Academy I (Complete)

[Mia Moore]

Hi everyone.  I don't know if this is really going to be any good, but I have been working on it for a while and I wanted to share it with other ABDLs.  If you want to support the Academy stories (there's gonna be a few, I hope!) or get early access to chapters, please go to this Patreon link.  It should explain things a little better.

Oh and please tell me what you think in the comments!

~Mia~

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Academy I
By Mia Moore

"Fear not the star, but the magician that sets it in the sky."
                                                      -The Source

Chapter One

Ai Sinclair pressed her back to the tree, gasping for air. Her lungs burned from the inside. The cold November air made her hairs stand on end, even as sweat matted her bangs to her forehead. 

She turned her head around the trunk of the tree to see the two men in black coats walking toward her. She had to keep running. In a quarter mile, there should be a gas station. She could call the police. With another deep breath, she ran onward through shrubbery and dodging tree branches. 

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, she burst through the tree line and found herself in an expansive parking lot. The lights of the gas station in front of her glowed in the twilight. She took off toward the door as fast as she could.

Freedom was behind an automated door, in the hands of an underpaid worker behind a pane of bulletproof glass and only fifty feet away. Forty five feet. And then Ai's feet gave way as the jolt of electricity tore through her spine and seized her muscles up, stopping her in her tracks. The momentum carried her forward, and she skinned her knees on the asphalt of the parking lot. 

Like wolves circling their fallen prey, the two men in black coats approached and orbited their quarry, one with his hand to an earpiece in his left ear while the other scanned a full perimeter for anybody who might have witnessed. The distant sound of a car engine grew closer.

Ai climbed to her hands and knees, but her body twitched uncontrollably. Even if she could force herself to stand up, she wasn't sure she could stay that way. The parking lot around her swayed in her vision and she started to crawl toward the gas station doors. 

"H-help! Someone!" Ai's voice was harsh in quiet evening air.  

A man picked Ai up from the ground and stuffed her through the side door of a large approaching van. He slid the door closed behind her, and the van continued like it had never stopped. Though the two men stayed behind in the parking lot, there were several more waiting in the back of the van.

The tingling subsided quickly in Ai's fingers and toes. She dove at the door to escape, but two more men held her back as the van sped down the street and toward the freeway. 

"Let me go! You'll go to prison if you do this! You'll get caught! You won't get away with it!"

Nobody said a word to her; the four men all wore dark black slacks with long black coats. They had shaved bald heads and ear pieces in their left ears. It was definitely a uniform, and this was definitely an organized operation. Two of the men forced Ai to the floor of the van and clicked restraints around her wrists and ankles that had been bolted to the frame of the van.

As Ai pulled on the restraints, she started to panic. No matter how she thrashed and kicked, she couldn't break free. Every bump the van hit send shivers up her back and it was starting to give her a headache. 

"Lemme go... please, let me go. I don't know what you want, but... but you can have anything, okay? I don't have much, but... but my purse has some cash, and..." Tears were forming in her eyes. "Please let me go, please..."

The movements of the men were methodical, directed, rehearsed and practiced. Ai's begging changed from sobbing words to muffled sounds as a colorful pacifier was pushed between her lips and held in place. A slight burning stung her lips as the glue bonded, and the then a creamy liquid began to ooze across her tongue from the nipple of the pacifier.

Ai’s struggles started to fade. The ceiling of the van had colored lights inside, and the frosted glass made them look fuzzy, and pretty, and so very interesting. Her arms felt heavy, her legs felt heavy, her head felt heavy. But she wasn't tired; she was fascinated. It was okay to be fascinated, wasn't it? To find something beautiful in a time like this? Her skin tingled on the outside like her insides had when she'd been electrocuted. Somewhere far far away from her, she could feel herself being undressed.

Ai looked up at the brown-haired woman towering over her with a warm smile on her lips. She was wearing a white coat and a pair of thick rimmed glasses. Ai tried to talk, but the bulb between her lips kept her quiet. She reached up to take it out, but her shaking hand couldn't pry the pacifier from her mouth.

Where was she? How had she gotten here? Who was this woman? She had only questions, and no means to ask them. The room wasn't strictly clinical, that much was obvious.  She was lying on a soft bed, surrounded by soft lighting, an extra and unexplained softness between her thighs, and a soft smile on the woman's lips. 

"Easy there, munchkin. Try not to move too much now, not while you're still coming to." 

Ai tried to tug harder on the pacifier, but each tug only pulled at her lips, dripping more tiny droplets of creaminess onto her tongue. The more she defied, the more hopeless she felt. 

"I'll be happy to remove your binkie, but you need to promise you'll be good for me. Do you promise?"

Binkie? Ai furrowed her brow in confusion and looked down at her outfit. She couldn't see the pacifier between her lips, but she could see the rest of it. A pink t-shirt with frills around the hem and puffy sleeves. And no pants. More importantly, a diaper between her legs. It was huge, big enough to fit an adult, but the prints along the plastic had baby blocks and teddy bears.

A fresh panic filled Ai's chest, but the woman pushed on the front of the pacifier. A few extra drops of creamy liquid spread across Ai's tongue and her anxiety ebbed away.

"Like any adjustment, this is going to take time. It's going to be scary at times, but the better you behave, the sooner it's going to become easy, and then normal. You can fight every step of the way, or you can lean into the help provided and be a good girl. Either way, the destination will be the same - only your journey will change." 

As she spoke, the woman's voice betrayed more of an accent than it first seemed - something South African, perhaps? Friendly, with compressed inflections.

Ai had no idea what she was talking about. What journey? What destination? Why was she dressed like an overgrown baby, and why was she kidnapped in the first place?! 

Ai wasn't special; she was almost too ordinary. She dropped out of college in her second year and worked as an assistant manager at a grocery store. She had less than a thousand dollars in her bank account and she shared an apartment with her fiancé.

Her fiancé! She tugged again at the pacifier, a fresh panic filling her up. She had to know he was okay! 

"My, you have quite the resistance," the woman said with a curiosity. She pushed the front of the pacifier again and Ai's eyes began to droop.  Each time she swallowed droplets of the creamy liquid, Ai felt like waves were pulling her back under the water when she was so close to shore. 

What was this? Where was she? Who was this woman? Diaper. She was wearing a diaper. She was wearing pretty, soft clothes. Kidnapped. She'd been kidnapped. She tried to blink away the waves, but they were so strong. 

"I have a feeling you're going to be a troublesome little fighter, aren't you, dear?"

The woman stepped out. Out? Ai looked around the room, but there weren't any doors or windows. She stumbled to her feet and almost instantly crashed into the floor. Her body felt so weak, like she hadn't eaten in days. She sucked the pacifier and found an ounce of comfort; a remnant association she had as a baby. She was so hungry.

"Oh, did we have an oopsie daisy?" The woman returned, like she'd never left, like she'd always been here. She was dressed in a different top; how long had she been gone? 

She knelt down next to Ai and reached one hand down between the clumsy girls legs; a motion so smooth and simple that it almost wasn't humiliating except for all the ways that it was. Her fingers slipped into the legband of the diaper and she felt for a moment before pulling them away. Ai Sinclair had just had her diaper checked. 

"Well, you're not wet. You've become such a heavy wetter in your time here." Truth or lies, who could say? Ai couldn't remember a thing and this woman could have told her anything.

Heavy wetter? Time here? Ai had only just arrived! Or at least, that's what she thought. She tried to ask a question, but the pacifier was still firmly glued between her lips. 

"I bet you're hungry, though." Ai's attention was pulled away from her thoughts and into reality. Food? Her heart raced and her eyes betrayed her excitement. The woman smiled knowingly.

"Come over here, dear," the woman was motioning to a very comfortable looking chair on the left hand side of the room, wide enough to accommodate perhaps more than one person.

Ai was wearing the same clothes. The same pink shirt. The same blocks and teddy bears on her diaper. She couldn't be exactly sure it was the same diaper, but she wouldn't even consider the alternative. Ai tried to get to her feet, which failed spectacularly. Her knees were trembling and she felt lightheaded. How long had it been since they fed her? Or was the meal at the restaurant the last time she ate? 

"If you don't come here," the woman told her, "you won't get dinner." 

Ai's hunger outweighed her pride. She shuffled on her hands and knees across the room, trying her best not to faint. It felt like a strong breeze could knock her out. Finally, she reached the woman's feet and tried again to stand. The woman watched Ai’s attempt to stand, and rather than be disparaging, she was encouraging and supportive. 

"There you go, dear, you almost have it. Let Nana help." 

Nana? Ai barely had a chance to register that title before she was lifted up off the floor.  She sat dumbfounded on a grown woman's lap, wearing a diaper and a short baby tee. Never in a million years did she think this was where she would be. Never in a million years did she think she would do it so willingly. 

"I'm going to take the pacifier out of your mouth," Nana said softly. "But if you say even a single word, I will put it back in. I will stop feeding you and you'll go hungry." 

Ai's stomach sank. No words? But she had so many questions...

"I need you to nod your head, dear. Nodding yes and shaking no are the only answers you're allowed. Do you understand?" With a pensive pause, and a groan in her stomach, Ai nodded her head once. Simple. One nod. 

Nana unbuttoned her jacket, with revealed a series of pockets, and from one pocket she reached in and took what looked much like a marker of some description. Using one finger to hold the pacifier, she used her other hand to run the marker around the edges and after a moment, she pulled the pacifier free.

Ai looked up at Nana with annoyance. She had a thousand things on the tip of her tongue. Questions, expletives, statements of fact. The most pressing was, of course: I'm not a baby! But the threat of the pacifier loomed heavily over her, like a guillotine. If she didn't get some food in her, she would pass out. So Ai swallowed her pride and didn't say a word. A blush of embarrassment covered her cheeks.

"There's a good girl. You’re learning so well this time." Before that bit of pageantry could sink in too deeply, Nana pulled a jar from inside of her coat and began to unscrew the lid. It looked, through the glass, like the consistency of apple sauce. Or baby food. Dark in color, not the most pleasant looking. Or smelling. Or tasting. And that was the point, wasn't it? It would be this or nothing. And gosh was it a large jar.

Ai opened her mouth in protest, but she stopped herself before a word escaped her lips. Even as the sickly stale smell of mashed vegetables filled the air, her stomach growled. If she turned her nose up at this, would Nana give her something else? Probably not. And she was so hungry... 

"Open wide. Ahhh." 

Ai shot Nana a sour look as the woman tried feeding Ai with a baby spoon shaped like an airplane. Whatever fucked up place she was stuck in, their intentions were plain: to Nana, Ai was supposed to be a baby. 

"Unless you'd rather not eat?" Nana tested. With reluctance, Ai opened her mouth.

There was nothing quite comparable in consistency to the food that Ai was forced to swallow; thick, inconsistent, like lumpy mashed potato with an earthy, pungent taste. Her mouth pursed in disgust as she mulled it over, needing to mash it up some before she could swallow it. She resolved absolutely never to eat another bite - it wasn't worth it. 

As she swallowed, though, her mouth tingled pleasantly in the same way that it does after a spicy dish; a humming, buzzing, happy tingling. A heavy sated feeling in her stomach, a warmth. A more-ish feeling. An association building method. Nana smiled, and waited, filling another spoonful.

Ai was still so hungry. Even if she hated the food, she had to have another bite. She needed the energy! And before she knew it, Ai had finished off the whole jar of baby food. Her stomach rumbled happily, but she could eat more. Still, Ai hadn't said a single word to Nana.

"Wasn't that lovely?” Nana asked. Ai said nothing. "Nod your head, dear. Would you like another? You were such a good little girl, after all, and if you keep being good you can have more."

Ai was still hungry, but she had some of her strength back. More importantly, Nana's words were grating at her, like the screeching of nails on a chalkboard. She couldn't take it anymore. 

"I'm not a baby, you know! You can't keep me here. My family is going to miss me. My fiancé. They probably already know I'm gone! You have to let me go!"

Nana allowed Ai to finish her rambling sentiments, and gave her the kind of disappointed look that all children knew from the youngest possible age meant that they'd screwed up. Ai felt her stomach sink and steeled herself. She had to keep going. She had to get through to Nana. 

"Why are you doing this to me? I don't have any money. I don't have anything! I need to call my fiancé, right now. He's going to worry! Please, let me call him. Please..."

Nana reached into her pockets and pulled out a second jar - this one had a mush inside of it that was the most unnaturally looking shade of pink imaginable; like nothing in the world existed in that particular color. She said nothing to Ai, and shook her head slowly. 

"No, I don't want more food, please, I just want to call my—" Ai was caught by surprise at the spoonful of pink mush pressed into her mouth. She shook her head, now, trying to pull away, to clamp her mouth shut, to keep from eating more, from swallowing, but it was already just a little too late. Her eyelids drooped and she giggled. And swallowed. 

"Um..." She titled her head, trying to cling onto thoughts, onto protests. "My fi, my fee... fian... fiance, um..." 

"Is going to think you're the most darling little girl he's ever seen, dear." Ai looked conflicted, like she knew those words weren’t true but wasn't sure why she knew that. She opened her mouth, and swallowed more of the pink food, her cheeks rosy red. 

"The food, uh, um…" 

"Is delicious," Nana provided an answer, and added: "It's your favorite." 

"It's my favorite..." Ai mulled over those words, like she was the last to know. Ai fumbled for words, for thoughts, for something to ground her. But every time she tried to say something, Nana would finish her sentences. Nana's words became the ground, and Ai was glued to them. 

"I'm not..." 

"A big girl anymore." Another spoonful. 

"Please, let me..." 

"Have another bite." Another spoonful. Soon the jar was gone and Ai couldn't think clearly. Little laughs escaped her lips and she smiled dumbly at her caregiver.

"You're going to be filling your diaper soon, dear. You’re so excited, I know you are. You want Nana to hold you in her lap while you do, and bounce you a little bit after, maybe? And then you always did love it when Nana changes you." 

These words should have set off alarm bells in Ai's head, but they didn't - like someone had cut the wire to the sirens, and a little red light flashing was all that remained; and even then, Nana kept Ai’s gaze away from it.

"I... uh..." Ai nodded along, but she wasn't sure what she was agreeing to. The food she was given would definitely have some desired effects, but it could take anywhere from an hour to four hours to do so. The pink food would wear off long before then. It was important Ai was fully aware of herself as she surrendered her control.

[Guilend]

Very interesting start. I definitely am going to continue reading this story as you post it. 

[Mia Moore]

1 minute ago, Guilend said:

Very interesting start. I definitely am going to continue reading this story as you post it. 

First comment!  Thank you ? ?

[diaperpt]

Interesting story. The manipulation of the girl through the drugged pacifier and now the food is unrealistic but certainly 'allowed' in stories like this and make a fun read.

[Mia Moore]

7 minutes ago, diaperpt said:

Interesting story. The manipulation of the girl through the drugged pacifier and now the food is unrealistic but certainly 'allowed' in stories like this and make a fun read.

Yeah ?  There's some suspension of disbelief for sure.  Thank you for commenting. ?

[Jayme]

Ali's fiancée may be an interesting psudeo villain to watch out for in future chapters... I'm liking how the regression is being done, almost like a Stockholm syndrome meets Pavlov conditioning mashup.

[Mia Moore]

On 8/18/2021 at 1:48 AM, Jayme said:

almost like a Stockholm syndrome meets Pavlov conditioning mashup.

Yeah exactly!  I'm so happy everyone is enjoying it.  I should have another chapter up soon.  I've got some schoolwork today.

[~Brian~]

@Mia Moore

so far this is an awesome story!  Sounds like this young lady is going to end up exactly as Nana wants her to be. She will try to continue to believe that she is a big girl, but with all Nana’s tricks, I doubt that she will be able to continue to do that. I will be looking forward to other chapters as you move on and I can’t wait to read them!

Brian

Edited August 19, 2021 by ~Brian~
Added proper punctuation for readability

[Mia Moore]

Chapter Two

Ai's escape from delirium was not quick or poignant. She didn't come out of it like a hypnotist snapping their fingers. She played happily with seven blocks on the floor, each of a different color and decorated in a different symbol. She would stack them and rearrange them and giggle and smile. Then, after a while, she wondered why she was doing this at all. But she didn't stop, not for another ten minutes. Ai set down the blue block and looked at her hands. Then she looked around the room. She was alone, and she didn't have the pacifier in her mouth. 

"What... what happened?"

In her confusion, it took a few moments for Ai to take stock of the room. It was like she knew everything about every crevice and cranny of the room that held her, and also as though she was seeing it for the very first time. There was a bed centered to one wall, and above the bed on that wall there were paintings that looked like children’s finger paintings, hung in proud frames. She turned her head to the strange oversized armchair where she remembered sitting in Nana’s lap. Once? Just today, right? But it looked so familiar... 

The floor was white, soft, like foam rubber. She had blocks around her. Her blocks. She knew they were her blocks because if she thought about someone else taking them she'd frown just a little bit. Room. Bedroom. Her bedroom. Toys. Her toys. Cute pretty top. Diaper. Alone.

Ai fumbled to her feet. She was standing in the center of the room, but her knees didn't wobble. Whatever that food had done to her, it also gave her a bit of energy. Maybe enough to escape. 

There was no door, but there was a window. Sunlight streamed through. She hurried over to it, maybe to figure out where she was being held captive, but there was nothing on the other side of the window. It was just white, like the window was nothing more than a light box. Ai touched the glass with her hands and looked around the room. She grabbed one of the blocks from the ground and threw it as hard as she could at the window. It hit with a loud crack and bounced off the glass.

Had it cracked? Had it dented? It was so hard to tell when the whole window was made of light. Emboldened, maybe, by the hope of making progress, Ai toddled over to the rest of the blocks where she'd left them, and scooped them up one by one. Either she'd break her way out, or she'd force someone to come into the room and chastise her. Either way, she needed hope.  But after throwing all seven blocks, the window didn't seem to sustain any damage. It wasn't working. Ai needed a new approach. 

"I got in here somehow," she muttered to herself. "So there has to be a door..." Ai started near the window and looked for cracks in the walls, anything that might signify an openable panel. On the side of the room opposite her bed, she found one. Two, actually. It was very clearly a door, but no handle.

Using her fingers to try and pry into the very small crack, Ai noticed something she had overlooked until now - her fingernails were painted. Soft pastel pink, like cupcake frosting. This shouldn't have stood out too much to her, but she had never painted her nails even once in her life. More than that, they were slightly chipped, and grown out from the end of the nail bed; like they'd been painted weeks ago.

Ai shook her head in a panic and took a few steps away from the door. This isn't happening, she thought. It’s some stupid... stupid prank or something, right? But Ai's friends weren't really pranksters, and they would never take anything this far. She looked down at her outfit and shook her head. 

Without thinking too much about it, she started to undress, starting with her shirt. She didn't care if she was naked - Ai wasn't about to play into this awful baby fantasy bullshit! She tore the diaper off and threw it to the floor, then— 

The diaper wasn't there. The shirt wasn't there. Ai looked around the room - exactly as she left it, with the blocks haphazardly strewn across the room in whatever positions they landed after crashing against the window. But the diaper and the shirt were once again on Ai's body. 

Was it a glitch? Ai wondered. Is this a simulation or something? No, that was stupid! This wasn't a sci-fi movie! 

Ai's anger built in her chest. In a flurry, she tore the shirt off again and ripped it from the neckline all the way to the hem. But when she turned her attention to the diaper, she froze. Ai stood there blankly, looking at the diaper around her hips. The same diaper as before, probably. But for the life of her, she couldn't remember how to take it off.

Riding a bike. Tying her shoes. Driving a stick shift. Using a computer mouse. They were all things that Ai had to learn how to do. Taking off a diaper... her brain blanked. There was no way to take it off. It was like handcuffs. Or a straight jacket. 

"This is... this is stupid, I..." Nobody was listening, but someone have been. Someone came in there without her seeing, and put the diaper back on her! But if she couldn't take it off, then that wasn't true. Had she just imagined taking it off?

Ai's bottom lip trembled and tears filled her eyes. She was a crybaby at the best of times, and this was definitely not the best of times. Her fiancé always teased her about it. She missed him so much... 

"Please... someone has to be out there. Please, if you're listening, let me go home! I have a family! I'm getting married in April, and... I... I have to go home. Please..." Tears slid down her cheeks.

If anybody heard her, nobody said anything. Her fingers found their way to the diaper, to the plastic that crinkled with every movement. But her brain kept telling her the same thing each and every time she touched it: you don't take your diapers off. You can't. 

"Please..." Ai had tears down her cheeks as she looked at each of the upper corners of the room, like maybe she could see a camera or something - no such luck - and she shook her head. 

"Please..." The begging was getting her nowhere. Her chest hurt to admit it. 

"Please... I'll be good." That concession made her sink internally, that level of submission of giving up. And it still got no reaction. Her eyes squeezed shut, and she sobbed. Nobody came.

Ai curled up on her bed and cried. She didn't know what else to do. Would her fiancé come for her? Would her parents call the police? Someone had to save her, right? These crazy people couldn't keep her here, locked in a tiny room and treat her like a baby. But the more she hoped, the more nervous she became. What if they didn't save her? 

No, she couldn't think like that. If she gave up hope, then she'd never find a way out. But the grumbling in her stomach started to chip away at what little hope she had. She felt queasy, and she knew deep down that her captors weren't about to let her use the toilet.

Ai paced the length of the room, at first to keep herself distracted, but quickly she realized that the movements were only hastening the cramping in her guts. So the pacing became sitting on the bed, and hoping for the best. But then the lack of distraction meant all she could think about was the discomfort, the gurgling unhappiness! 

And so it was irony, maybe, that she wound up back on the floor and playing with her blocks again. Her blocks. She knew they were hers. And she wasn't playing with them because she was drugged, or forced, or coerced. The distraction was good. It was nice. It was comforting. Playing with her blocks made her happy. And happiness was in such short supply right now.

She sat on her knees, looking at the diaper around her hips. Beads of sweat had formed on her forehead and she was staring down at the diaper with desperation. Tear it? That wouldn't work. Just shimmy it down, like panties. That wouldn't work. The tapes on the front, fastened over the baby blocks, definitely meant something. But she couldn't figure out what. 

Ai knew someone would come in. Someone had to come in, if only to humiliate her and tease her and call her stupid lies. Like a baby. She wasn't a baby! She was twenty-five years old! She was an adult! But no one came. 

Ai bent forward on her elbows and knees. She groaned loudly. The cramps were too much, and her body was through listening to her pride. She pushed, and tears of shame dripped down her cheeks onto the carpet.

There was a part of her that knew she was going to break, a twig in her own psyche that would snap and leave her completely and utterly different. The first push had been so hard, and the second wasn't much easier. But as Ai figured out that she could rock and lean and push in unison, lifting her diaper up in the air, it became easier. Push. Easier. Easier to poop herself. Easier to use her diaper. Easier to do what it was meant for.

She couldn't escape it. She couldn't blame them. She was doing this. She was wearing a diaper. Her diaper, she reminded herself. Why did she remind herself? Ai could feel it. Ai could smell it. Ai couldn't escape it. She pushed again, like a baby.

Ai sat up on her knees, so the heavy mass in her diaper sagged between her legs. Tears spilled down her burning red cheeks. She couldn't believe she did that. She was supposed to be an adult, but she had filled her diaper like an infant. Ai reached down to undo the diaper, to free herself of the mess she made, but she couldn't remember how. She stared at the sagging diaper and fresh tears filled her eyes. She couldn't stop crying.

Ai shifted a little too far back, and her diaper pressed its sagging mushy seat against her heels. She squealed and bawled and shot back up. She tried to stand, but the diaper was unavoidable. Her mess was unavoidable. Eventually, Ai found, if she laid on her stomach, on her bed, she could almost pretend she hadn't done it. If not for the smell. 

[1505_madmax]

Love chapters!! please do continue!

[Bonsai]

The thing I enjoy the most is how they give her a chance to accept her new condition and allow her to fail before taking away the option. 

You try to speak up your mind like an adult? A nice hypnotist, with the help of some spoons of “your favourite food” will wipe away such silliness.

You take your diaper off? Well, now the knowledge on how to do that is gone and you can’t really figure out what’s the purpose of the four tapes that are placed in the front.

Will she ever learn from experience and try for the future to pick up her battles more wisely?

[Mia Moore]

On 8/19/2021 at 7:40 AM, ~Brian~ said:

@Mia Moore

so far this is an awesome story!  Sounds like this young lady is going to end up exactly as Nana wants her to be. She will try to continue to believe that she is a big girl, but with all Nana’s tricks, I doubt that she will be able to continue to do that. I will be looking forward to other chapters as you move on and I can’t wait to read them!

Brian

Thank you!  Yeah there doesn't seem to be much hope for Ai, does there?

12 hours ago, 1505_madmax said:

Love chapters!! please do continue!

Since you asked so nicely, I promise to post more soon. ?

11 hours ago, Bonsai said:

The thing I enjoy the most is how they give her a chance to accept her new condition and allow her to fail before taking away the option. 

I've always been a fan of digging your own grave, ya know?  Ai only has herself to blame!  Right? ?

[Mia Moore]

Chapter Three

"My my, someone's been a busy girl, hasn't she?" 

Nana's voice was the first thing that Ai had heard since having her accident that wasn't her own quiet crying. Even that had stopped a while ago, though Ai had no idea when Nana came into the room.  Nana’s comment made Ai blush redder than she thought possible. Nana sat down on the bed next to her and began to rub her lower back. 

"Shh, baby girl, don't you worry about a thing." Her gentle rubbing moved lower, and her fingers were rubbing the seat of Ai's diaper before long, all while talking like this was the most normal thing in the world. "You did such a good job, Ai, you were such a good girl. Such a good girl. Such a big mess for such a little girl. My good girl.” Her rubbing became patting, drawing attention to the messy diaper even more than her words. "Would you like Nana to get you changed, dear? Maybe show you around your new home?"

Ai hated her. She hated everything Nana had done since her kidnapping. She especially hated how much of an impact Nana's words were having on her. Ai had always craved attention and praise, and Nana's particular flavor of it stirred complicated feelings inside her. 

But there was a promise of a change. A diaper change, Ai reminded herself. She wasn't a baby! She didn't need a diaper change! But if she was ever going to get out of this stinky diaper, she needed someone else to take it off her. Maybe if she paid attention, Ai could remember how to do it herself. 

"...yes please..."

"There's a good girl, dear." Nana rubbed her diaper one last time, and then stood back up. "Up you get now." 

Ai winced as she moved, cringing as the mess repositioned in her diaper and any chance of losing awareness of it flew out the window. Nana took her by the hand, and led her to the door. Or where she presumed the door was. Nana held her free hand up to the wall and it slid neatly into the ceiling, allowing access into a hallway beyond.

Ai followed Nana out of her bedroom, waddling awkwardly in her full diaper, and immediately found herself in the middle of a hallway. There were doors on both sides, with little number plaques beside each of them. The walls looked like they were made of white plaster, but they had a weird shine to them. It almost looked like a dorm. 

More importantly, there were people. Four or five others - mostly women - were dressed similar to Nana in tight black pants and colorful tops. One of them was walking quickly with a girl in tow, pulling her by the wrist. That girl was dressed very similarly to the way Ai had been, in nothing but a t-shirt and a diaper. Ai wanted to shout for help, but she was quick enough to realize that help wouldn't come. Whoever these people were, they were just like Nana. Where the fuck had she been taken? 

Nana pulled Ai along, just as that other woman did with that other girl. Ai wanted to run. She thought maybe she could find an exit, and she could escape! But even if she could, how would she get her diaper off? More than anything, she wanted to be changed. 

Ai and Nana passed by a man in black pants and he sniffed the air. Ai's cheeks burned red and Nana led her into a nearby room. She thought she might die of embarrassment. 

The new room looked a lot like a bathroom, with mirrors and sinks. But there were no toilet stalls; rather, five doors stood next to each other in a semi-circle. Notably, Ai and Nana were alone. Finally, she found her voice. 

"What is this place...? Why are you doing this...?"

"Because you used your manners when you asked to be changed, and you've been a very good girl, dear. If you've changed your mind and would prefer not to be changed just yet, that's fine, too - there are perks to a full diaper." 

Ai squealed and almost fell forward when Nana punctuated that explanation by squeezing her behind and giving it one or two little pats, but before there was much more time for discussion, Nana took her by the hand again and led her through one of the five doors; second from the left.

The room was dark, with low lights. The air smelled like vanilla and baby powder, strong enough to overpower Ai's own stink. The room was also small, with nothing but a wall of supplies and a very large changing table. 

"This is insane..." Ai muttered under her breath, but she knew any resistance would mean sitting around in a shitty diaper. She didn't have enough pride left to argue.

Wherever she was, Ai was certain beyond certainty that this place wasn't some pop-up-out-of-nowhere operation. From the others like herself she'd seen in the hall, to the well organized, custom-built nature of rooms like this, she knew this place was serious.  Her stomach sank. 

"How many other people like me are here...?" Ai asked, hoping that the question was innocuous enough for her to get some answers, without invoking any retributive wrath from her Nana.

"Like you?" Nana led Ai to the changing table and lifted her under her arms. Then, without a second thought, sat her down on the soft table top and right onto the seat of her diaper. The vanilla and baby powder smell was tainted with Ai's stinkiness. "No one is like you, Ai. You're special. All little girls are special."

If Ai could have blushed any harder, she would have; there were so many conflicting, complicated feelings. She was sitting in her own mess, in a diaper, surrounded by babyish things. She was handled like not much more than a doll by this woman. She was being praised, complimented, encouraged, and told she was special. And while Ai was sure that Nana didn't deliberately know the effect her words had, it didn't make them any less potent! 

Ai knew that she had to focus, to maybe learn the secrets of diaper removal, but it was so hard for her to stay focused on anything. She tried to adjust herself, to take weight off her diaper, but there was no escape or relief. And Nana noticed. 

"You'll get used to the feeling, dear. We’ll give you lots of practice."

"I'm never doing it again," Ai said with complete confidence. But Nana didn't care. She laid Ai down on the table and flicked a switch on the wall. The lights didn't turn off though, or become any brighter. Instead, a screen above the changing table turned on. It was similar to the screen in the van, with colorful, distorted lights. And the next thing she knew, the diaper change was over.

"...what happened..." 

"Nana changed your diaper, dear. You were very good for Nana too; you barely squirmed at all. You're quite the natural at this." 

Ai wasn't sure that a compliment like that was one she was seeking, but she blushed all the same. How had she missed that? How had she missed learning how to take her diaper off? The new choice of underwear felt thicker; her thighs couldn't touch now, but it had the same teddy bear print as the other one.

Nana helped Ai to her feet and she struggled to stand. It took her a moment to get used to the thickness, and even then she was trying to figure out how to get the diaper off. 

Damnit, she thought. I got distracted. 

Nana left the changing room and left the door open for Ai to follow. It felt like freedom, just an ounce of it, but there was only one door and it only went into one room. There was no way she could get past Nana. 

"Why are you doing this? What's the point?"

"I'm getting you ready for your classes, dear. This is your routine, after all, and it's not too different from any other girl your age. Wake up, mess your diapers, wait to be changed, dressed, and taken to classes where you can learn all the things we have to teach you.  And you’re going to make so many friends.”

"I'm never doing that again, I told you!" 

"That's nice, dear," Nana smiled.

Ai knew she had to do something. Letting this run its course wouldn't work; this place was far too organized. So the moment Nana led the way out of the bathroom, having washed her hands, Ai turned on her heel and bolted the other way. She ran down an empty hall, looking for an exit. The problem was, the most she could do was waddle in her new, thick diaper.

There were doors, and there were windows, but there didn't seem to be any people - and there had been people when Ai had been brought to the changing room.  Where had they all gone? 

Ai tried several doors, each one seemingly locked, and she gazed into several windows, only for each to be a forced perspective picture box, radiating light into the hall. How could a place have all the warmth of a prestigious boarding school, and all the clinical coldness of a hospital? 

Ai looked over her shoulder, one way, and the other, but it didn't seem like her Nana was following her. And somehow, that made it even scarier.

No exit. No sanctuary. She had to find somewhere to go, before one of the caregivers found her. Finally, at the end of the corridor, she saw an open door. Ai ran as fast as she could, skidding on her bare feet as she turned into the doorway without looking. But what she saw in front of her was... her room. Her bedroom, with her bed, and her blocks, and her torn up shirt on the ground. Ai quickly spun around to leave, but the door was gone.

How could that be? How could she have wound up back in there? Had she gotten turned around? Ai looked for details, clues, any signs that this was a trick - but they were blocks. Hers. She knew they were, the moment she looked at them, as sure as she knew she was wearing her diaper. 

Ai sat down on the bed, taking stock of the room. Had Nana known she'd wind up back here? Was she going to be in trouble for running? A moment later, the door opened and Nana stepped into the room. She was carrying a short pink dress, fluffing out at the bottom. It was positively childish, but Ai had expected that by now. 

"Alright, arms up. Let's get you changed." She didn't mention anything about Ai running away.

There was conflict in her eyes as Ai watched Nana for any sign that the caregiver even cared that she'd ran. The dress was draped over her body as though she were nothing but a living doll, and if Nana had any desires to discipline her, she wasn't showing it. 

"You must be so excited for your first day back at class, dear." Back at class. Ai knew that she'd never had a class here. That she'd never done what she did in her diaper before. But she kept looking at her fingernails, her painted nails that were grown out and chipped. And it made it so easy for doubt to enter her mind. 

"Um. Back at class?" Maybe if she asked the right questions, Nana would give her something to anchor herself.

"Sure," Nana said with a smile. "After your last outburst, we realized you need more special attention. So we placed you in a more... age-appropriate classroom." Nana's words didn't make Ai feel any better. Could she really have been in a different class and not remember it? How long had she been here? Just a day, right? 

"What... what are these classes? I... I don't understand why... I don't know why I'm here..." Ai tried to suppress her anxiety, but the fear was clear in her voice.

"Just like any school, dear: you’re here to learn. Your head is an empty vessel ready to be filled — just like your diaper, really. And just like a diaper, someone else can change it without much consideration for your wants and needs." Nana began to brush Ai's hair into two bunches with the kind of firm expertise that only bringing up and raising several little girls could have given. She wrapped the first in a pink hair tie with two little plastic flowers adorning it, and began to secure the second one the same.

Ai felt tears in her eyes as her hair was pulled into high pigtails, dressed in just a babydoll dress and a diaper. Her diaper, she reminded herself uncontrollably. She didn't understand why any of this was happening. 

"You gotta let me go," Ai tried again, desperation taking hold of her. "My fiancé... he's gonna call the police and... and he'll find me, and..."

"Your imagination is so strong as this age, isn't it dear?" Nana sounded delighted, but she also said it almost dismissively, like this was just so sweet and silly. She lifted Ai up onto the edge of the bed, where her feet didn't quite touch the floor, and began to decorate her lips in pretty, sticky, pink lipgloss.

Tears spilled down Ai's cheeks as Nana slid the pink lip gloss over her lips. Then, all at once, the tears stopped. Ai licked her lips and looked up at Nana with a faraway stare. 

"I..." 

"Am a good girl," Nana finished for Ai. "Let's get going." 

She grabbed her by the hand and led her once again from the room.

[1505_madmax]

lovely continuation.

[Bonsai]

Good girls just go with the flow and get patronized.

Bad girls can still think to act badly, but then will find out that they have no way to act out. The only punishment they get is a further restrain on their freedom.

No matter what, there’s no way to get Nana mad at you, because the more you try to be naughty, the less you succeed in it.

[~Brian~]

On 8/17/2021 at 9:57 PM, Mia Moore said:

First comment!  Thank you ? ?

@Mia Moore

i will also look forward to the continuation of this story as well.  I find it quite good, and think Ai will quickly find herself in deeper and deeper as the story progresses.

GREAT JOB ❤️

Brian

[Mia Moore]

On 8/25/2021 at 3:51 AM, 1505_madmax said:

lovely continuation.

Thank you ❤️ 

19 hours ago, Bonsai said:

No matter what, there’s no way to get Nana mad at you, because the more you try to be naughty, the less you succeed in it.

That's a really interesting perspective!  You're right though.  There's no real win condition here for Ai.

 

18 hours ago, ~Brian~ said:

GREAT JOB ❤️

Thank you! ? More to come soon!

~Mia

[~Brian~]

@Bonsai @Mia Moore 
 

I believe thereason for this is Nana doesn’t get mad: she might be a little upset or a little cross with you or make you feel bad by shaming you were little, but she does have a few weapons one of them is that pink food she starts causing issues all she has to do is start feeding her that food and Her charge forgets anything she wants her to forget or repeats anything that Nana wants her to repeat. I have also noticed that the lip gloss that is applied also has the same qualities.

Because of these weapons now, she does not have to get mad.  All she has to do is listen to this for a few minutes and put a stop to it by making her forget how to do certain things or to remember to do certain things so her little charge has been taken care of.  I don’t believe our charge will remember much when she is done because if she starts getting really unruly she will quickly forget how to be that way.

Brian

1 hour ago, Mia Moore said:

Thank you ❤️ 

That's a really interesting perspective!  You're right though.  There's no real win condition here for Ai.

 

Thank you! ? More to come soon!

~Mia

@Mia Moore

you are very welcome!

Brian

[Bonsai]

@ Brian

Ai’s memory isn’t completely wiped out. She still remembers her life before the Academy and so far the only knowledge that was taken away from her was on how to undo her diaper.

The place is more like a padded cell, or a straitjacket: you can trash and fight as much as you want, but that serves just to wear you out and, once you’re done, force you to think.

The real trick is in how they are manipulating Ai’s thoughts, first through drugs and then also through hypnosis and positive / negative reinforcement. I’m under the impression that, while Ai’s memory is still intact, certain ideas are becoming increasingly hard for her to even be conceived.

Fighting back just leads to frustration; being “good” does instead lead to praise.

Or, through another analogy, the Academy is like being placed into mental diapers that wrap your mind and drain all the waste that is produced by your intellect. Such mental diapers even have a “feel dry” linen inside, so that all what you excrete cannot return back to you and gets inescapably tapped away from you. Caretakers  make sure to change such “mental diapers” when they are full, so that you can never manage to leak any of your venom outside of them.

[Cya]

Well, I'm hooked. Very refreshing take on mind control and programming. 

[kirababy]

Really interesting, and hope we learn more about all that has already happened, but it is kinda fun having the same disconnects as she has.

[Tailie]

Traditional kidnap and regress? *lays back to read*

[Mia Moore]

@~Brian~@Bonsai

I really like your theories and analogies here.  A lot of the Academy is hard to get a read on, especially so early in the story.  But I will say, nothing about this is the obvious answer. 

On 8/26/2021 at 6:20 PM, Cya said:

Well, I'm hooked. Very refreshing take on mind control and programming. 

Thank you!  Definitely my strike zone 

23 hours ago, kirababy said:

Really interesting, and hope we learn more about all that has already happened, but it is kinda fun having the same disconnects as she has.

Uhhuh that's what I was going for so I'm glad you noticed!

23 hours ago, Tailie said:

Traditional kidnap and regress? *lays back to read*

I hope you're enjoying it.  

[Tailie]

19 hours ago, Mia Moore said:

@~Brian~@Bonsai

I really like your theories and analogies here.  A lot of the Academy is hard to get a read on, especially so early in the story.  But I will say, nothing about this is the obvious answer. 

Thank you!  Definitely my strike zone 

Uhhuh that's what I was going for so I'm glad you noticed!

I hope you're enjoying it.  

Yes, it's quite enjoyable.

[Mia Moore]

Chapter Four

Ai sat on the floor, fumbling with the rings in front of her. She knew they were supposed to go on the holder in a specific order, but she was struggling to figure out which one was which. The blue and then the purple? Or the big one and then the little one? Finally, someone slid over to her. A girl, with short blonde hair and gorgeous green eyes. With a sigh, she pulled up the hem of her dress - flashing her diaper to Ai - and smearing the pink gloss off Ai's lips. 

"You're new?" she asked. 

"Huh...?" 

"Don't ever eat anything that's pink if you can help it. Don't even let it come near your mouth." 

"...why?" Ai's head was still filled with weird feelings, but they were starting to subside. 

"It makes you compliant.”

"Oh... was I... being strange?" Ai had to wonder out loud, because her head was still cloudy, the way the sky was once the rain had stopped but not yet cleared. 

"You were playing with baby toys and probably using your diaper," the emerald-eyed girl said; Ai felt color coming to her cheeks.

"I'm Ai." Conversation felt like a good way to focus on anything other than her diaper, and introductions were the first step. The helpful girl smiled, and when she did it was like her whole face lit up in glee. 

"I'm Baby," she replied happily, and then the happiness faded as she added quieter: "I'm almost sure that's not my name, but I can't remember it being anything but that."

"Baby...?" Ai didn't understand. That wasn't a name. 

"Do you know your number?" Baby asked. 

"My... like my room number?" 

"No. Your number. How many times have they..." Baby paused. She was trying to think of how to explain it. "Have you had any moments where something didn't make sense? Like, time skips?" 

Ai thought back to the t-shirt and the diaper. She took them off, but she couldn't remember how. Then, suddenly, they were on her again. 

"Once..." What about her fingernails? "Maybe twice." 

"It's always more than you think," Baby muttered, looking around the room. It was a lot like a daycare, with foam tile floors and baby toys all over. More surprisingly, there were at least a dozen others like Ai and Baby, dressed in frilly clothes or t-shirts or onesies or rompers, all with diapers.

"I don't understand..." Ai mumbled, her eyes found their way back to Baby and her diaper on display. Baby's Diaper. Was that what Ai looked like, in her diaper? She couldn't look away, and it wasn't out of horror, or disgust, or judgment; she just... her eyes wanted to look. She didn't understand. Baby sighed took her by the chin and guided her head up just a little. 

"My eyes are up here, Ai," Baby sighed, but she had a little smile on her face. "They want you to think of your diaper as yours, so you take pride in it and you don't fight them. But part of that makes you really fascinated with other people’s diapers too. Don't chase that rabbit; try not to stare too long." What was she saying before? Oh. 

"So you're at least two, but it could be more like three or four. That's a lot for someone so new."

"Nana said I was... um." Ai shook her head. It took a moment for her to clear it completely. The effects of the lip gloss were just about gone. "She said I would be troublesome. Maybe that's why?" Then Ai thought of something else. "What about you? What's your number? How long have you been here?" 

"At least a month," Baby muttered, looking away from her new friend. "And I think I'm at... six." 

Six. Ai wanted to sympathize but she didn't entirely understand. Luckily, it showed on her face. 

"Every time the time skips happen, something changes. Like my name. I didn't think anything of it until someone else said Baby wasn't an ordinary name. So it has to be one of the changes, right? But it feels so natural."

"I..." Ai tried to think, and she bit her lip; the faintest taste of the lipgloss lingered, but not enough to give her anything but a warm fuzzy feeling for a few moments; a smile, and then faded. What was she saying? "Oh, um, so maybe... is it normal for people to not know how to take off a diaper?" 

Baby tilted her head curiously and smiled. "Statistically its pretty normal for people here, but I don't think it's otherwise normal."

"So they can just... take away stuff we know how to do? They can take away our names? Or they can give us new stuff? We might not even be who we think we are?" Ai was starting to panic, and panic in the daycare wasn't good. It was so easy to get in trouble and Baby knew it.

"Shh, shh," Baby looked over her shoulder, and down at her dress, and with a deep sigh of regret she took the hem where she'd wiped the lipgloss off and pressed the fabric between Ai's lips. 

This, of course, was not something Ai was thrilled about, and she would definitely have argued and fussed if she wasn't immediately enthralled by the taste of the gloss. Even as her fussing settled, Baby knew it was probably too little too late; the rest of the class had gone quiet.

A woman approached, walking toward the girls. She wore black pants and a bright blue top in a similar fashion to Nana. She was also the only one in the whole room that was standing up, and it made her look positively gigantic in comparison. 

"Baby, I see you've made a new friend," she said sweetly, though she wasn't smiling. "Since the two of you get along so well, Little Ai will be your responsibility for the rest of the day. If she does anything wrong, you're both in trouble." Baby's heart sunk. She knew better than to get involved with someone else, and now she was paying the price. But Baby also knew better than to talk back; she knew enough about playing the game.

In her sweetest, kindest voice, Baby chirped back: "Thank you, Miss Melamine, I'll take good care of Ai. Um. I think Ai needs her binkie though - she's fussy." The last thing Baby wanted to do was throw Ai under a bus, but she couldn't afford to lose something else!

With an ounce of suspicion, the teacher reached into the pocket of her pants and pulled out a purple pacifier. She bent down and pressed it between Ai's lips before Ai could escape the haziness of the lip gloss. With a gentle push, the pacifier sealed itself to the little girl's lips and forced her to suck on it. 

Baby thanked the teacher and looked at her new charge. All the pacifiers had a button on the front that, if pushed, would drip Pink Milk through the teat. It only worked a handful of times, but it would be a good way to keep Ai under control.

"I'm sorry, Ai," Baby sighed, only slipping out of her sweet and squeaky Good Girl Voice once Miss Melamine had left earshot, although how much of what she was saying to her charge would actually get through was sketchy at best. "I do wanna be your friend, I just can't have you getting me in trouble. Kitten is a 9, and she's... well..." The thought made her shiver. All she could do now was play with Ai and keep her out of trouble.

It didn't take long for Ai to snap out of the haze. She tried to take the pacifier out, but it wouldn't budge. Just like last time. Ai shot Baby a sharp look, knowing she was the one that did this to her, but Baby put her finger to her lips and pointed to the front of the room. Class was starting. 

Miss Melamine snapped her fingers and the adult children all stopped playing with their toys. Their attention was brought to the front of the room. It wasn't a compulsion - just conditioning. Everyone wanted to be good.

“Class - today Ai is going to be joining us," Miss Melamine spoke in airy, condescending tones, like she was speaking to children. "Ai is learning her new lessons, and she's doing very well, but she might have some accidents and make some mistakes. I’m relying on all of you to be my Little Helpers and let me know any time you think Ai needs to be guided back into obedience." 

"Yes Miss Melamine," came the chorus of replies, including from Baby. 

"Would someone like to come up to the front and share how important Obedience is to you, I wonder? I bet Ai would love to hear some of your feelings, so she can help form her own." There wasn't any hesitation - four hands shot up desperately, hoping to be picked.

Miss Melamine picked someone near the front. A boy, who was wearing a onesie with baby rattles on it and a diaper peeking out the leg holes. Ai stared in awe at such a stupid, impossible sight.

"Obedience," he said, a slight lisp to his words. It sounded almost artificial. "I know if I do what my Nana says and what my teachers say and am a good boy, I'll do the right thing, 'cuz I'm bad if I do stuff myself an' get in trouble. So I juss listen to everybody else an' then I do nothin' bad." 

Everyone clapped. Ai was dumbfounded. She looked at Baby for help, to explain what the hell just happened, but Baby shook her head in warning. Ai's anxiety was rising again. How could they do this to people?

Baby put her finger to her lips in a gesture of both 'shh' and 'if you don't shh, I'll push your binkie button', which sure was a lot of messages to be sending for just one finger. 

"That's very good, Joey!" Miss Melamine praised and more hands shot up, wanting a turn. With all the patience of a kindergarten teacher, Miss Melamine sighed and smiled. "Okay, I'll pick one mooooree… yes, Kitten, up you come." 

Baby had really hoped it wouldn't be Kitten. This was not going to be good for Ai to see. She was going to have to dose her... 

"Hiya errywun..." The girl that came to the front of the class had hair down to her knees, tressed in many different colors of ribbons, like she fancied herself some kind of Disney Princess, and the wee animals had done her hair. She wore a cute top with a ruffled skirt, and a diaper that was very much on display. Indeed, she actually fluffed her skirt to make sure it was as much on display as it could be. 

"I'm Kitten, an' abedience is," she put her thumb in her mouth and giggled, bouncing on her heels, "is um! the best besthest, an' its like hugs an' iceth cream an' puppies an' did you knows tha's puppieth are my favrist but my name ith Kitten but I think tha's Kittenths are the best too jus' thometimes." She had drool hanging down around her thumb and she giggled more, bouncing up and down as she spoke. She took her thumb out, and wiped it on her shirt, and fluffed her skirt again - it was clear that people seeing her diaper meant a lot to her. But her speech wasn't over yet. 

"Um-an-so-like-um... abedience is how um, how we show grown-ups tha' they're the bestest, an' we're jus' babies an' we need them an' we used to be broken but now we're fixeded 'cause abedience helps an' it's like when Sookie got broken but Miss Mellymy fixed her an' now she's better an' if she jus got abedient then it would be better an' uhhuh."

Ai stared wide eyed at the babbling infant who could barely stay standing. Drool dribbled onto her top and she sucked on any of her fingers that found their way to her mouth. She wasn't even wearing the pink lip gloss! Ai felt tears in her eyes and she tried stumbling to her feet. She couldn't be here. She couldn't let this happen to her! 

But Baby was quick to tug her back down and press the front of her pacifier. Pink Milk dripped into her mouth and Ai's gaze grew softer and further away. Baby pressed the pacifier one more time for good measure, as Miss Melamine gave her a suspicious look from across the room.  Baby kept Ai close to her, sitting her charge in her lap as she settled down for the lesson proper to begin. Miss Melamine had a lot to say on the topic. 

"As you all know, there are two types of people in the world. People and Candies. All Candies used to be People, but you were chosen for something more: to be converted, changed irreparably, irreversibly, to be Candies. As Candies, you never need to worry about work or the future or freedom of choice, of making the wrong decision. You know only one truth: you must obey. You must do as you're told. You must never think about disobeying, because you're not People anymore. You can never be People again. People make your decisions for you and you obey. And why do you obey? Baby?" 

Breathing in sharply, Baby pondered giving Ai another push of the button, because this was going to mess her up a lot. Maybe not yet. 

"Obedience is the only truth we need, Miss Mellymin, because we’re not People anymore."

"Good girl." Baby didn't like it when she was called that, because she loved it. She needed it, she craved it; it made her moan softly, and it made her bladder empty. She shivered, and smiled, and her breath was shallow. Miss Melamine continued her lecture.

Ai shook her head and Baby pushed on the front of her pacifier. A fresh haze washed over her. Compliance. Obedience. They had distilled it down to a pretty pink goo. So why did they need classes like this? 

"Time for the final part of our lesson," Miss Melamine said in front of the class. It had been going on for nearly an hour and Ai's pacifier was empty. She laid sideways on the floor, her head on the soft tile, and her eyes vacant. Between the dichotomy of constant panic and constant calm, she was well and truly spent. 

Miss Melamine walked over to Baby and Ai and leaned down. Baby recoiled in fear, but Ai didn't move. The teacher took a marker out of her pocket and slid it along the edge of the pacifier. It popped free of Ai's mouth, spilling her drool onto the floor. 

"As always, class. Repeat after me." Miss Melamine returned to the front of the room before starting. "I will obey." 

"I will obey," the class rang out in chorus, all but for Ai.

"Baby, your charge isn't obeying," Miss Melamine cautioned, and Baby did her best not to panic. 

"Ai, you gotta be a good girl, okay? You gotta obey. You gotta say it. That's what it means when Miss Mellymin says to repeat after her. Pretty please? I know you didn't know, but please be a good girl."

Ai fumbled with her hands until she had sat upright. Her mouth felt weird, now that it was free of the pacifier. She could talk again. She had wanted to scream so many times, and now she could. But she didn't have the energy. 

"I will obey," Miss Melamine repeated. 

"I will obey," everyone said in unison, all but for Ai. There was a sharp silence. Expectation. And then... 

"I will obey," Ai muttered. 

"I need my diapers," Miss Melamine went on. The group continued. Ai winced and repeated the phrase. 

"I'm a little baby." Again, Ai hesitated. She looked at Baby and closed her eyes tight. 

"I'm a... little baby." 

"I'm helpless." 

"I'm helpless," repeated the audience. Ai shook her head. Tears filled her eyes and she felt sick to her stomach. She was sitting there in a stupid dress, in a stupid diaper, with her hair in pigtails, and she had to pee! If she admitted she was helpless, what was even the point? Why fight anymore? She couldn't... she just couldn't... 

"Ai?" Miss Melamine prompted, but when she didn't get results: "Baby?"

"Ai, I really wanna be your friend, I really wanna help you lots and lotses here, but if I get in trouble I might not..." Remember her? Baby didn't want to scare her, or admit to that in front of the staff member, so she used a different turn of phrase: "I might get put in a different class. And I don't want that, and you don't want that either, right? So you gotta say everything Miss Mellymin says. Remember? I will obey. Let's say it again, okay? I will obey. Let's go down the list, just me and you."

Ai shook her head again and Baby closed her eyes tight. This wasn't good, and she knew it. 

"Class dismissed," Miss Melamine said sweetly. But the babies didn't get up to leave. They just went back to playing with their toys. 

"Ugh! Ai, are you stupid or something?!" Baby was mad, very mad. But the tears in her eyes betrayed her. She was scared. "I'm not going down for you! I'm not!" Baby climbed to her feet and hurried out of the classroom to find her Nana. Ai could tell as she left that her diaper was soaked through.