ever see her in your world, run. Got it?” Amy silently agreed, the creepy feeling she got when she met the strange woman’s eyes would stay with her. “Here we are!” Melody said in front of a nondescript mirror that looked identical to the rest of them. “How do you know?” Melody pursed her lips in thought. “I-” She let the letter trail off. ‘Not sure, I just know that this is it. Women’s intuition? 6th sense? Could be anything, but I just get the feeling, kinda know where every place I’ve been to is. Your world is in that direction, mine is over there.” She pointed two ways. “But what I want to show you is here.” Taking Amy’s hand, Melody reached out to the mirror and found herself once again in a sleek space station over looking an alien world. Amy took a step towards the giant window in the room, marveling at the sight of the infinite cosmos and majesty of the blue and green orb below. “Is that Earth?” Melody was fiddling with a robot using her borrowed memories. “Huh? No, continents aren’t right- though I guess it could be so far into the future that they changed but- Just use your host’s thoughts. Who are you again?” Amy thought about it, laughing after a second. She made her arms go angular and in her version of a robot voice, said, “This unit is designated A-13-25.” “Beep-Boop!” Melody laughed back. “This unit is M-310- D.” “What are you doing? Don’t you wanna watch… Everything?” Amy asked as she followed a shooting star on the horizon of the planet. A table ascended from the floor. “Just returning the favor, you got me ice cream with someone else’s money, I’m using this body’s credits to order us lunch.” Amy looked at the table with no chairs, walking towards it a pillar rose up in front of her. She took her seat as Melody sat across from her, a hole opened in the center of the table and a platter of something that looked like sandwiches came out, the meat looked like beef, and there was some green and red stuff that resembled lettuce, tomatoes, and onion, along with two pouches with thick white straws protruding from the top. “They look like burgers,” Melody took one and tried a bite. “They taste like burgers, but they aren’t burgers. Amy, what does A-13-25 say they are?” She quizzed. Amy examined them. “The patty is nano infused ‘plant’ matter, the vegetables are made out of all out of the same thing, only flavored with these chemicals that make them taste like l, t, o, and the bread is bread. It’s all just wheat that’s messed to look like- all this. Pretty cool how I just know that stuff.” Amy took a bite out of her sandwich. “So, can I like take anything out of here and bring it back with me?” Melody shook her head. “No, but if you stay somewhere long enough, it kinda, hard to describe, affects your personal image, you start to dress or look the way you think you should. Like the -ahem- acne, around my face, oh! And my hair is a bit longer after spending time as a girl with really long hair. And you think you should wear a varsity jacket.” “Or you wear diapers.” “Well, yeah, but I try not to think about it.” Graciously, Amy changed the subject. “Ok, so I can’t grab one of the these little robots and bring it back to my place, become like a gazillionaire, but could I learn how to make one and bring it back.” Nodding between bites of food, Melody said, “I think skills are transferable, but mostly if your body already knows how to do it. I never rode a horse before, and I was a terrible artist, but now I know how to ride and can do a mean butterfly tattoo.” She tried one of the pouches, finding it pleasantly like a very sweet wine slushie, even giving her a mild buzz. “I think the issue, mmm,” She tried the pouch again, Amy tried her own after seeing Melody’s reaction, and stuck out her tongue in disgust, pushing the pouch aside. “I think the problem with learning something while you’re here is two parts, the more time you spend as someone, the more you are them, and the longer you’re in the world, the way to the red hall closes. I think the most time I spent anywhere was 19 hours as a bank robber on the run from some cops.” “You robbed a bank? Cool. How’d you do it?” “About 3 ounces of c4 strategically around a vault door. The door itself was rock solid but the metal around the door was contracted out to a very cheap third world country and shattered like twigs with the right kind of pressure. Miranda had done her research on that bank very well, unfortunately, she got caught.” “How’d she get caught?” “Ummm, well- I don’t know if she got caught, but I came through the bathroom mirror of the bank so Miranda probably didn’t have a great time after I left her.” “Hmmm…” Amy thought of her own experience in the cabin in the woods. “Did you ever sleep with anyone as someone else?” “Miranda and this cattle wrangler, there was this post crime spree high that you have to exercise. Or maybe I do when it comes to bad boys who are down bad.” Amy looked out the window again. There was a meteor shower falling down on the planet now, little flecks of red burning up in the atmosphere going from the size of Amy’s finger nail turning into specks of dust until they were nothing to her. “The bank robber got together with a cattle wrangler? What year was it?” Melody, having finished her own pouch had grabbed Amy’s discarded one and drank greedily from it. “Nah, different people, I was Miranda the bank robber and Catastrophe Mane, they both had a guy for after the score.” “Oh. Ok. What do you think is happening back home? My home? Did I just vanish while trying to grab Missy out of the water? I guess I should’ve thought about that awhile ago, but a lot happened.” “Honestly, don’t know. It’s either, body is moving on autopilot or time stands still, but I think it’s the latter cause the images in the mirrors are always the same, you can’t jump into a reflection if there’s no body to reflect.” Melody didn’t feel the need to add that it was just a guess. “Do you wanna go back now?” Amy thought about it for a moment. “Do you think I can try a few more places?” “Traveling is ALWAYS better with a buddy. Couple things though, you’re still a kid, so no funny business, of any kind. We see anything super violent or rated X, I’m taking you out of there, no arguments. Agreed?” “Fiiine.” “Anything else?” “Yeah, actually, if either of us ends up below 5 we’re leaving, I don’t think you wanna end up walking the red hall in pampers any more than I do.” Amy paled at the thought and nodded her head. Melody smiled, getting up and offered and arm to Amy. She smiled and entwined their arms and were off to trapeze around the multiverse together. Amy ignored Melody staring daggers at her while doing her best to keep her eyes off her traveling companion and on to the phone in front of her. There was a peace in the room, everyone else was asleep. “Amy?” Melody said in a low voice. The picture of innocence Amy asked, “Yeees?” “I want to leave.” “But we’re having a great time! By the way, shouldn’t you be calling me Ms. Angeline, Mia?” Amy said as she gave the little girl in front of her a satisfied smile. Melody folded her arms and pouted adorably, Amy stifled a laugh at her, but she really was the angriest child she had ever seen. “I’m too little I wanna go!” “You’re not too little, you’re 5 and a half, way past the below 5 mark. You’re fine. We’ll go just before Mia’s Aunt picks you up, promise.” Amy went back to playing with the phone. “But the other kids keep on picking on me!”Whined Melody, tugging on the skirtalls that did little to hide the poofy underside of her diaper. Amy didn’t take her eyes the phone. “Sounds to me like you’re just cranky. Give me a sec and I’ll change you and put you down for a nap.” There was a vibrating notification coming from Amy’s palm. Amy gave the message she read a lecherous look and started tapping away again. Eyeing the preschool teacher suspiciously, Melody asked, “Who are you talking to?” Hiding the phone on her lap, Amy let out a too quick, “No one!” With her quick small hands, Melody snatched the phone out of Amy’s palm, backing away as she said, “Hey!” Causing a few of Melody’s snoozing peers to stir on their nap time mats. “Nnnnn-aaau-juhjuh-ha-ta-eee- naughty?” Melody had to sound out the word, it was pretty long and Mia was making it so she had a hard time reading. “Naughty naughty? Who are you texting?” Amy tried to snatch the phone out of Melody’s hands. Scrolling up, Melody tossed the phone on the floor. “Oh-MY GOD! Amy are you seriously sexting Angeline’s boyfriend?!” “You don’t understand, we’re in love!” “Him and Angeline are, maybe, that doesn’t give you the right to use her body to send nudes!” “Harry likes them. He’s taking me, I mean, Angeline out to dinner later to show her just how much he liked them!” To an outside observer, it may have been a funny scene, watching a pint sized girl who was too big for diapers lecture her college aged teacher, but to the two of them, the experience was mortifying. To Melody, it was like noticing her students flirt in the worst way, clumsily acting how they thought adults court lovers. To Amy, it was like having her Mom and sister walk in while she was exploring less wholesome things on the computer. “That’s it! I told you, I told you, no X-rated! We’re leaving now, and that’s final.” Darkly, Amy said in a quiet voice. “Don’t make me do it.” Getting serious, Melody folded her arms tightly around her little body. “Don’t!” She warned Amy gave Melody a very serious look. “I’m gonna.” “Don’t!!” Melody said very, very seriously. “You’re not giving me much of a choice…I’m gonna get ya!” She suddenly said smiling, using long adult arms to grab Melody. “Coochie coo!” She said as she tickled Melody. “Not fair! Stop! Please! I-” Melody pleaded. Bargaining, Amy said, “Not until you say we can stay for 2 more hours!” “Never!” Melody proclaimed through hysterical fits of giggles. “Then Mia gets a visit from the tickle monster!” “Nooo, I’m gonna…” A horrible smell came from the back of Melody’s pants and the two stopped in their tracks. Amy, while pinching her nose, admitted, “Ok, we went a little too far. Come on.” She took Melody’s hand and led her towards the bathroom, while Melody covered her mouth, trying to keep her crying from waking up the kids. Amy tapped on her reflection, but when that didn’t work, sighed, heaving Melody up so both were looking in the mirror and left. Surrounded by red everywhere, Melody wiped away the tears, able to find composure without the diarrhea in the back of her diaper. “I told you I was lactose intolerant!” When she looked back towards Amy, she was hiding a smile. “What?” She pointed down, towards Melody’s clothes, and the older woman cursed. Instead of her usual navy blazer, matching skirt, professional white blouse, and flattering heels, she found that she was now stuck in the clothes Mia’s Mom had dressed her little girl in the morning. A pink denim skirtall that did nothing to hide the diaper below it, which in turn felt bigger and fluffier than it ever was before, a yellow shirt with Bluey on it, and completing her ensemble, frilly yellow socks and light up, velcro sneakers. Melody covered her face to hide her shame. “Could this get any worse?” In the distance, Melody heard a loud, “Looking good Melly!” From Grace. Amy flinched at the voice. In the small amount of time her and Melody have been traveling together, she had seen Grace two more times, on her way to wreck havoc on some poor unsuspecting sods in another world. Each time Grace had given Amy a look, like she was undressing her with her eyes and planning something awful for the girl. Amy had listened intently to Melody’s rendition of what happened at the classroom and left the conversation with horrible visions of Grace finding her way to her school, her friends and her ending up nothing more than toddlers, maybe smaller than Missy, or the boys she had a crush on reduced to little more than nose picking kids who thought everyone of the opposite sex had cooties. About to suggest they move on, get their minds off of Grace and clothes, Amy heard a thump behind her. Turning around, Amy saw her friend back to the floor, making a silent scream from her open mouth. “You alright Melody?” A quiet voice answered her. “Notta big girl… Baby, justta stupid baby…” Amy crouched down, reaching out to console her. She stopped “Stupid, stupid, stupid!” “Melody, it’s ok, it’s not the end of the world. Just a few more baby clothes-” That only made Melody start to really wail. “Baby, baby, baby!” She repeated over and over again. “Dumb baby!” Amy, seeing words were only making matters worse, decided the best course of action was action. With some effort, Amy hoisted Melody up, got her on her lap in the most comfortable way for the two of them, and held Melody, rubbing her back and making soft cooing noises, lightly rocking the two of them. “Shhh, shhh, shhhh. Hmmm, hmmm…. It’s alright, it’s ok, you’re going to be ok, you’re going to be ok.” They stayed that way for a couple of minutes, until Amy stopped feeling tears run down her neck and Melody’s baby noises teetered out. “Better?” She asked Melody pulling away but still having her on Amy’s lap. Melody, not looking Amy in the eye, gave one quick nod. Amy shimmied herself out from underneath Melody, when she stood up noticed she wasn’t standing up by herself, took her by the hands and helped her up. She thought better of pointing out the yellow sag the girl’s diaper now sported. Chances were, Melody already knew anyways, her face pointed directly towards the ground. They walked together, for awhile, not looking into mirrors, barely making a sound besides the occasional whimper coming out of Melody. Aimlessly, they wandered the hall. Amy didn’t worry about getting lost, she knew which way home was, even knew which way each of the worlds she had been to already were. Distance didn’t seem to matter much, she sensed if she wanted to go somewhere, she’d find it sooner rather than later. “You wanna go there?” She pointed at an amusement park. No answer. They carried on. “How ‘bout that one?” Amy looked at cozy looking cottage on a field. Melody didn’t even look up. They carried on. “Here?” There was a grand castle in the mirror. Amy just heard a sigh as a response. They carried on. “Well, Melody-” Amy wasn’t sure how to continue, she hadn’t matured to the point where she could confidentially express her own feelings, let alone how to help someone her senior process her own. It was scary, unfamiliar territory to the teen, and she wasn’t sure she even should. The silence and endless walking was a torture, however, she had to try something. “Wanna… talk about it?” She said, unsure. “No…” The answer was mumbled. Amy looked over to her friend and found her sucking her thumb with the hand that wasn’t in Amy’s, and before her eyes she watched Melody’s hair pull itself up and arrange itself into pigtails. Her mental state was deteriorating before Amy’s very eyes. It gave her an idea. “I know what you need!” Amy exclaimed, trying to say it with enough energy that it would be contagious. It worked, to a certain degree, It made Melody look up at the very least. Amy continued, “What you need is a pick me up. A little adventure that reminds you you’re an adult! And a cool one! Wait…” Amy went up and down, looking through mirrors until she found just what she was looking for. “Here!” She ran back to Melody and sprinted towards the portal. In the image, she saw a car driving down the road, there was pop song blaring from it, and the breeze of open windows. “There it is! Road trip! Perfect for a couple of traveling buddies like us! Come on!” Amy didn’t wait for a response, grabbed Melody’s arm and thrust herself into the picture. The open road lay ahead of them, Amy gripped the steering wheel, felt her foot delicately pressing pedal, the urge to floor it beckoning to her as the two girls came through the rear view mirror to this reality. She looked around, it was just farm country their beat up old station wagon filled to the brim with the girls’ bags and convenience store junk food, it was just her and Melody, Ana and Misty, two friends right out of school ready to go on a sight seeing trip. With no other cars in sight or behind them between the car and the golden fields that the road bordered on, Amy let the impulse strike her. Shifting the gear up, she stomped the pedal down, speeding on the pavement to no where in particular. “Woooo!” Amy bellowed at the top of her lungs, her cry for freedom lost in the rush of air coming through the open window, bits of loose garbage in the backseat flying to the rear window. Amy’s excitement didn’t last long, coming up a hill at top speed (that a shitbox could manage) left the car and passengers in the air for precious seconds that felt like slow motion to the two girls before the 4 tires fell back to the asphalt and the suspension made a concerning groan and creek. Amy was considerably more conscientious about her driving after that. She let her eyes wander from the road to check out her new body, her favorite part of being someone else, a low cut v was on her yellow and white striped shirt, a little heart with an arrow on her bosom and tribal tattoos on her left upper arm, low cut jeans, she was quite satisfied with what she saw, and felt, there were piercings all over her, lips, nose, belly button, even on her tongue. She glanced at the road once more before checking on her companion. Melody looked a little more mousy than her friend, a dark brown flowy skirt that hid the poofy padding underneath from view but Amy could still see the impression of, a dark red shirt that showed her midriff tied into a knot at the side, and there was a glint of metal from her belly too, then Amy frowned, on Misty’s pretty angular face (that did have more zits than usual), in the center of her mouth, Melody was contentedly sucking on a pacifer. Slowing down the car, Amy pulled the pacifier out of Melody’s mouth. She made a whimpering sound when the rubber was freed from her. “Hey! No baby things! You’re supposed to get into like the mind of an adult right now. Think big thoughts!” “You don’t have to yell at me…” Melody said glumly. Amy could swear she saw the girl in the passenger seat shrink in her seat, though, she justified to herself, that could just be Melody slouching in her seat. She chose to ignore it for the moment. The silence was filled by the top 50s of the local radio station broken up by occasional ad break that got on Amy’s nerves. She kept her eyes peeled forward, the novelty of driving waning away to the girl. The afternoon sun was beginning to drop, and Amy felt the pang of an empty stomach. “Hey, can you grab some of those snacks back there?” She asked Melody. Bending her body out of the seat, she retrieved a bag of chips and two bottles of water. “Open mine for me, please.” A released cap was dropped in the dirty cup holder and Amy took a swig. The bag crinkled as it was opened, at least, Amy thought it was the bag, there was a lot of rustling coming from next to her. “N’yuck- n’yuck- n’yuck…” Amy glanced over at Melody, sucking her water out of a baby bottle. “I- Where did you even get that?! I thought that was just a regular bottle?” Melody shrugged as she looked ahead, still sucking. Shuffling in her seat, Melody’s shirt turned into a lighter red, and Amy was certain the girl didn’t look in her 20’s now. “Melody, I really think we should talk about this. You’re getting- you’re different, alright? I’m pretty sure we were like the same age when we got here, now you look like my baby sister, or something.” “Baby…” Melody whimpered, looking down defeated. Looking back towards her briefly, Amy rested a hand on Melody’s leg, she could feel the mass of Melody’s muscles get smaller. “Ok, ok, poor choice of words- You’re not a baby anything. You- You’re a teacher right? Tell me about your class. You know talk about things you thought of when you were a grown up. Did you have any boyfriends or anything?” Melody, who now looked like someone that would fit right into her class, shuffled in her seat, her padding reminding her of her real position in life. In a squeaky voice that surprised Amy, Melody murmured, “My students all hated me. I would try to get them to do essays and they would do the bare minimum, give me AI generated muck that they didn’t proof read.” “That’s not really hating you, that’s like just school stuff! I barely do any homework either, and I don’t hate my teachers. Except Mr. Edwards, my math teacher, he sucks.” “No!” Amy jumped. “No, they all hate me, everyone hates me!” Melody’s inner turmoil mixed in with her out of whack hormones, an explosive combination. “No one likes me, no one listens to me! I go on dates and after 5 minutes they’re running away with something better to do!” Melody’s voice is getting high pitched with each sentence, and Amy notes that her friend must be half the age she started at. “You know how many therapists I’ve gone to that couldn’t help me? 7! That’s one for each year I’ve been out of high school! They say stupid things like ‘like yourself’, ‘be kind to yourself’, but they don’t get it! It’s not a choice! I don’t even like me, how could I expect anyone else to like me?” The 11 year old huffed her chest, her legs now dangling slightly off the ground, her chest lay flat under her bright red shirt. Melody had broken down into tears by this point, while Amy was fighting the turmoil of her head, she had no idea what to say or do. She felt like a stupid kid out of her depths. The car came to a screeching halt. Amy put her face in her hands a let out a hoarse sob. Melody stopped feeling sorry for herself just long enough to look over at her companion shrink in her seat as well, getting closer to her own age. Amy burst through the door and ran off into the field, collapsing in a ball, sharp stems and rocks scratching her legs through her jeans. She stayed there for a bit, as the light of the day grew dim, after awhile, the orange and pink glow of the sky became black and blue, the road illuminated by the car. Soon, a truck came by, a large man with a trucker hat popping his head out the window, calling out into the field. “Hey! You got some car troubles? Need help?” Amy swallowed a choked cry, and sad, “No, I’m good, just needed- a little break, is all!” She walked back towards the road, the man peering closely at her. “Little young to be out here driving, ain’t ya?” Amy shrugged, “I get that a lot, baby face, I’m 24, you just wouldn’t know it by looking.” The man shrugged, knowing how some young some women can appear. “Aight, well, I think you’re little one needs to stretch her legs too, she’s pretty fidgety.” “Yeah… You wouldn’t happen to know where there’s a gas station around here, would you?” “There ain’t one on this road, keep going down, you’ll come to an intersection, make a right and half a mile down you’ll see a rest stop.” “Thanks!” Amy looked into the car, finding the passenger seat empty, looking back, she saw a miserable looking toddler harnessed in a booster seat that had appeared behind the driver side, her pink shirt and skirt fused to become a dress with her diaper sticking out, face wet with tears and mouth plugged with her thumb. Amy crawled into the backseat with her, a slimy hand freed from her mouth, Melody reached out to Amy, wanting some comfort. Sighing, Amy released the car seat and let Melody climb on her, A twinge of fear raced through the girl, regressing younger than her age and realizing she no longer knew quite how to drive the car. Melody whimpered on top of her and Amy let out a quiet, “Let’s get out of here.” Picking up the toddler and climbing on top of the center console and tapping the mirror. It was heartbreaking to see her body, her real one, wasn’t back to its proper age here, as she looked down at the flat chest below and thin body under the now too big varsity jacket that had remained its original size. “I sowwy…” Amy heard coming from the 3 year old, a look of shame on her adorable face, looking down at her light up sneakers in her pink overalls. “For what?” Amy asked leaning down to swoop her up. Melody laid her head on Amy’s shoulder. “Making you littler too.” Amy pondered that for a second. “No your fault I’m just a dumb kid.” “Yous notta dumb kid! You jus’ too yung to know wha’ to do with me. I a hot mess.” “We can be hot messes together.” “Amy?” “Yeah?” “You a pretty brave girl. I neva woulda done nothin’ like dis when I was 15. I tink you’re super special.” There was a little pause before Amy asked, “Yeah?” “Mhmm! I tink you’re way more grown-ups than I ever was.” Amy grew an inch, the positive reinforcement affecting her world view. “You’re too hard on yourself, what about the cabin? What about that stuff you told me about with Grace in the school? You went to a bunch of places in here and tried a bunch of new things. That was all pretty cool and grown up…” Melody held on to Amy’s neck tight in a hug. “Maybe… maybe a wot…” “You’re totally cool!” Amy reassured her. “I hope I’m just as awesome as you when I’m 25!” The mixture of assurance for both of them was already putting Amy close to her true age. “What can we do to… You know, get you better?” Shaking her head, Melody let out a tired, “I don’ wanna be big no mo’, I wan’ my Mommy…” “Huh?” “Cawwy me dat way, p’ease…” She pointed a chubby finger in a direction, and Amy hefted her up and took her down the hall. “Wouldn’t it be better to be an adult? You can do whatever you want, go anywhere…” Amy offered while holding her little friend as she walked. Sighing, Melody said, “Can’ do nuthin’ when all I do is hate me… I wan’…” Amy could feel Melody start to drift off, the steady lull of the footstep making her drift off with her little head on Amy’s shoulder. Amy jostled Melody and gave her side a poke. “Don’t pass out on me now, I still need you to tell me where we’re going!” She said in a teasing voice. “What do you want?” Yawning, Melody said, “I tink I needa fresh start. Go tru it all again. Maybe I come out a lil happier… Stop ‘ere.” Amy set her little friend down. “Are you sure about that? What if you forget everything? What if you can’t come back here?” She felt a little more than worried, “What if we never see each other again?” “You’ll be ok, you a big girl, you don’ wanna be friends with a baby wike me. Go have fun, ‘plore more if you want, or go back home.” Melody gave the teenager’s legs one last hug before turning towards her last mirror. “I twy everythin’ else, I wanna twy thi’ one last thin… Bye bye Amy.” Slowly waving her hand, Amy whispered out, “Bye bye,” Before she was left alone in the red hall. Melly stared at her reflection in the mirror behind her bedroom door. There was no trace of the woman she was inside of it, just little Melly in her nightgown lit up by the glow of the nightlight, and a sleepy Mommy walking up to her. Melly felt herself lift up into the air, and was given a sniff and a pat on the diaper. “Sorry, cupcake, I don’t think we were fast enough. You won’t be mad or sad if I put you in another diaper, will you?” Samantha asked Melly. “Nuh-uh, Mommy know best.” The 3 year old quietly told her mother. Nodding, Mommy said, “Smart girl!” She said as she laid Melly back down for a change. Melly was a smart girl, she knew the best place to be was in her bed, cuddling with Mommy, waiting for Daddy to come home. Her time with in the red hall would fade away, after a few days, Melody would go to sleep inside of her, and her adventures and previous life would become a funny dream to Melly, something to fantasize about, someone to become, and maybe, someone to love in time. For now, Melly’s biggest concern was not finding the best mirror to jump into, or the best way to like herself, but how to convince Mommy to let her have one of the leftover cookies.

Well, I came up with a story in the psych ward I stayed in for a lot of June (and I was admittedly inspired a tiny bit by @LittleFallenPrincess's Monstrum series, but in a different sort of way than hers; do check out her stories because they are absolutely fantastic): a story about humanity and Weres (Werewolves, Werehawks, Werebruins, Weretigers, and Weregators) co-existing after a long tumultuous period...for now. Of course, something has to change. As a notable WARNING: there are a lot of mature themes in this story - bigotry from antagonistic forces, first and foremost; this is a modern take on Jim Crow/HIV panic for Weres when it comes to humanity (and some Weres believe in Were-supremacy), and to be respectful to the subject matter, I will not skimp on just how a society of humans and Weres has that underlying tension and real life problems, so consider this your only warning on that. Adding on to that, politics. There is political stuff in this: one of the MCs is a pro-Were politician who wants to enact change for Were-rights. Quite simply, I have no intention of insulting parties on other sides. I don't do that with stories because I don't wish to offend, but quite simply, the politics cannot be avoided, and I promise not to inject my own political views into this story. Granted, it's difficult to be objective when it comes to stories; we all suffer from that, but I will do my utmost best to avoid any issues and avoid offending. As far as other warnings, police brutality and corruption is prevalent (given the Jim Crow style hatred for Weres), there is a notable case of domestic violence and domestic sexual assault hinted for a character, violence, and sexual themes. I promise to give warnings at those points; I have not ever skimped on a warning before, and I promise not to do it now. There's also language (up to "fuck"), but if you're reading one of my stories, that's a given. About critique, feel absolutely free to tell me what I'm doing wrong; in fact, I encourage it with all my heart! I want to publish this under my pseudo penname in books for AR/AB stuff, and in order to publish without mistakes and errors, I absolutely need to know what I've done wrong. If you can't find anything wrong, then tell me what you liked, please! These things make me a better writer. I'm not soft when it comes to critique, and I'll always listen to it. Thank you in advance! Now, on to the show: - Chapter One: The Meeting - The alarm of the clock blared in Stephany’s ears, and a soft groan exited her lips. Eyes still closed in defiance of the brand-new day, she fumbled in the dark before slamming her hand on it, only managing to turn it to a radio station. She opened her eyes and hit the clock again, this time turning off the alarm. She noted with sorrow that her nighttime…misadventures had not improved with time. Maybe a doctor could help…if a doctor would help. “It’s Saturday,” she mumbled, ripping off the tabs of the saturated diaper. “The hell could be so damn important on a Satur-” She froze, remembering just what was so damn important on a Saturday. “Aw, hell!” Stephany did a quick shower, barely managing to scrub the affronting smell off of her. Then she threw on an outfit that did nothing for style: a T-shirt without a logo and jeans with the zipper halfway done before kicking on a pair of sneakers, not even caring about the loose laces. It was haphazard, like her frizzy red hair, her green eyes rheumy from sleep. “Fuck me, I can’t be late to this,” she groaned, rubbing her eyes and stuffing her purse full of her crap before exiting into a dreary April morning in Seattle. She noticed the two Weres almost immediately. Weres. The bane of her fucking existence. Yeah, humanity and Werekind did not get along, hundreds of thousands of years of tumultuous skirmishes evolving into a tentative peace. These two were Werewolves, but there were four other types: Werehawks, Weretigers, Werebruins, and Weregators, all of them looking quite animalistic…with the exception of Werewolves who alone could try to hide amongst humankind. “Hey, babe,” one of the Weres crooned while the other let out a wolf whistle. “You got time to come with me, right? We could have a great time together, you and I!” “Go away,” Stephany growled, hugging her arms together; she deeply regretted not bringing a jacket to fend off the drizzle from the sky. “C’mon, don’t be stingy, baby,” the other one said, crowding around her, sniffing her hair. She grabbed both of his hands, and with ten simultaneous snaps, the fingers of the Were were broken, and he let out an agonized scream. “For the last time - and I’ll give you two simple words to follow: Fuck. Off!” she growled, her eyes blazing with rage. The uninjured Were grew pale. “You…you’re a-” “Yeah, I fucking am,” she snarled, baring the fangs that had gone unnoticed by the other Weres. “Last chance to fuck the hell off.” “Fine, you fucking bitch!” the injured Were whined. “I bet you suck in bed anyway!” The two left, and Stephany sighed. It sucked to be a Were. A normal person may have been confused. Being a Werehawk meant one could fly! A Weregator could submerge themselves for long periods of time! Werewolves were masters of disguise and could run forever! Werebruins had outstanding physical strength! Weretigers were stealthy and powerful! What was so bad? Everything else. Every little thing, from the inability to eat anything other than meat; the restaurants, hotels, and apartments that had blazing neon signs saying, “No Weres”; the various anti-Were laws that seemed to pop up every day that crowded Weres into the worst neighborhoods and forbade them from doing so much as owning anything other than certain properties or have anything other than certain jobs; hell, the discriminatory attacks and the inaction from the law to prevent the humans from attacking Weres. And that wasn’t even getting into Were biology. The way that Stephany was turned - a single one-night fling with a Werewolf - created a burning desire to feed, a constant hunger that could only be undone by turning someone into a Were herself - and even that was temporary at best, a screaming ache in her stomach that was making her think of doing something incredibly stupid. So, she was going to a meeting of Weres to discuss her new life. Just fucking peachy. Stephany ignored the stares as she walked through Belltown, the worst area in Seattle, ignored the mothers shielding their children, ignored the men with itchy trigger fingers. She just continued to walk to the seediest part of Belltown until she arrived at the large establishment that was her destination: The Crewe Club. It looked fairly nondescript for a bar, with only a neon sign showing the name. The windows were dark, shuttered, and obviously reinforced; a sad necessity, given the large number of firebombers that struck pro-Were establishments. She let out a sigh and opened the door. The interior shocked her. It was almost gothic in design, with beautiful stained-glass designs close to the windows, a mesmerizing chandelier, lamps with candle lights above every polished wooden table, with plush seats making the atmosphere downright cozy. The bar itself was also well-lit, showcasing every liquor bottle, the various cocktail options, and the food items for both Weres and the rare human who chose this bar to eat and drink at…not that many humans would choose to go here. Behind the bar was a Weregator with a large gray beard spilling down to the top of his chest, his toothy snout protruding and greenish scales shining. He was cleaning glasses, one after another. “Can I help ye?” he asked in a very deep Southern drawl, not even looking up from his latest glass. “Looking for…” Stephany showed the Weregator the meeting card she had been given, “...Weres Anonymous?” “Only humans and newly-turned call it that,” the Weregator said bluntly. “Ain’t nothin’ ‘bout us that’s ‘Anonymous’. But I can tell you’re newly-turned.” “How?” Stephany was confused. “The smell. The uncertainty. The fact that ye look like ye just jumped out of bed. You’re tryin’ to make a deadline. Don’t worry, kid; they ain’t gonna start without ye.” “Where can I find the meeting spot?” “Downstairs.” The Weregator jerked his head at a door she hadn’t seen. “Thank you, Mister.” “Just call me ‘Clay.’ Everyone does.” “Thanks, Clay.” Stephany let out a sigh, walked to the door and opened it. A dark, winding hallway with stairs greeted her. Her night vision, being a Were, was solid, seeing shapes of objects as clearly as if they were in daylight. She grabbed the railing of the stairs, taking it one step at a time down the meandering staircase. It seemed to take forever, and she wondered how Weres that were in wheelchairs could get down here. Then she nearly ran smack dab into another door, this one barred shut. She knocked on it. A deep feminine voice answered, “You newly-turned? Clay told us to expect you.” “Yes!” Stephany squeaked. “Well, come on in; we don’t bite.” The newly-turned Werewolf opened the door to see the largest Werebruin she had seen in her life. The Werebruin wore a simple T-shirt and jeans, and the smile on her furry snout was kind. “Welcome, welcome,” the Werebruin rumbled, the look in her rich brown eyes filled with mischief. “I’m Nora, Nora Villanueva. I hope the walk wasn’t too far. What’s your name?” “Stephany Mercer.” Stephany shook Nora’s hand, which enveloped hers like a child’s. “Welcome, Stephany!” A huge Weretiger woman entered the conversation, her voice as perky and bright as her pink T-shirt and skirt. “I’m Zora Villanueva. Nora’s my lovely wife.” Zora’s whiskers on her striped face twitched excitedly, the look in her amber eyes warm. “Now, make yourself at home, please.” Stephany looked around the room, the aromatic smell of raw meat tickling her sensitive nose. It was quite large and well-lit with scented candles. There were comfy couches to sit on, only one of which was occupied: a nervous-looking male Werehawk sat there, and he shrank away from her - visibly flinching - when she walked over to him. Her voice was filled with confusion as she asked the couple, “Did I do something wrong?” “Oh, Dane’s new, like you,” Nora explained. Stephany had a feeling that Nora wasn’t being entirely truthful, but she let it slide as she sat on a couch. “We’re going to talk about so much, but don’t worry; it’s all to help.” God, is that really it? I don’t need any help; I just want a fucking cure! “So, how were you turned, Stephany?” Zora asked gently. “I don’t think you deserve to know,” the Werewolf growled, a dangerous hint in her tone. It was embarrassing to her, it- “Fetish-site?” Zora asked. Stephany’s wide eyes obviously gave the Weretiger all the proof she needed, as she continued, “That’s how most are turned. Some assholes use those sites to lure in vulnerable people, and-” “I’M NOT FUCKING VULNERABLE!” Stephany snarled, before a wet feeling on her bottom- NO! She was peeing all over the couch, her jeans utterly soaked, and she started to sob hysterically, burying her head in her hands. Not fucking vulnerable, my ass… She felt a gentle hug from both sisters and, to her shock, Dane as well. “I think you’ll need to see a therapist as well as us,” Nora said gently. “Don’t worry, they’re quite nice, they’re knowledgeable about LittleWere physiology, and...” Stephany barely heard the words, lost in her stupid embarrassment, the outing of her fetish, wishing she was someone, anyone else. I HATE being a Were. Why?! Why me?! --- Well, that's that for the first chapter. Hope y'all enjoyed~

The neon sign outside the restaurant flickered cheerfully, its bright colors casting a warm glow over the parking lot. The words "Pads N' Paws" were written in playful, cartoonish letters, accompanied by a grinning tiger wearing a chef’s hat and holding a bottle. Inside, the restaurant was a chaotic symphony of laughter, chatter, and the occasional squeal of delight. The walls were adorned with murals of jungle animals, and the tables were shaped like tree stumps. Waitstaff in kitschy overalls adorned with animal-themed pins and buttons bustled about, carrying trays of food and drinks. It was the perfect place for families—and for the three couples who had just arrived. Emily, the oldest of the three women at 31, was a vivacious and energetic presence, her auburn hair tied into two messy pigtails that bounced with every step. She wore a bright yellow sundress covered in smiling sunflowers, the hem just barely brushing the tops of her thick, crinkly diaper. Her white sandals with Velcro straps completed the outfit, and her green eyes sparkled with excitement as she took in the colorful surroundings. Sophie, 29, was more reserved, her straight black hair cut into a neat bob that framed her round face. She wore a soft lavender onesie with a cartoon duck embroidered on the chest, the snaps at the bottom revealing the bulky diaper beneath. Her tiny feet were bare, as she loved the feeling of grass—or in this case, the restaurant’s carpet—beneath her toes. Lily, the youngest at 28, was a cherubic figure with curly blonde hair that bounced as she moved. She wore a white onesie with a rainbow print and matching ruffled diaper cover, her pacifier clipped to the front of her outfit. Her blue eyes were wide with curiosity as she clung to David’s arm, her chubby cheeks puffing out as she sucked on her pacifier. As the group stepped inside, they were greeted by a bubbly hostess wearing a zebra-striped bowtie and a name tag that read "Hi, I'm Jenny!" She beamed at the three couples, her eyes immediately drawn to the regressed women. “Well, hello there! Welcome to Pads N’ Paws!” she said, her voice warm and welcoming. “And who do we have here today? Are these your little ones?” She crouched down slightly to address Emily, Sophie, and Lily, who were clinging to their husbands’ hands. Before the men could respond, a waitress named Becky—a cheerful young woman with a name tag shaped like a monkey—bounced over to join the hostess. “Oh my goodness, aren’t you three just the cutest!” Becky cooed, her voice high-pitched and playful. She knelt down to their level, her eyes sparkling with delight. “Hi there, sweeties! What are your names? How old are you?” Emily, the most outgoing of the three, grinned and held up three fingers. “I’m Emily! I’m dis many!” she announced proudly, her words slightly lisped. Sophie, clutching James’s hand, shyly held up two fingers. “Two,” she said softly, her voice barely above a whisper. Lily, still sucking on her pacifier, simply babbled and held up one tiny hand, her fingers splayed. Becky laughed, her voice light and melodic. “Oh, you’re all such big girls! I love it!” she said, reaching out to gently pat each of them on the head. “You’re going to have so much fun here!” While Becky prattled on with the girls, the hostess gathered a stack of menus and led the group to their table. “Right this way, everyone! We’ve got the perfect spot for you—right by the play area so your little ones can have fun while you relax.” The men exchanged amused glances as they followed the hostess, their wives in tow. Emily was already bouncing with excitement, Sophie was quietly observing her surroundings, and Lily was content in David’s arms, her pacifier bobbing as she chewed on it. The restaurant buzzed around them, a lively, joyful place where the regressed women could be themselves—carefree, happy, and utterly adored. Emily, the most vocal of the three, pointed at everything with wide-eyed wonder. “Look, Daddy! A monkey!” she exclaimed, tugging on Mark’s sleeve. Sophie clapped her hands and giggled at the sight of a life-sized animatronic elephant waving its trunk near the entrance. Lily, content in David’s arms, sucked on her pacifier and stared at the colorful surroundings with quiet fascination. The restaurant was a sensory overload in the best way possible. The air was filled with the mingling scents of fried food, syrup, and the faint tang of cleaning products. Beneath it all, there was the unmistakable aroma of diapers—some fresh, some less so. The sounds of the restaurant were a cacophony of joy: the clatter of plates, the hum of conversation, and the occasional squeal or giggle from the play area. The play gym was a hive of activity, filled with adult women in various states of regression, all dressed in colorful, childlike outfits. Some wore onesies with cartoon characters, others in frilly dresses or overalls, all paired with thick, crinkly diapers that peeked out from beneath their clothing. At one table, a woman in a pink tutu and a matching diaper cover was being fed by her husband, her face smeared with spaghetti sauce. At another, a group of women in pastel-colored onesies were playing a game of peek-a-boo, their laughter ringing out like bells. In the play area, a woman in a dinosaur-themed outfit was sliding down a slide, her diaper audibly crinkling as she landed in the ball pit. The men couldn’t help but smile at the sight. It was a place where their wives could be themselves, free from the pressures and expectations of their former lives. The group was seated at a large table near the play area, a sprawling jungle gym filled with slides, ball pits, and climbing structures. The girls were given booster seats, and the waitress—a cheerful young woman named Becky with a name tag shaped like a monkey—handed them crayons and coloring pages featuring zoo animals. Emily immediately began scribbling with gusto, her crayon moving in wild, enthusiastic strokes across the page. Sophie, more meticulous, carefully selected a purple crayon and started coloring a giraffe, her tongue poking out in concentration. Lily, still too young to color, contentedly chewed on a teething toy, her pacifier clipped to her onesie and dangling within easy reach. Dinner was a messy affair, as it always was when the girls were involved. The waitress brought out their meals: chicken tenders, mac and cheese, and apple slices for Emily and Sophie, and a plate of soft bread and mashed bananas for Lily. The men settled into their roles as caregivers, helping their wives navigate the meal with varying degrees of assistance. Emily, the most independent of the three, dug into her food with her hands, her face lighting up with delight as she picked up a chicken tender and took a big bite. Ketchup smeared across her cheeks as she chewed, and a glob of mac and cheese clung to her chin. Mark watched her with an amused smile, occasionally reaching over to wipe her face with a napkin. “Slow down, sweetie,” he said gently. “You’ve got more on your face than in your mouth.” Emily giggled, her mouth full. “It’s yummy, Daddy!” she said, her words slightly muffled by the food. She held up a piece of chicken tender, offering it to Mark. “You want some?” Mark chuckled, shaking his head. “No thanks, sweetie. That’s all yours.” Sophie, meanwhile, was being fed by James with the care and patience of a seasoned caregiver. He cut her chicken tenders into small, bite-sized pieces and speared them with a fork, holding each piece up to her mouth. “Open up, sweetie,” he said, his voice soft and encouraging. Sophie obediently opened her mouth, her big brown eyes fixed on James as she chewed. Occasionally, she would giggle, causing a bit of food to spill out of her mouth. James would catch it with the fork, his movements practiced and precise. Lily, the most regressed of the three, was being fed by David. He held a spoonful of mashed bananas up to her mouth, making airplane noises as he did so. “Here comes the airplane!” he said, his voice playful. Lily cooed, her mouth opening wide as the spoon approached. She took the bite, her chubby cheeks puffing out as she chewed. David wiped her mouth with a napkin, his touch gentle. “Good girl,” he said, smiling down at her. Suddenly, Lily let out a loud burp, the sound echoing across the table. The men burst out laughing, and even Sophie giggled, her hands covering her mouth. “Someone’s full!” James said, grinning. As the meal progressed, Becky stopped by to check on the group. “How’s everything over here?” she asked, her voice bright and cheerful. She glanced at the girls, her eyes softening. “Oh my goodness, they are just the cutest!” Sophie looked up from her coloring book, her eyes lighting up when she saw the woman. “Hi!” she said, her voice lispy and sweet. She held up her coloring page, showing off the half-finished giraffe. “Pwetty!” Becky crouched down to Sophie’s level, her smile warm. “Wow, that’s such a beautiful giraffe! You’re doing such a good job,” she said, her tone encouraging. Sophie beamed, clearly delighted by the attention. She reached out and grabbed Becky’s hand, holding it tightly. “Fank you,” she said, her words soft and sincere. Becky laughed, gently patting Sophie’s hand. “You’re welcome, sweetie. You keep up the good work, okay?” She stood up, giving the men a friendly smile. “Let me know if you need anything else.” As Becky walked away, James watched her go, his eyes lingering on her retreating figure. The other men noticed and exchanged knowing glances. “You should ask her out,” Mark said, his tone teasing. James chuckled, shaking his head. “Nah, she’s cute, but… I don’t know. I think she’d look even better in a diaper. She’d make a great sister for Sophie.” The men burst out laughing, their voices carrying across the restaurant. Even Sophie giggled, though she didn’t fully understand what was so funny. As the meal wound down, Emily turned to Mark with a hopeful expression. “Daddy, can I go play?” she asked, pointing at the play gym. Her face was still smeared with ketchup and mac and cheese, and her hands were sticky from the apple slices. Mark glanced at the other men, who nodded in agreement. “Alright, sweetie,” he said, “but stay where we can see you, okay?” Emily squealed with delight, hopping down from her seat and running off to join the other toddler-minded women in the play area. Mark watched her go, a fond smile on his face. “She’s got so much energy,” he said, shaking his head. The men settled back into their seats as they kept an eye on their wives. The restaurant buzzed around them, a lively, chaotic symphony of laughter, chatter, and the occasional squeal of delight. With the girls occupied, they started into comfortable conversation, their chairs pulled close around the table. The restaurant buzzed around them. James gently stroked sophies hair, a wistful smile on his face. “You know, I never thought I’d say this, but life is so much better now. Sophie used to be such an ice queen. CFA, high-powered job, always criticizing me for every little thing. I couldn’t even load the dishwasher without her telling me I was doing it wrong.” He chuckled, shaking his head. “Remember that time she yelled at me for folding the towels ‘incorrectly’? Like, who even has an opinion on towel folding?” Mark laughed, nodding in agreement. “Oh, I remember. Emily was the same way. She used to work in marketing, and she’d bring that stress home with her every night. Always on her laptop, always checking emails. If I tried to get her to relax, she’d snap at me. ‘Mark, I don’t have time for this right now,’ she’d say. Now look at her—she’s over there playing in the ball pit, laughing like a kid. It’s like a weight’s been lifted off her shoulders.” David smiled, watching Lily play with her teething toy. “Lily was always sweet, but she was so anxious all the time. She used to worry about everything—work, money, the future. I’d come home, and she’d be pacing the living room, fretting over some spreadsheet or another. Now she’s just… carefree. It’s amazing how much better they all are like this.” James raised his glass, and the others followed suit. “To simpler times,” he said, his voice warm with gratitude. The men clinked their glasses together, their hearts full. As the men talked, Sophie let out a soft grunt, followed by a faint fart. She continued coloring, oblivious to the mess she had made. James leaned over and sniffed the air, wrinkling his nose. “Yep, that’s definitely a stinky one,” he said, earning a giggle from Sophie. “No stinky!” Sophie protested, her words lispy and half-formed. She shook her head vigorously, her black bob bouncing. “Sophie no stinky!” Mark chuckled, shaking his head. “Looks like you’ve got your work cut out for you.” James grinned, leaning back in his chair and gently stroking sophie’s back. “Worth it. You should’ve seen her at her worst. She used to come home from work and start listing all the things I’d done wrong that week. It was a never ending assault. I’d take poopy diapers any day.” Lily let out a soft coo, her pacifier falling out of her mouth and onto the table. David picked it up, wiping it off with a napkin before gently placing it back in her mouth. “There you go, sweetie,” he said, his voice tender. “And to think,” he laughed, “ she was such a germaphobe before.” Mark sighed, “honestly, I used to dread coming home most nights. Emily would be in one of her moods, and I’d just know I was in for a night of passive-aggressive comments and silent treatments. Now? I actually look forward to it. She’s so happy, so carefree. It’s like I’ve got my best friend back.” James nodded, his expression softening. “I know what you mean. Sophie is like a completely different person now. Well, not really different, but just the happiest version of herself all the time.” David smiled, watching Lily chew on her teething toy. “It’s amazing how much better they all are like this.” Sophie, still engrossed in her coloring book, suddenly let out a loud squeal, pointing at a passing waitress who was carrying a tray of desserts. “Cake! Cake!” she exclaimed, bouncing in her seat. Her words were slurred and enthusiastic, her little hands clapping together. “Pwease, Daddy! Cake!” James chuckled, shaking his head. “Not right now, sweetie. Maybe later, okay?” Sophie pouted, her lower lip trembling. “But… but I wan’ cake!” she whined, her voice rising in pitch. “Pwease!” Mark laughed, leaning over to ruffle Sophie’s hair. “Someone’s got a sweet tooth.” James grinned, nodding. “She used to be so strict about her diet. No sugar, no carbs, no fun. Now? She’s all about the cake.” David leaned back in his chair, a thoughtful expression on his face. “You know, I used to feel guilty about this whole thing. Like, was it wrong to want her to be like this? But now… I don’t know. Seeing her so happy, so carefree… it just feels right.” Mark nodded, his expression serious. “I know what you mean. I used to worry. But now? I don’t care. This is what’s best for her. For all of them.” James raised his glass again, his voice warm with gratitude. “To our girls. We love them.” The men clinked their glasses together, their hearts full. For all the challenges, the diaper changes, the messes, and the tantrums, they wouldn’t trade this life for anything. Their toast was interrupted by a loud commotion near the entrance. A woman in a sharp pantsuit was arguing with her husband, her voice rising above the din of the restaurant. “What is this place? Where have you brought me? This is disgusting! What’s wrong with all these women?” she screamed, trying to pull away from her husband’s grip. The waitstaff quickly moved to block the exit, and the woman began flailing and shouting. Mark and David exchanged a glance before standing up. “James, can you watch the girls?” Mark asked. James nodded, and the two men made their way to the front. The woman, now in a full-blown panic, was struggling against her husband and the waitstaff. Mark stepped in, grabbing her free arm to steady her, while David pulled out his phone. On the screen was a series of hypnotic swirls, designed to calm and mesmerize. Before the woman could look away, her eyes locked onto the screen, and her movements slowed. Within moments, she was calm and catatonic, her body slumping as the trance took hold. Back at the table, James was entertaining Sophie and Lily. “Someone’s a stinky buns,” he teased Sophie, who giggled and shook her head. “No, Daddy! Me no stinky!” she protested, though the smell said otherwise. Mark and David returned, accompanied by the yelling woman’s husband, Ron, and his now mentally regressed wife, Diana. She was in a hastily taped-on diaper, her pantsuit partially unbuttoned and her hair disheveled from the struggle. Her blank stare and drooling mouth made it clear that she was still entranced. The men sat down, and David began explaining to Ron how to care for his new “baby girl.” “You have to be firm,” David said. “Women can’t be trusted to make decisions. It’s not a negotiation—it’s what’s best for them.” Ron looked unsure. “I don’t know if I can be that firm. Diana always ran the house.” James chimed in, “Sophie was the same way. It takes some adjusting, but you’ll both be happier once you settle into your proper roles.” As the men talked, Diana began to stir, her movements slow and deliberate as she emerged from her trance-like state. Her fingers, clumsy and uncoordinated, wandered up to her mouth, and she began to suck on them absentmindedly. Drool pooled in the corners of her lips, trickling down her chin and onto her chest. Her other hand tugged at the fabric of her dress shirt, the material clearly irritating her sensitive skin. She let out a soft whine, her brow furrowing as she fussed with the buttons. David, noticed and pointed it out to Ron. “Looks like she'd prefer to be a little jaybird,” he said, his tone matter-of-fact but kind. “Some of them just don’t like the feel of clothes once they’ve regressed. It’s perfectly natural.” Ron hesitated, his cheeks flushing with embarrassment. He glanced around the restaurant, acutely aware of the other patrons and the public setting. “I don’t know…” he began, his voice uncertain. “Isn’t it… I mean, shouldn’t she…?” Mark chuckled softly, shaking his head. “Ron, trust us. She’s not thinking about it the way you are. She’s just a baby now. She doesn’t care who sees her. All she knows is that her clothes are itchy, and she wants them off.” Ron took a deep breath, steeling himself as he turned back to Diana. She was still tugging at her shirt, her whines growing louder and more insistent. “Okay, sweetheart,” he said softly, his voice trembling slightly. “Let’s get you out of these itchy clothes, huh?” He reached for the buttons of her dress shirt, his fingers fumbling slightly as he worked to undo them one by one. Diana cooed softly, her drool-smeared face breaking into a smile as she felt the fabric loosen. “Daddy…” she murmured, her voice lispy and childlike. “Daddy help…” “That’s right, baby girl,” Ron said, his voice growing steadier as he focused on the task at hand. “Daddy’s helping you. Almost done.” As he peeled the shirt off her shoulders, Diana let out a giggle, the sound light and musical. She wriggled in her seat, her movements playful and unrestrained. Ron couldn’t help but smile at her reaction, his initial embarrassment fading as he saw how happy she was. “You like that, huh?” he said, his tone warm and affectionate. “Feels better already, doesn’t it?” Diana nodded enthusiastically, her hands flapping in excitement. Ron chuckled, shaking his head. “You’re the funny one, baby girl,” he said, his voice teasing. “Look at you, wiggling around like a little worm.” With her clothes removed, Diana sat back in her chair, her body now clad only in a thick, crinkly diaper. Her perky breasts were exposed to the world, but she showed no hint of shame or self-consciousness. Instead, she stretched her arms above her head, her face lighting up with delight as she felt the fresh air on her skin. “Ooooh,” she cooed, her voice soft and dreamy. She ran her hands over her arms and chest, her touch exploratory and curious. The sensation of the air against her bare skin seemed to fascinate her, and she let out a contented sigh, her body relaxing completely. “Tank you, Daddy,” she said quietly, her words lisped but heartfelt. She gave him a drooly smile, her eyes shining with gratitude and affection. Ron felt a lump form in his throat as he looked at her, his heart swelling with a mix of emotions—love, protectiveness, and a strange, almost overwhelming sense of pride. She was so beautiful, so innocent, so utterly unburdened by the complexities of adult life. In this moment, she was free, and he was the one who had given her that freedom. The other men watched the interaction with quiet approval, their expressions warm and understanding. “See?” Mark said, his voice gentle. “She’s happy. That’s all that matters.” Ron nodded, his eyes still fixed on Diana. She was now playing with her fingers, her attention shifting to the way they moved and wiggled. Her drool dripped onto her chest, but she didn’t seem to notice or care. She was lost in her own little world, a world where nothing mattered except the simple pleasures of the moment. Ron reached out and gently brushed a strand of hair from her face, his touch tender. “You’re my good girl,” he said softly, his voice thick with emotion. “I think this is going to be great for us,” he said to the other men. James returned with Sophie, freshly changed and giggling. “It’s great,” he told Ron, “but the diaper changes? I could do without those.” The men laughed, and Diana, not understanding but wanting to be included, laughed along. As she laughed a warmth spread around her groin as she unknowingly wet her diaper. Epilogue: James sat back in his weathered deck chair, the warm afternoon sun casting a golden glow over the wooden planks. A cold beer rested in his hand, condensation dripping down the bottle as he took a slow sip. His eyes wandered to the play rug spread out in front of him, where two women—his wife, Sophie, and Becky, the former waitress—sat side by side, engrossed in their own little worlds. Sophie lay one her stomach, her pacifier bobbing gently in her mouth as she chewed on it absentmindedly. Her black hair was tucked neatly under a frilly white bonnet. Her thick diaper and her frilly socks the only clothing she wore. Her hands fumbled with a set of colorful stacking rings, her movements clumsy but determined. Every so often, she would let out a soft giggle, her brown eyes lighting up with delight as she managed to place a ring on the stack. Beside her, Becky was equally absorbed in her own activity. She sat with her legs splayed out wide, her bare skin glistening in the sunlight, as she clutched a stuffed elephant to her chest. The elephant’s ear was firmly in her mouth, and a steady stream of drool ran down her chin, pooling on the toy before dripping onto her chest. Her blonde curls spilled out from under her own bonnet, and her diaper, already swollen and sagging, crinkled softly as she shifted her weight. She cooed softly to herself, her blue eyes wide with wonder as she stared at the toy in her hands. The two women didn’t interact much, their mental ages making it difficult for them to engage in cooperative play. Instead, they existed side by side, each lost in their own little world of simple pleasures. A butterfly fluttered past, its wings catching the sunlight, and both women turned their heads to watch it, their eyes wide with fascination. Sophie let out a muffled squeal around her pacifier, while Becky reached out a hand as if to catch the delicate creature, her fingers closing on empty air. James watched them with a fond smile, his heart swelling with affection. He set his beer down on the armrest of the chair and stood, stretching briefly before walking over to the play rug. He crouched down beside Sophie first, gently patting her diaper to check if it needed changing. It was dry, and he gave her a soft kiss on the forehead. “Good girl,” he murmured, his voice warm and approving. Sophie looked up at him, her eyes sparkling with happiness, and let out a happy hum around her pacifier. Next, he turned to Becky, his fingers brushing against the front of her diaper. It was warm and heavy, soaked through from hours of use. “Looks like someone’s due for a change soon,” he said, his tone teasing but gentle. Becky looked up at him, her drool-smeared face breaking into a wide, toothy grin. She babbled something unintelligible, her words slurred and lispy, before going back to chewing on the elephant’s ear. James chuckled, running a hand through her curls. “Not too soon, though,” he added quietly, more to himself than to her. “I know how much you love the warmth against your skin.” He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead, his lips lingering for a moment. Becky cooed in response, her eyes fluttering closed as she basked in the affection. Satisfied that his girls were content, James straightened up and returned to his chair, picking up his beer as he sat down. He took another sip, his gaze drifting back to the two women on the rug. They were both so carefree, so utterly unburdened by the complexities of adult life. There was no shame in their nudity, no self-consciousness about their diapers or their drooling or their babbling. They were simply… happy. The butterfly returned, flitting past the deck once more, and both women turned to watch it again, their faces lighting up with joy. James smiled, leaning back in his chair as he took another sip of his beer. This was his life now—a life filled with messes and laughter, with diapers and drool, with love and care. And he wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Hi, I would like to start a roleplay, where my character Vivien (if you prefer me to be a female character) or Steven (if you prefer me to be a male character) is in charge of regressing your character. So in essence we have a caretaker (me) and little (you) situation. We can keep this going for a bit, but eventually I want to switch Vivien into becoming a baby girl as well. We can either end the roleplay at this point or I can introduce a new character to take over the caretaker position. If you want we could also reverse the roles, which would make you the caregiver at this point. The main things I want from this RP are: 1) Making cummies in diapers after messing them (Yes, I'm really into that) 2) Vivien either getting stripped from her caretaker position OR accidentally regressing herself The tags give you an overview what I would like to have included. There is no need to have everything that is listed included. I hope that you're interested. Feel free to write me a private message if that's the case!

Officer Clarissa woke up to a feminine voice calling her name, "Clarissa, wake up sweety. It’s time to make a nice big present for mommy!" With a slight startle, she wakes up fully, becoming aware of the restraints holding her in place. Her own handcuffs bind her arms to two corners of the bed she is laying on, while ropes bind her feet to the other corners. She feels nude and spots all her gear laying at the side of the bed. As she tries to move, she hears a crinkle and notices the thick diaper she is wearing. With a glare, she looks back to her captor, a humanoid figure with pink skin, red eyes and prominent horns on the head. Shocked, she realizes that it is a demoness. The bouncy breasts and feminine body proportions are a clear indicator. Startled she thinks, “What is a demoness doing here? Any form of stable demons in our realm is a class 3 breach at minimum. Way more than my pay grade!” As if the demoness can smell her fear she reveals a wide grin, showcasing two rows of needle-like teeth. Continuing in a seductive voice, “Don’t be afraid. You are not in danger or we wouldn’t have this conversation right now.” She gives Clarissa a moment to process and come to the same conclusion. Her worry is replaced by uncertainty. The demoness doesn’t look that big, being around a head shorter than herself, but demons are known to have extreme strength, resilience and agility. They are also able to use mana for different kinds of spells, which make them so dangerous. “Okay, stop. Pull yourself together Clarissa. Think about your training!”, tell Clarissa silently herself. The first step is trying to classify the kind of demon. It can’t be a wrath demon, or she would be already dead. Gluttony also doesn’t makes sense with this slim body. Hmm … From the appearance she would guess that the demoness could be a succubus, which would make her a lust demon. At that thought she notices a pink tail appearing from below. It has a heart-shaped tip and quickly crawls closer to her head. She tries to defend herself, but the restraints keep her in place, but as the tail reaches her it just pats her softly on the head, while the demoness asks in a bit of an irritated voice, “Hello, hello. Someone there? Everything ok?” With a slight stutter, officer Clarissa answers, “Ye … Yes! I just spaced out for a moment. Are you a succubus?” This seems to amuse her captor, as she spots another grin while answering, “We have someone clever here. I’m called Lily by the way. You’re guess is wrong, but quite close. I’m a subset of the aspect of lust, but I specialize in something unique. As you may have noticed you are wearing a fluffy, comfy diaper. Just know that I get what I need when you use it in the right conditions.” That makes sense and explains Clarissa’s current predicament. She still doesn’t feel very well, as she just woke up after being knocked out. She needs to use the toilet but has a premonition about how this will go. Let’s not think about this for now and try to remember what happened before. She was about to check up on a hint that they got via phone. The Office of Magical Affairs gets a lot of calls from concerned citizens who misclassify perfectly normal events as magical. On top of that, there are fun calls that aren't meant seriously anyway. The combination of these two facts doesn’t allow the agency to send full teams to each reported location. Therefore, officer Clarissa was sent alone to do the checkup this time. When she arrived at the location, she rang the doorbell and announced her presence as per protocol. Then everything went haywire. Only milliseconds after the door opened something grabbed her and pulled her deftly inside. She doesn’t remember what happened after that. That should bring her to the current situation. With a bit of anxiety, she asks Lily, “What's going to happen now? What do I have to do in order to be released?” With an innocent smile, Lily answers, “As I said earlier you will make a nice big present in your diaper for mommy to clean up. I know you probably don’t want to do it right now, but I have just the right motivation.”, turning around 90 degrees she continues speaking in a soothing voice, “Come here, Peter. It’s time for your show!” Around the corner, a big baby crawls towards Lily. Wait, it’s not a baby, it’s an adult! He wears a frilly pink dress with red ribbons and suckles on a big strap-on pacifier. With each step, some crinkles emanate from his thick, white diaper. The same one Clarissa is wearing right now. Lily waits patiently for him to come closer and then stops far enough away so officer Clarissa has a good look at what will happen. With a mischievous grin, she removes the pacifier and then asks, “Who’s my good baby boy?” Peter answers enthusiastically, “Me, Mee!” With a satisfied grin Lily asks next, “And what do good little baby boys do?” “They do what mommy Lily says!” “Yes, they do. Now show your new baby sister how to make a nice big present for mommy!” “Yesth mommy! Hnnnrrg!” Splisssh! Clarissa watches as the front of Peter’s diaper starts to change color, while she starts hearing more noises. Pbbplrppt, Shplrt, Flrrpt! The relief and bliss on Peter’s face as he loads up his diaper is horrifying to Clarissa, while deeply arousing for Lily. As the poopy logs start to enter his diaper, the demoness turns him around for a better view. Now Clarissa can watch a bulge grow at the back of Peter’s diaper, while he starts to moan in pleasure. The diaper expands as the mess being pushed into it keeps piling up. All the while Lily praises him for doing such a good job while touching her own needy, demonic clitty. While Peter finishes soiling his diaper with quite some noise, Lily takes her now slick fingers, “You see, everything my body produces makes humans quite horny.” and inserts them into Clarissa’s diaper. As Clarissa feels the touch, she notices a certain heat and tingling slowly building up afterward. Changing her focus back to Peter, Lily commands him, “Lay on the floor in a changing position.” The adult baby complies immediately, squishing the contents of his diaper as he gets into position. With a winning grin, Lily opens the infantile garment, releasing quite the smell in the process, commenting, “Aawwww, my baby made such a big poopy for mommy! I’m so proud! Let’s get you your reward!” Peter beams all over his face, looking so pleased as if he has accomplished a big achievement, while he lies there in his excrement. His dick standing erect in the open diaper, coated in his still warm urine. Lily places herself over the steaming hot mess, slowly lowering her pussy over his member. Just a moment before making contact she stops with a wicked grin and with a hissing sound she starts to pee all over Peter’s erect member. His diaper caught the golden shower flowing down his genitals. The demoness doesn’t empty her bladder, just giving a quick shower, before retracting again. Only moments later the smell in the air starts to change. It’s hard to describe and Clarissa can still smell the mess, but her body stops categorizing the foul smell as something repulsive. After making sure that Clarissa will not be bothered by the smell of Peter’s mess anymore, the demoness folds the front piece of the diaper back up and around Peter’s cock. Then she starts sliding it up and down, simultaneously eliciting a squishing noise. Eliciting satisfied moans from him. Squish, Squish, Squish! Lily watches with a predatory gaze as her baby boy comes closer to orgasm. Inlaying her voice with magical energies, she starts speaking to Peter again, “You are my little baby boy, who has problems keeping his diaper dry. Whenever you get excited you lose control over your bladder, going pee-pee all over your fluffy diapee.” Baby boy Peter gives no resistance at all to the magical words, absorbing them like a diaper as they take hold of his mind. As this is accepted as his new truth, they settle in deeply, pushing out more parts of his maturity. The demoness hungrily absorbs this maturity, devouring it, so it will not return. Therefore, making the change permanent for the little baby boy. At the same time as his maturity goes bye, bye, he comes, spurting his load right into his infantile garment that Lily is rubbing over his member. It could be said that he has a literal mind-shattering orgasm. This is the way Lily works and with each sticky her victims make, they go further down their infantile paths, from which they will never return. After Peter blew his load, Lily closes his diaper again, telling him that he will be changed later. For now, he can enjoy the afterglow of his orgasm in his warm diapee. After taking him away, Lily has quite aroused herself. Diaper demons like her, enjoy the activity themselves. Therefore, the sly demoness can’t resist diapering her own sexy tushy, before going back to her newest catch. The feedings always make her a bit drunk, releasing her inhibitions and making her do more kinky stuff. She will have to make some stickies in it soon. Maybe after she is done with Clarissa here. She seductively licks her lips, before reappearing. As she goes over to the bed, she notices that Clarissa’s face has a bright flush by now, as the officer starts getting into heat. With another mischievous grin, Lily crawls onto the bed, positioning herself right over Clarissa. “My, my, what do we have here? A little baby girl in heat? Let mommy help you with that!” Starting to caress Clarissa’s breasts, the officer can’t resist releasing a moan from the pleasure. Clarissa grits her teeth, while vowing in her mind, “No, don’t give in to the temptation. Stay strong Clarissa, you can do it!” At the same time, worry comes up, as her bladder is near its capacity, threatening her with stings to release the pressure. As if on cue, Lily’s hand wanders over to her tummy, starting to gently apply pressure. The demoness watches with glee as the desperation in Clarissa’s eyes increases. It’s like music in her ears, when finally Clarissa’s resistance breaks with a whimpering sound. Hiiisssssssss! The officer starts wetting herself. A golden stream enters her thirsty diaper, splashing around and making it nicely warm and squishy. The relief feels sooo good. Clarissa didn’t know that going pee-pee can feel this good. Unwillingly she embraces the feeling, slowly coming closer to her orgasm. But before she reaches this height, the stream stops and the binding prevents her from pleasuring herself. With a pathetic moan, she protests, before being shushed by Lily. The demoness looks deep into her eyes, “Good job Clarissa! You see, that felt really good, didn’t it? But I want you to go one step further. You know what I want, right? Make me happy and I might even consider letting you go …” Clarissa thinks about the offer, knowing that she will likely not be able to free herself. But in the end, she refuses. Demons are not known to keep their word. Even if, as Lily has worded it she could keep her forever. The demoness replies, “Wouldn’t be fun if you gave in so easily.” She turns herself around so her diapered tushy is right Infront of Clarissa’s face, before announcing, “Feel the power of my secret weapon!” The demoness starts to grunt, as she starts pushing out her magical poo-poo from her demonic tushy. Pffrt! A first fart announces what is about to come. Then the first log starts to enter Lilys diaper. Clarissa watches mesmerized how the diaper starts expanding right Infront of her. With a couple moans Lily continues soiling her infantile garment, just like a baby. Rubbing her clitty through the front as she does the deed. A sickly sweet, magical scent starts to emanate from her poopy, instead of the foul smell of human excrement. This scent is Lilys ultimate weapon, turning even the hardest cases into diaper humping imbeciles. Finally with a loud "Braaapp" sound softer, mushier poop marks the ending of Lilys pooping session. The demoness loves the warm slimy feeling, as the diaper presses her mess against her delicate pink skin. She wiggles around a bit and touches the bulge she created to give her poopy a nicer spread inside her diaper, before standing up again. Now each of her movements is accompanied by a squishing sound, as her poop is pushed around. She stopped rubbing her clitty, even as she is close to an orgasm. She knows that it will be so much better, when done at the height of her feeding. Maybe she shouldn’t do it, as she just fed from Peter, but she wants to reach new heights. Knowing that Clarissa is now enraptured by the sweet smell permeating the room, she undoes the bindings of the officer. As Clarissa smells the sweet scent her arousal increases tenfold. Her little kitty now dropping wet. Her rational thoughts become more clouded as her primal desires increase. She just has to push, giving in to the pleasure. Without actively noticing she starts rubbing her diapered pussy, releasing a sweet moan between the squishing sounds. Lily comes closer to her ear with glee in her eyes, whispering with her demonic powers, “Concentrate on my voice Clarissa.” The officer can’t resist the magic compulsion and listens as if in trance. With a vile grin Lily continues, weaving even more magic into her voice, “Repeat after me: I, Clarissa, am a little baby girl. I’m a good little baby girl who loves wearing her diapers. Only grown-ups are allowed to take off my diaper. I’m too little to know how to properly change my used diapees.” Clarissa starts repeating in her lust-induced trance, the magic taking hold of her mind as she says the words. Lily looks her newest acquisition deep into her eyes as the defiant look in them is replaced by happiness and love. The big hurdle is overcome and Lily speaks the new truths of her baby girl directly to her mind, “You are so little, you have no control over your bladder. You constantly dribble your pee-pee into your beloved diapers. You love the feeling of your warm and squishy diapers against your skin.” As Clarissa goes deeper into the rabbit hole, the awareness of her bladder completely vanishes. Lily knows that her time is running out, but she has a good feeling and tries to go for the grand prize. She gathers the last of her energy reserves and hopes that it is enough, “Using the toilet is for big girls and not for you. You don’t even know how to use them. Always remember that the toilet is scary and cold, while using your diaper calms you down, as it is the right thing to do. When you need to go poopy you just squat down and push everything out into your waiting diapee.” Lily used all of her power, but she managed to finish. There are still a lot more lessons for the future, but this is amazing progress for now. After Lily spoke the last words, there is a vacant look in Clarissa’s eyes, a bit of drool running out of the corner of her mouth as the magic takes full hold and Lily gets her meal. It is sooo much and she is already feeling so hot! Lily’s pussy is dripping wet inside her own comfy diapee. The demoness gives her some time to let it all sink in, carefully applying more of the sweet scent emanating from her own diaper around her newest catch. Making sure to not disturb the changes taking place in Clarissa’s brain. After about a minute later the former officer starts moving again. She waddles a couple steps, her diaper crinkling and she is reminded of her current status. Just like before her hand wanders to her diapered crotch, squishing her soggy diaper against her needy kitty. Squish, Squish, rumble. The new adult baby is reminded by her tummy that she still needs to go poopy. She knows that she wanted to use the toilet, but as she thinks about this idea only a feeling of dread comes up. Why has she ever considered using one? Baby Clarissa doesn’t understand why she wanted to do this, she doesn’t even know how to use a toilet. She thinks a bit more and remembers what she is supposed to do. Like a good baby girl, she squats down, Lily watching her closely as she does so. Then with a grunt she starts pushing. With puffy cheeks she looks quite cute as she does the most infantile act with Lily watching in satisfaction. Hnnnnrg, Pfffrrrrpt! She pushes out a first fart, filling the air with her foul smell, but she is far from done. Prrapt! Braaapppp! The next sounds announce the steamy hot load entering the backside of her diaper. The warm slimy feeling spreading in her diaper is amazing and her kitty feels all tingly, so she masturbates the front of her diaper even faster while continuing to soil her infantile garment. One poopy log after the next enters her waiting diaper, tenting it out to a nice bulge. In the same amount as her diaper fills up, her arousal increases. “That’s my good baby girl! Push it all out!”, encourages Lily in a motherly tone. Clarissa answers with a deep grunt, needing some effort now to keep pooping, as the space starts to run out in the backside of her diaper, forcing the mess slowly towards the front. Her breathing becomes faster and faster as she comes closer to climax. Lily notices and whispers into her ear, “Show mommy how much you love your diapers!” Clarissa convulses in pleasure as she comes hard in her diaper, spewing lewd juices all over the soggy padding, as her diaper trustfully catches her infantile orgasm. At the same time she finishes soiling herself with one last squelching sound from the other end of her diapee. With a wide grin Lily praises her even more, “Good girl, you made such a good job! Mommy is very proud of you!” Baby Clarissa basks in the praise and the afterglow of her amazing orgasm, showing it with a big dumb grin, drool still running out of the corner of her mouth. Just like a good baby girl. But Lily isn’t finished yet, using the momentum she gained she uncovers her full breasts and guides her baby back to the bed. Clarissa follows the little prods by her mommy, her full diaper emits clearly perceptible squishing and squelching sounds from the movement, as the contents are moved within. The warm slimy feeling pressing against her skin feels just right and having used her diaper properly made Clarissa quite calm. It feels just so right, as if this is the natural state, she should always be in. Without noticing Clarissa’s thumb wanders inside her mouth, suckling on it like the infant she just became. Lily watches with a knowing grin and positions herself on the bed, together with her new adult baby. Taking Clarissa’s head into her lap. Lily own diaper crinkles a bit as she sits down on her own mess, but she doesn’t care. Just as little as her new baby girl does about smushing the contents of her diaper. After Clarissa put her head into Lilys lap, she is mesmerized by the full booby in front of her. Again Lily encourages in a soothing tone, “Time for your reward baby girl. It’s time for milkies from mommy. Open wide darling.” Clarissa does as she is told and latches on. She feels so loved and protected in mommies embrace, starting to suckle without a care in the world. Immediately she is rewarded with a sweet taste as her mouth fills with the heavenly nectar. Closing her eyes in absolute bliss as she drinks in big gulps. But not only Clarissa has a good time, as Lily also enjoys the feeding quite much. The diaper demon is so high on the maturity she leeched from her newest acquisition that in combination with the current stimulation, it’s too much and she loses it. Psshhh! Lily loses control of her bladder, wetting herself like a baby. As she breastfeeds Clarissa, her own diaper expands in size, while changing its color. Growing warm and squishy just like Clarissa’s diaper before. That makes Lily sooo horny and she starts touching herself, making the same squishing noises as Clarissa before. Her new baby girl opens her eyes and looks surprised at her mommy, which is having a small accident herself. She stops feeding for a moment and asks, “Did you went pee-pee just like me?” The question increases Lilys arousal to unknown heights as she starts to embrace her darkest fantasy. Lily is completely overwhelmed from all the stimulus and releases a high pitched moan from the pleasure. She doesn’t even notice that she subconsciously starts to impart her voice with magic just as before. Her magic reserves having refilled quite a bit from all the maturity she leeched from Clarissa. As in trance Lily answers with her horny thoughts, “Yes, I just went pee-pee in my diapee like a good little baby girl.”, in her clouded mind state she remembers what she just said earlier to Clarissa, repeating a couple of her commands, “Yes, I’m a good little baby girl who loves wearing her diapers. I’m too little to know how to properly change my used diapees.” With every sentence Lily comes closer to orgasm. She is sooo close. In her haze she thinks to herself, “Just one more humiliating sentence, which Clarissa will probably forget anyway and I can make my own stickies!” With renewed determination she finishes with, “I’m so little that I have no control over my bladder!” As the magic settles in place, Lily experiences a mind shattering orgasm herself! As she comes in her well used diaper she falls back-first onto the bed. This time involuntarily devouring part of her own maturity with a big dumb grin, drool running out of the corner of her mouth. Her thumb finding a way into her mouth, while baby Clarissa crawls over to continue nursing from her breast. Authors note: Lily is not the first diaper demon, getting so high from overfeeding that she gives in to her urges and starts feeding of her own maturity. Its kinda her instincts taking over and making her deepest desires come true. Deep down she wants to be the same as her victims, helplessly filling her thick diapers while having the best orgasms of her life. Clarissa on the other hand is an adult baby now. She did go further then Lilys programming, as she sunk deep into little space. But this is only temporary and the only permanent changes are the ones induced by Lilys magical words. What do you think how this development will proceed? Lily got a taste of her own maturity now and it was way better then any mortal one she ate before. Will she be able to control herself or will she sink deeper into infantile bliss? What about Clarissa, will she be able to stop further regression?

When an IT engineer at RegressCo gets hold of his upcoming evaluation, he tries to find a way to adjust the standards by which he is assessed… with unintended consequences RegressCo - Fudging the Numbers Jack sighed as he sat down in his cubicle. Frustration was visible on his forehead this morning, wrinkling all the way down to the end of the hyenas muzzle. He’d been dealing with ridiculous queries all day, tickets from everywhere from Research and Development to Payroll. How they managed to break so many pieces of equipment and crash simple pieces of software was beyond him. RegressCo needed to get a better handle on enforcing some best practices, the entire IT department was at full capacity and the tantrums people threw about them were audible from three floors up. This time, it was easy to see the cause. Some new intern in HR hadn’t been given a sippy cup and his laptop keys were now stuck firmly in place from the apple juice that had worked their way between them. Thankfully, it was an easy fix, a little careful application of heat and cotton buds and soon everything was clicking away like new. “Now, let’s give you a test run” the hyena whispered to himself, pressing the on button. Rather than the normal start-up screen, the laptop flickered for a second before showing a clear and organised desktop, spreadsheets and documents neatly placed in specific sections. “What? Did this kid not log out or..” It was then the hyena spotted something that made him stop before hitting the start menu. A document mixed in among others. “Jack Crowley - Yearly Assessment - DRAFT COPY” Great. He’d known that was coming up at some point. Still a few weeks away, but definitely in his near future. He’d been at RegressCo for just under a year, his three month probation had come and gone and he’d been officially inducted into a little clique of workers who were still with it enough to make it to the toilet six months in. This place was a minefield, he’d learned that just by reading the various manuals covered in crayons and big red warnings saying “DON’T DRINK THE MILK”. Once you’d stepped in the wrong place at the wrong time, that was it, your name went on the potty chart and your assessments went from formal and boring to a desperate attempt not to be distracted by the colours on your bosses tie. He hovered over the icon, leaning back in his chair. If he read this, he’d probably be breaking a rule somewhere. Fireable? Maybe, he certainly wouldn’t look good on the next version if he was found out… But no one would know right? He opened up the document, skimming through its various sections. His face scowled, dropped, then contorted. None of the notes had been put into “corporate” speak yet, most were still in their raw forms. “Compared to other staff members, standards of work completion have recently dropped... Sees some work as unnecessary... misses deadlines... incapable of working to the standards expected in the company” This wasn’t good. It was really not good. Not a firing, but definitely a talk down. And company evaluations at RegressCo that involved a talk down had a tendency to result in demotion to “potty by the desk at all times” “This is ridiculous…” he whispered to himself leaning back in his chair. He looked over the spreadsheets in the bottom corner, eyes wandering over their file names. “Potty and Toilet Tracker - Q1” “Employee Character Reference Contact Details” “Timesheets - Break and Lunch Monitoring - Q1” All neat, all clearly labelled. Wouldn’t expect less from a straight laced intern in HR with more time to do busy work than anything useful. “Incapable of working to the standards expected in the company…” he tapped his legs, biting on his bottom lip “What standards are they talking about…?” He clicked on the Potty Tracker. Sure enough, everyone in the company was listed there, each one with a status drop down menu. Each of those were known to employees anyway, but it was clear this was the one area Jack was, at least, in the clear. He looked over the list of his colleagues in IT. His manager was listed under the third rung of the ladder: “PAUL FRY - Bathroom privileges, pull-ups required” A thought popped into Jack's mind. These were all a matter of public record in the company. If he lowered the visible standards of those assessing him… ************************************************************************************************************* Paul Fry grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl on the colourful kids tables in the kitchen. The cheetah had got used to this, regression for him was - as he liked to put it - “childs play“. Sure it was annoying for a while, but more often than not he woke up one morning back in his double bed sprawled out with a ripped diaper down his ankles. Then it was just shower, bathroom and back to the grind before the next time he got this small. Five years of it tended to give you a sense of it as it was happening and he’d had enough experience to keep himself stocked up with supplies. Potty training was just another system he had to learn in his IT Consultant position, like any other, and now he just went through the motions each… He stopped in his tracks as a warmth spread through his crotch. His eyes shot to his pants, the apple dropping from his hands in shock. His paws shot to his front, feeling the plastic of the pull-up underneath them expanding as his bladder emptied completely. “I… what the?” he pulled at the front of his waistband, checking the damage. Sure enough, the designs had faded, he’d not even felt it coming. This wasn’t normal… “Hey Paul! You ok there?” he looked round and up at his co-worker. Doing his best to shake off his shock he smiled weakly “Heh… yeah just errr…” “Having a bathroom break?” the cheetahs jaw dropped “Oh come on, it was obvious a mile away” “I… I am not!” he clenched his fists and stamped his foot on the floor. Wait… that wasn’t… “Ok geez… wait… you’re...” The cheetah felt strange. Why couldn’t he unclench his fists? Why did he feel so wound up? He tried to focus on breathing, trying to relieve the sudden tightness. His tail had gone straight, his legs were bending… “Oh… Oh no!” His co-worker fanned his nose dramatically “I’ll err… I’ll go get the nurse Paul. Try not to sit down” The cheetah felt tears coming to his eyes as he patted the back of his pants. But… he was potty training... ************************************************************************************************************* Satisfied with a little adjustment to his managers training progress - the drop down box now helpfully stating “Incontinent - Diapers Required” - Jack started skimming through a couple of the other spreadsheets. It couldn’t hurt to make a few additional adjustments here and there to get him through this, it’s not like they’d be permanent. They’d probably just blame simple clerical error and leave it at that. He wasn’t even logged in, so these wouldn’t appear as his edits. His mouse hovered over one particular spreadsheet, his mind finding another puzzle piece clicking into place. “Employee Character Reference Contact Details” A devious idea entered into Jack's mind. He looked through the list of staff members. There was his name, his mother listed as his emergency contact (being single wasn’t out of choice, so they were the best option) but he quickly found what he was looking for just below it... ************************************************************************************************************* “Hey Richie! Need a hand with those boxes?” Richard looked up and pressed the “Open” button on the elevator as the fox ran in next to him, his fennec ears perking up as he heard his friends gracious offer. “Yeah, that would be great! Seriously, I have no idea why the head of HR needs all this stationary. Can’t he just, I dunno, not eat his crayons every week?” The fox laughed “Oh come on, he probably just spills his bottle on everything and needs to replace it” As the elevator doors closed, Richard leaned against the back of the wall, checking his phone for messages. Sure enough, his wife was checking in on him at work, as she always seemed to. “Urgh…Janet” “Hmmm? Trouble in the Forrester household?” Richard shook his head “Nah, just getting the old “Are you sure you’re ok in work?” spiel. She cares a lot but man she can be…” His phone went off again, another message from her had popped through this time with a picture. “Come on kiddo, I know you’re there! You left your lunch at home silly!” The picture made Richard raise an eyebrow. She’d taken a picture of a kids lunchbox, adorned with cartoons and primary colours. He’d never seen it before in his life. “Oh wow, that's your lunchbox?” “NO!” Richard snapped back at the fox, immediately feeling a blush of shame come to his face for responding that way. “Hah, right, of course not.” Richard growled a little under his breath as he started to respond “Where did you get that from?! Great prank Janet, but I’ve got my lunch back in the office in my own tupperware” The elevator stopped at another floor. Richard began apologising as those outside looked disappointed at the pile of boxes taking up all of the space. “Sorry! I’m sure there’ll be another…” He stopped for a second as the door closed. Stifled giggles were coming from all of the staff. The fox burst into laughter as soon as the elevator started up again. “Richie you might want to take your pacifier out before you talk” What? “I don’t have..” he immediately felt his tongue smacking against a rubber teat. His eyes widened, looking down at the offending accessory that had found its way into his muzzle and pulling it free. It bounced off his chest as the clip that was attached to his shirt pocket caught it on the way down. “What the heck…” He felt his phone go off again. Grabbing at it he looked at the message that had just come in from Janet. “Oh you silly bee, that’s not yours! You should know better than to lie to mommy! I bet you couldn’t even do it without having your pacifier in, you always do that just before you tell me a fib!” Richards jaw dropped. Whatever was happening this was not how he’d expected this elevator ride to go, even as it reached its final stop. Whatever, he’d solve it once they’d unpacked everything, Janet acting strange was the least of his worries. “Ah, Richie!” The jackalope had been waiting for his delivery just outside his office “Glad to see you again, loving the new pacifier, Janet get it for you?” “I… errr…” “Just teasing” he took a small craft knife out of his pocket “Let’s just check the first lot…” he opened the tape of the first box the fox handed down to him, pulling open the cardboard sides. “Looks great! Oh, Richie!” He pulled out another box from inside the delivery, this one adorned with babyish designs “This is for you! Janet called me and asked to order this in. I have to say I think a lot of us are very jealous you have such a lovely mommy” he chuckled a little. Richard could barely keep his jaw off the ground “WI-FI BABY MONITOR - KEEP TRACK OF YOUR LITTLE ONE ANYWHERE!” As his phone went off again he shoved the pacifier back in his mouth and ran back into the elevator... ************************************************************************************************************* Jack couldn’t help but giggle to himself as he made the changes. Richie had always been funny to watch around his wife, a quick change to make her his “Mother by Regression” was far more fitting anyway. When they called for his character evaluation it would change the questions - “Does Richard need regular nap times”, “Does Richard prefer cloth or disposable diapers” - certainly lower his expected standards a little… and by extension the company average. He glanced around again. He was on a roll at this point, in for a penny in for a pound on the whole thing. “Timesheets - Break and Lunchtime Monitoring - Q1” Well… one last little edit would do for now… ************************************************************************************************************* Henry sighed as he leant back in his office chair. He had no idea where Jack had got to, the hyena must have been stuck in a side office working on equipment or something. The IT department was on a skeleton crew at the moment, Paul was at lunch and Jack was, well, not particularly useful at the best of times. He leaned forward, adjusting the booster seat under him a little. Being a field mouse came with a mixture of pros and cons in this place. He had all the accessibility items he could ever need for someone his size, but he did wish they weren’t all in primary colours. He glanced at his watch. Paul should’ve been back from lunch by now, and was delaying his own. “Guess I’ll go grab him, probably got stuck chatting to one of those cats down in accounting…” He made his way out of the IT office and down the hall. There was a little bit of commotion going on, a few of the girls were giggling outside the kitchen. He caught the word “accident” as he came up to the doorway. “What’s happening? Did I miss…” “Oh Henry dear is it time for your feeding already?” He looked to his right to see the head of catering, a large and motherly bear, walking towards the entrance, her apron stained from trying to persuade some of the regressed staff members to eat the veggies their caretakers had asked them to provide. “Is Paul there, he’s…” The mouse yipped as he was suddenly lifted off the ground the bear hoisting him on her arms “Now now dear, don’t worry, your bottle is ready and waiting to go in the warmer as always” Henry’s eyes widened as he looked up at his captor, squirming in her arms “Wa..wait! What are you doing?! I don’t need a feeding, I’m not regressed!” The bear gave his tummy a rub with one of her large fingers, her fur sneaking between the buttons of his shirt, untucking it and causing the mouse to squirm around it. “Ssshhh, I know you're not regressed silly, but that’s what’s on your lunchtime chart isn’t it! It’s alright, we’re always happy to oblige, no need to be embarrassed” He went to open his mouth to complain again but before he could, the bear started to rub his tummy again. It was relaxing and calming, far more than he’d like to admit. He felt himself mewl a little as he heard the beeping of the warmer finishing up what he could only assume was about to be his next meal. “Now Henry, don’t worry, Mama Bear is gonna let you finish this up and then you can have your nap ok?” Nap?! He didn’t have naps at lunchtime he… Before Henry could finish that thought the teat of the bottle was shoved unceremoniously into his mouth. He couldn’t help but swallow the warm milk that started to flow into his little maw, it’s taste washing over every part of his mouth. “There we are! See, no problem at all. Your manager was in here a little while ago, the poor kitten had a bit of an accident. Guess something is going round in IT?” Henry wasn’t really focussed on her voice. He just continued to nurse, desperate to get the experience over with so he could… “Oh dear!” Henry's eyes went wide. The warmth of the milk had flowed down into his stomach, but a different heat was now running down his suit pants. “Goodness me, guess someone needed to make a bit of room huh? Not to worry, this bear’s seen much worse. But I don’t think you’ll be able to stay in those pants…” The mouse tried to pop the bottle out of his mouth to get out some sort of explanation, but the paw of the bear was keeping it firmly in place. “Now, where are those diapers…” ************************************************************************************************************* Jack grinned from ear to ear. Adjustments to lunchtime rotas and meals took a little time to get ready, so by the time of his appraisal, he’d be the only one making himself his own lunch there. Henry would have to have bottles for a week or so before they made that correction, but it would be funny watching him try to explain it to a diapered Paul... Satisfied with his adjustments the hyena saved the relevant documents. That was it for the day, no need to go completely overboard and bring too much suspicious behaviour to the attention of HR. They liked to track these things, and going too far could mean IT could get a permanent changing table in the office. He shuddered at the idea… Still, he couldn’t help feeling like he needed to edit his own document just to be sure. It had been pretty harsh after all. He had to be careful and remove something specific. Removing everything would be obvious. Scanning down the list of bullet points he saw one he could very easily get rid of “He’s noted to be a clumsy member of staff. Motor control that of a child at times, recommend sippy cups and bibs at lunchtime as a precaution” That was bull, but he knew that would be the sort of thing he’d find particularly annoying if any of that was acted on. He selected the entire line and deleted it before moving the mouse towards the close button Except it didn’t get there. It span across the screen, slowly moving its way across the taskbar “What the…” It must have crashed, he thought. The next thing to do in this situation was to bring up the task manager and… His fingers clenched into fists, preventing him from even doing that. Panic spread across his face as he felt his legs push him away from the desk and start to move of their own accord, pulling him to the ground in a crawl. “What… what’s happening?!” he shouted out loud. The empty office didn’t respond, but his arm seemingly did. It slapped against his muzzle, feeling like he’d slept on it for days. His jaw opened as well, licking at the end of his fist and drooling round the back of it. Before he could try to regain control, his thumb had firmly lodged itself inside, his body seemingly desperate for the oral fixation. The hyena felt tears come to his eyes as he fell onto his back. The image of Paul coming in to find him like this was too embarrassing to think about. If he could just get himself back to his feet he could… “Hey do you have my laptop ready yet?” ************************************************************************************************************************************************** If you'd like to read more of my work, please visit www.patreon.com/DaddyWuffster I post three 3000 word stories a month there. You'll get two on the $5 tier and 3 on the $10 tier! Plus if you subscribe on the $10 tier you'll get one of them (voted for by Patrons!) as an audiobook!

Hi!! I've been like super inactive for...half a year Lol I was wondering if this is the right place to post this but are there any people interested in doing rp in discord? Sorry if this is the wrong place to post this but id love to do to rp on That! Preferably 1on1 and I'm not looking for anything nsfw meaning no sexual content please!!! I like to be the little and mental ar. Thanks!! Reply or pm me if interested at all!! ♡♡♡♡

Rosie cringes as she receives her grades back. All the circles in red ink and underlines all trace around her paper with a big "SEE ME" at the top of her page.