A Stuffy's Tale: How An Elephant Saved Their Little, A Story in the Diaper Dimension (Chapter 17 - Complete)

[LostBBoyBear]

As with my previous stories, this one contains several elements inherent to the pre-established diaper dimension. These include, but are not limited to:

• Diapers and their usage for their intended purpose
• Breastfeeding
• Non-consensual mental regression through various means (Including possible drugs, hypnosis, and/or surgery)
• Surgery to achieve various nefarious goals
• Graphic imagery associated with any of these warnings
• Humiliation
• Giants, aka, Amazons or Bigs
• Predominantly female and some male domination
• Babying of adults (perceived or otherwise) 
• Violence (pertaining to weapons, assault, or harm of others)
• Verbally abusive and violent caretakers
• Drugs and associated criminal elements 
• Guns and their usage
• Blood and gore
• Mild language

This story has not been labeled as mature, due to a lack of specific references to anything overtly sexual, but this warning serves as a 'turn back' point for any readers who do not wish to read about the previous warnings.

Lastly, this list is subject to change during the course of writing this story. While most of the plot is ironed out, more warnings may be added if needed.

For those readers interested or do not care about the warnings listed, please enjoy the following story and this first chapter.

Chapter 1: You Can't Be

“Okay, let’s just get this out of the way right off the bat. As you can see, I’m a stuffed animal and my name is…”

“Tus’!” Willy called out from the kitchen. “Iss time!”

“Right. Tus’, but for any who haven’t been regressed by this towering society made of Bigs, Middles, and Littles, my name is Tusk,” I said proudly. “I’m named appropriately because I am obviously, well… an elephant. Not the eighth wonder of the world, Jumbo, who balances on a little ball under the big top mind you, but an elephant nonetheless.” I then lowered my voice. “Keep in mind though that I wouldn’t put it past my original designer for thinking along those lines, but I don’t even tower over Littles, let alone the Bigs. So, no… here in the non-imaginary world, I am just a stuffed animal, or ‘stuffy’ as most Littles like us are called,” I stated to the trembling duck before me.  

“I’m your typical male elephant; gray, big ears, a trunk, a tail, two tusks, and limbs that have the dexterity to basically push or pull and maybe grab onto certain objects, but I’m… we’re so much more around here.” The duck just looked at me with wide and uninitiated eyes. Obviously fresh out of the box, with the evidence of that still strewn about the floor. “You see, I am proudly owned by a Little in this massive world. It’s a job that most want but few can handle. I personally had no qualms about my job or what it meant for my Little’s future, but I love him to death and would do anything for him. That’s the job of us stuffy’s. Understand?”

Before the duck could answer, rapturous laughter came from nearby. “Ha Ha Ha!” Willy cried out hysterically from the kitchen.

“Speak of the devil…” I said, still seeing that the duck was too intimidated by everything going on to answer my question for now. “That would be Willy, my… or I guess our Little. Mommy is likely playing around with his footsies,” I say in air quotes as best I can, “it’s tradition by now for when he’s in the chair. Plus, it’s a special day after all and I can even smell a something extra brewing.” I sniff delightedly and take in every bit of the aroma that I can wafting from the kitchen now. While the typical Saturday morning breakfast of some delicious, syrup-covered blueberry pancakes still hangs in the air, there is something more delightful afoot now… something sweeter. “This old baby,” I point to my trunk, “picks up everything, despite it being full of fluff. I don’t know if it’s magic or what, but smelling all that goodness is almost as good as if I was eating whatever it is myself.” ‘Oh, the intangible perks of specific species as stuffed animals!’

“Anyway, as I said, our kind is everywhere, and if I’ve learned anything recently, some absolutely love me, and others downright despise me. Between my ears is just some batting, but my feelings are just as large as any Big walking out there on the street, so it hurts a bit for those who don’t.” I sighed. “I suppose if I really thought about it though, it probably all began the day I broke the rules. If you’re going to stay here, Mr. Duck,” I said, not knowing his name yet, “you ought to know everything first.”

*              *              *

Willy and I were in the playroom of Mommy’s and Daddy’s house, though I suppose most knew them as Robert and Emily Galpin. He struck it rich after they first got married in tech or something, so space was never really an issue here in a I guess what could classified as their mansion. Not the biggest on the block mind you, but impressive, nonetheless. I didn’t care one way or another really, but days like today, playing cops and robbers was an entirely different experience under this roof.

“Bang! Bang-bang!” Willy shouted idly back and forth. A figure loomed behind a cardboard constructed bank and money lay strewn about on the ground. Amidst the mock gunfire, the money no longer seemed to be worth anything to either shooting party.

“Bang!” Willy shouted again.

“Ugh!” Willy said, mimicking the voice from the figure behind the bank to indicate that the last shot had met its intended target.

I was guided out from behind my barricade by Willy and looked over the assailant, now lying wounded on the ground before me. “Youwe be pushin’ up daisies Mistuh Moo befo’ wong. No mo’ wobbin’ the banks fo’ you!” Willy said triumphantly, holding me up, a curved stick to stand in for a gun placed in my hand. Outside this scene, I was Tusk, but here, I was Officer Trunk, a decorated police officer and winner of the popsicle award for goodness. Before me, lay Mr. Moo, an aptly named cow lay outstretched on the floor and currently a failed bank robber of Marker City National.

“You… you doody head! I’ll… I’ll geh you nex’ time, Officew Twunk,” Willy said in a raspy voice to mimic, Mr. Moo’s alter ego. It wasn’t perfect, but our battles had become legendary since Willy and I first came home. More importantly now though, Willy was happy here… or at least as one could be being a Little in this society. “Uhhhh…” Willy maneuvered Mr. Moo’s arm jerking up in the air for vengeance against me, and then let go. Mr. Moo, the curd of the playroom and robber of the local bank at least seven times this week, had perished by my righteous hand.

“Excewent wouk, Offithe Twunk,” Willy said in a lower voice, now inserting himself into the situation as head of the specialized police force protecting Marker City, an apt name if there ever was one considering the amount of marker that had been used over the cardboard cutouts of buildings around us.

“Ah, Inspecto Poof! We finawy ga’ Mistuh Moo,” Willy said, switching back to my alter ego. “Aftuh many hawd houwes we’ve…”

“I don’t care what the other women have!” a voice shouted from the hallway. I had heard it enough to know that Daddy had come home from his investment company, though likely was still working here, and what’s more, he wasn’t happy about something with Mommy regarding Willy. ‘As usual…’

“You don’t understand, Robert. Bethany and Calliope both have their Littles being shown at the art fair next month,” Mommy said.

“Emily, if their Littles went to Mars, I still wouldn’t care! Now, I have a meeting to get back to on the phone in my office,” Daddy said curtly. “Don’t bring this up again!”

I was too distracted by the stomping I could hear afterward to notice that Willy had gotten up and was now taking me into the hallway, Mr. Moo, still left prone and ‘dead’ on the floor by the bank. Before leaving the room, Willy grabbed his backpack and dragged it behind him with his other hand not holding onto me. I inwardly groaned and dreaded what I suspected Willy was setting out to do.

Moments later, Willy was in the living room and looked sadly at his mommy hunched over on the couch, nursing a glass of what I could only imagine was strong alcohol. It was a trend I had noticed that she had picked up with increasing regularity, particularly in the past month during the same time Daddy had increased his irate nature at home.

I could see from my lowered position that Willy had seen the glass as well, but either didn’t understand or didn’t care. Either way, he reached into his undersea-themed backpack and pulled out a large sheet of paper. Quietly creeping as best he could with his still-crinkly diaper, he reached Mommy and held out the paper. “I made dis fo’ you, Mommy.”

She looked up from her glass and at the paper and Willy. He had made it today at daycare and was very proud of his numerous fingerprints dotting the parchment. Close up, it was the inane and random smudges of any regressed Little. Further away though, it was a highly detailed butterfly, more beautiful and colorful than even real life. All the workers were impressed and could only ‘awww’ when Willy announced it was for his mommy because he knew that she liked them.

Willy waited with bated breath as she looked over the picture. Any mommy worth their salt would have praised their Little, particularly one who had already been regressed. At this stage, if a Little was still showing this level of talent, any Big would have been immensely impressed, unless they stupidly wanted a Little at a newborn level. ‘I’m glad that trend isn’t around much anymore…’ I knew by now that Emily Galpin, Willy’s mommy, was not one who would ever consider a newborn level, but she also wasn’t the praising type either. As if to prove my point, she started to talk about it for a moment.

“It’s nice, Willy, but mommy has to go. Show it to me later.” She stood up, her flowy and fashionable white pantsuit evening out as it hung off her skinny and meticulously groomed body out, before leaving the picture unceremoniously behind on the table in front of us. “I’ve got an afternoon luncheon with the girls. If you were older, you would understand.” She set her glass down and didn’t notice the now trembling piece of paper in Willy’s hand that he had picked up sadly after she had put it down.

Mommy strutted to the door and grabbed her small leather purse that matched her outfit. “I don’t know when I’ll be back, but Nanny Sarah will take care of things, I’m sure.” She was halfway out the door when she suddenly turned back. I could see Willy’s hopes rise that she would mention the painting that he had presented to her. “Oh, and Daddy is working really hard today. Don’t disturb him if you know what’s good for you. Yeah…” she trailed off briefly but then perked right back up soon after. “Anyway, bye-bye, sweetie!” She waved her fingers and closed the door behind her.

I always hated how she said, ‘sweetie.’ Normally, that word conveyed affection. With Mommy though, it felt deflated and more of an automatic response. One born out of necessity to be the in-fashion mommy and what was expected of her role, rather than a genuine nickname toward her Little.

Looking away from the door, I stared up at my Little. The trembling painting now fell to the floor and Willy dragged himself back to the playroom. I could already hear the sniffling. It wasn’t the first time, and I knew it wouldn’t be the last. Not with these people.

Now, I knew that Bigs inherently loved their own or even random Littles they met to the point of obsession and insanity sometimes, but like anything else, not everyone was alike. Some Bigs just cared more about other things, and I knew by now that Robert and Emily Galpin were sadly those types of Bigs. I suppose it would be like when not everyone coos over puppy dogs or kittens. Different, but not unheard of. In this case though, it was unbearable to just stand by and watch as an observer only with how much it affected my own regressed Little.

Stuck in my own thoughts for a moment, I only snapped out of them when Willy suddenly stopped before entering the playroom and looked at the slightly ajar door on the other end of the house, the one leading to Daddy’s office. ‘No, Willy. Please… not there.’

But Willy couldn’t hear my thoughts. It was the negative of being a stuffy here… there were rules, and as much as I despised them, the consequences for going against them could be severe amongst toy kind. So, sure enough, in a few short minutes without my words of warning, Willy had waddled to Daddy’s office and pushed open the door. “Daddy?”

“I don’t know, Bill.” He then noticed Willy and waved violently for him to go away. “It should be all on time.”

Willy had been regressed and like most things, it came with its negatives towards Bigs as well as its positives. Not understanding all social cues or not reading a person’s demeanor from further away, had been casualties of the same treatment that required Willy to wear diapers now or have him call Emily and Robert as Mommy and Daddy respectively. I never failed to question how those two never got that concept with a Little.

So, to my utter chagrin, Willy, not fully understanding the angry gesture from Daddy, took a few steps inside until he was directly looking at him, now seated behind his large oaken desk, his face bathed in the light of the new computer he had purchased for himself last month. “Daddy? I made dis fo’ Mommy. Do you wike?”

In the pale light of technology, I saw Daddy’s face grow cross, and I braced for the storm I knew was about to happen. He cupped the phone’s receiver to block his sound and whispered angrily, “Willy! I’m on the phone. Go away.”

I saw Willy’s face scrunch up. ‘Not good. Leave now, Willy. Leave now, before you do something we both regret.’ “Bu’ Daddy! I made dis fo’ Mommy. I…”

Daddy stood up and held out a finger. Its effect was palpable, and Willy instantly stopped speaking. If it was all possible, Willy seemed to shrink into the wooden floor and ornate carpet underneath his sock-covered feet. “I’m going to have to put you on hold, Bill.” He paused. “Yes, it’s my Little. Someone isn’t listening.” His words were simple, but he nearly hissed them at the end.

From my stealthy and passive ‘unreal’ state, I had heard many of the conversations between Mommy and Daddy. It didn’t take me long to realize that both only wanted a Little to boost their social status in this society, so some of the drawbacks of having a Little were detested and passed off by both onto each other or their hire housekeeper and nanny. As a caregiver, patience was paramount, but neither seemed to have a great capacity for it, as evidenced by the situation currently at hand.

Daddy clicked a button on his phone calmly with a beep, likely the mute button, but then immediately stared at Willy with his most wretched face. I instantly knew that Willy needed to leave now, but he only stuck firm in his diminutive position, and like a bolt of lightning, Daddy struck hard. “Willy! I’m very disappointed in you. You’ve been a very bad boy for Daddy today. Go back to your playroom right now! You never interrupt me while I’m on a call. Do you understand?”

“But Daddy…” Willy’s voice trembled.

He then stood up and it wasn’t much, but it made Willy shrink to the floor even more if all possible. “I swear I don’t know what I’m going to do with you. Now, you obey me or else little baby.”

“Buh…”

Daddy’s nostrils flared and he furiously lunged over and clicked another button from a nearby console. “Sarah! Get in here. Now!” He clicked off. “Don’t make me get Mr. Paddle, Willy. You know you don’t like him, do you?” Willy shook his head as hard as he could, and I couldn’t blame him for the few uses that Mr. Paddle had actually been used in this household. At this point, it was more of a threat, but it was a palpable one, nonetheless.

“Good. One more time in here while I’m working, and you’ll see just how wicked Mr. Paddle can get.” From experience I knew Daddy was practically always working, so what he really meant was never.

Errrr!

Daddy looked up as the door opened slowly with a creak and looked at the woman now standing before him. “Good, Sarah, you’re here.”

“Yes, Mr. Galpin?” Sarah answered quickly, her blue dress and apron just settling from her hustle to answer Daddy’s call as quickly as possible.

“Willy here is interrupting my call. Will you please take him from here?” Sarah hesitated and moved slowly into the room, being equally as nervous around Daddy as I would have been if I could move in front of others. Daddy’s impatience showed and he belted out, “Now!”

She nearly yelped at his outburst and quickly nodded her head. “Yes, Mr. Galpin.” She then made a beeline for Willy, “Right away!” In seconds, Willy had been scooped up by Nanny Sarah and then removed from the room. As she exited, she made sure to close the door behind her. A click to the door signaled the ending of the short but tempestuous ordeal and Sarah quickly hustled away toward the playroom.

Once out of earshot though, she looked at the still-trembling Willy whom she then had placed back on the floor. “Oh, baby. I’m so sorry about all that. You know how he gets… best to just leave him be, right?”

“Buh… buh… buh” Willy tried to make more words but instead only resorted to holding up the painting still in his hand. Tears bubbled and threatened to spill down his cheeks as Nanny Sarah leaned in to see what he was holding.

“Oh? What’s this?” Nanny Sarah took the paper gently and held it out in front of her to look at it further. “Oh, wow! This is so beautiful, baby. You’re so talented.” She then bent down and nuzzled Willy and squeezed him tightly.

From my position in Willy’s arms, Nanny Sarah was just once again proving why I liked her infinitely more than Willy’s real caregivers. Emily and Robert had their own strengths; this house’s size and decorations were a testament to that notion, but their caring natures had much to be desired. For a Little, their lack of certain qualities was a major gap and I despised that they had ever laid their eyes on and then plucked Willy out of that show room of sorts to be their Little.

Nanny Sarah let Willy go, wiped an errant tear away from his cheek, and then brought us both back into the playroom, where she then gave Willy a quick diaper check before setting him down. “A little wet, but those diapers can hold a lot, so you should be good to go until after dinner at this point. No sense in wasting one around here, right?” Willy nodded, having grown accustomed to sitting in used diapers by now. I honestly would have been surprised if Willy had even noticed his diaper’s state if Nanny Sarah hadn’t pointed it out.

She stood in the doorway for a second, still looking at the painting in her hands of the butterfly. “This is really good, Willy.”

“Dank you…” he said reservedly, still looking dejected over the rejection of now both Mommy and Daddy.

Nanny Sarah smiled sympathetically at Willy. “Tell you what, I’m going to put this on the fridge for your mommy and daddy to see later. I’m sure they’ll both love it when they’re more… free.” I could tell she wanted to say something more along the lines of, ‘more inclined to actually care about their Little like I do,’ but she knew it wasn’t her place as the nanny and maid of the household, no matter what her feelings were toward Willy. “You play a little more and I’ll be back in a little bit to check on you and take you to dinner. I’m sure you’ll love it!” She gave another half-hearted sympathy smile and vanished from view.

Willy sat emotionless, quite the opposite from where we had started only minutes before. Meanwhile, Mr. Moo lay motionless in his position on the ground. Willy couldn’t tell, but I could see that Mr. Moo had moved about in the time we had been away. Holding a ‘dead’ pose for too long was never fun as a toy, but maintaining the illusion of us just being lifeless things to toss about was also one of our top priorities.

“I don’ know, Tus’… Why doesn’ Mommy or Daddy wuv me?” I could see the tears as they fell pitifully from his face now. “I’m a widdle. Aw da way twu, bu’ dey don’ cawe! Befo’, I wan’ed fweedom an’ my ol’ wife back. Now, I jus’ wan’ a hug! Iss dat so much to as’?”

‘Darn. What to do? What to do?’ Willy was my Little and it was my responsibility to keep him healthy and safe to the best of my ability without revealing my true nature. It was toy law. Even new toys who thought they were space rangers or literal cats knew of the rule. No one ever questioned it; however, we all knew there was also an exception to it.

Like most rules, there was the exception that proved the rule that I had just remembered about. In our case, a Little had to be in danger of some kind for a toy to intervene. To be frank, I always hated the caveat as it could be stretched to mean a lot of things. ‘Danger of what? From whom?’ There was too much gray area for my tastes for it to be a good exception to the law, though maybe it was that way so the toy could have some wiggle room on a case-by-case basis.

Either way, Willy was now rocking back and forth, and tears were freely flowing from his eyes and dampening the firetruck onesie that he was currently wearing. In his despair, Willy had dropped me on the floor in front of him by the cardboard bank, and from there, I took stock of the situation.

Despite the massive house we lived in, and every toy or piece of clothing Willy could possibly want, he was still unhappy. I knew deep down that the riches of the world couldn’t buy what Willy truly wanted at this point. Even more damnable was that Willy had been made this way. A Little was here to love and be loved by Bigs and Willy had been changed to fit that need to perfection, even when his Bigs didn’t reciprocate those feelings back in a meaningful way. So now, it was the Bigs that threatened to tear his heart in half and that was something that hit me hard right in the gut, but I also knew that it was all very dangerous for everyone involved.

We toys tend to talk in our free time and I knew that this had happened before in two cases. With the first, the toy had done nothing about their dejected Little until it was too late. The Little regressed fully and lost any part of themselves to self-loathing and hatred. Knowing the Bigs which usually led to such an event, the Little was often given up for adoption and then became a hopeless case after one rejection already. The prognosis for a Little ever having a happy life after that was usually pretty remote and ultimately grim.

The other scenario was worse though. Having Littles from all types of backgrounds, it was inevitable that one with a military background would endure the same treatment one day. The White Valley Mall Incident had been etched into every mind, Big, Middle, or Little since then. In the end, dozens of Bigs lay dead or injured and the Little… well, we all just knew that it wasn’t a happy ending. ‘No. Not my Willy…I can’t let that happen. Not to him…’

So with a heavy breath, I gathered my strength and got up from where I had fallen and walked calmly over to Willy. Nearby, Mr. Moo looked at me with horror and yet recognition over what I was doing. He shook his head as much as possible to dissuade me, but my path forward was clear. As a Little, Willy was subject to the Bigs. As a stuffy though, I was subject to Willy, and Willy needed me in a way that transcended the typical relationship that most Littles and their stuffy’s had. I took another long breath and took my leap of faith.

“Willy… Willy?” He continued crying and rocking himself in an effort to self-soothe. It wasn’t working, so I tried again. “Willy,” I said more strongly.

He stopped. ‘That got his attention…’ “Wha…? Who said dat?” Willy looked all around; panic stricken after seeing the empty room and equally empty doorway.

“Willy… down here…” Will looked at me and blinked his eyes in disbelief. Willy’s eyes were full of fear and apprehension over what he thought he had just heard from his favorite companion. This situation rarely presented itself, so there was no how-to manual on how to proceed as a toy. I didn’t want to screw this up, so I went in light, and I merely waved at him casually. “Hey.”

Willy rubbed his eyes to no doubt ensure he wasn’t imagining things. When he saw my little arm waving again, he rubbed again, now more furiously and once he saw that I wasn’t going away, began shaking his head. “Oh no… no, no, no… I finawy did ih’… I cwacked. I’m da widdle who cwacked unda’ da stwain… bye-bye bih’ house, hewo padded ceww…”

‘Crud. He thinks he’s losing it…’ I knew it was now or never, so I reached out and touched his shoulder gently to reassure my friend. “Willy… I know this is a lot, but you’re not going crazy. I promise. Cross my heart even.” He looked at me both in relief and confusion and stopped his rocking for a moment. “Now, I know you’ve been through a lot, so I’m breaking a big rule by doing this, but we need to talk.”

[Guilend]

Good start. The way the Nanny acts in front of the daddy makes me wonder if she's spent time with Mr paddle or been threatened with it at some point. She definitely seemed to be scared of him. I'm definitely scared for Willy. Bigs like that could easily put Willy in physical danger without even thinking because they forget he exists or trying to show off to others. I have a feeling if the Nanny shows too much kindness to Willy she'd end up being replaced by someone very mean. I can't wait to see what happens next. 

[dirtydingus84]

Not going to lie I had some hurt feelings there for poor Willy. That was my whole childhood there. I hope he'll come out on top but he will need to be strong as an elephant to do it. This will be a very good story I'm excited!

 

[LostBBoyBear]

I definitely felt like I needed the warning section in this story, especially with Willy's parents in the beginning. Just know that some of this stuff can get a bit hairy, but also keep in mind that Willy does have those that love him as well. Tusk had to come out for a reason and I definitely think that Willy's life qualifies as that type of justification.

Thanks for reading and I hope everyone enjoys this next chapter!

Chapter 2: Normality Resumes?

The next hour flew by and unfolded with a call and response type of situation between Willy and me. After a small shake of the head from Mr. Moo regarding revealing his nature, I decided to have Willy believe that I was special and the only toy who could talk. More would have been complicated and definitely could have led to a rule violation as a toy, more so than I was even doing already. It was an individual toy’s decision, and I knew firmly with Mr. Moos declaration of remaining a typical mute toy that I was truly on my own with all this. Still, I had no regrets after as Willy had immediately calmed down and had taken to my newly ‘enhanced’ self, particularly when I think he got the opinion that I had come alive just for him. It was honestly super cute to bear witness to.

After a few hours though, I think Willy went through a period of shock as the full might of what I had revealed started to sink in for him, but Nanny Sarah just chalked up and noted his mood as fallout from his encounter with Daddy earlier as she fed him some mac n’s cheese and veggies in his highchair later. The same went for when she changed his diaper, read him a story, and tucked him in for the night. I could tell Willy was hesitant around me in his actions as compared to before my revelation, but I was grateful he still used me as a comfort item during the night. It was a step in the right direction, and I knew then that resuming our previous close-knit relationship would just take time.

The next day, however, I think Willy wanted to confirm that he wasn’t actually losing it, despite my reassurances, so he would reveal it to anyone he met and had a spare second. Bigs only just heard him babble on and on about his new ‘real’ toy as something coming from a wonderful imagination and fellow Littles played along like it was a game. I felt a little bad, but having the secret revealed to Littles was allowed solely for the reason of most believing they just had their head in the clouds or something like that. My guilt only increased about revealing my nature to Willy though when everyone just played along, laughed, or told him to go away. That being said, I also knew that it confirmed that my kind’s secret was still safe. In fact, by that afternoon, Willy had even given up on trying to convince others of my true existence.

Feeling my guilt weigh heavily on my conscience, I needed to give him some comfort after all that, so I waited until we were alone once more in the playroom when we came back home after daycare. “I’m sorry, Willy. Being a Little gives you a lot of benefits, but believability isn’t one of them…” I put my flat appendage I used as my arm on his knee to comfort him. ‘What I wouldn’t give for just a few fingers…’

Willy smiled at my warm and thoughtful gesture. “I s’pose I shoul’ dank you fo’ puttin’ up wi’ someone wike me, huh?” he asked, sitting back against one wall in his defeat over getting others to believe him.

“Actually, it’s been a privilege to be your toy, Willy. You don’t give yourself much credit, but you’re a great Little. Any toy would be thrilled to be paired with you.”

Willy blushed a bit, but after a moment of hesitation, then asked the inevitable question I knew was coming since I revealed my true nature to him. “So, is dis foevuh?”

“Me speaking to you?” He nodded slowly. “Well… I think so. This honestly doesn’t happen much, a toy revealing themselves to their Little and all, but if I’m going to be fully open with you buddy, it’s nice not having to pretend to be just a toy anymore.”

“Oh?” Willy leaned in curious about the inner workings of being a toy.

“Yeah. I mean, have you ever tried holding still for three hours? It’s killer on the back,” I joked, being half serious and yet still trying to lighten the mood.

“Oh… sowy,” he said, a little saddened now.

“Don’t be. Part of the package deal being a toy.” I patted his leg in reassurance once more. “But now, all you have to do is just listen to me and I’ll help you out. Mommy and Daddy are probably not going to change their ways anytime soon, so I can be your guide instead. Help you avoid some situations, but also encourage you in others.”

“Nutin’ bad, wight?”

“I can’t purely promise that, but nothing from my end at least that won’t benefit you in the long run. Besides, you can always say no.”

Willy looked hopeful and almost seemed to relish the fact that he had the power to say no. Mommy and Daddy never liked it when Willy said the word, so it was a real treat for him to say it again without fear, even if it was just to me. “Pwomise?”

“Cross my miniature stuffed heart from the factory, Willy. I’ll help you out, but more importantly, I’ll never leave you.”

He chuckled and laid his head back against the wall. He closed his eyes and seemed to just be taking the moment in. After a moment or two, he spoke up again. “Tus’?”

“Yeah, buddy?”

“I’m gwad you showed youw weal self wih me.”

“Me too, buddy… me too.”

*              *              *

I can’t believe I came out to Willy a year ago. Time doesn’t have much meaning for a Little or their stuffy when there are no future milestones to achieve, but I could tell from the fall leaves beginning to drop off over the passage of another year.

Currently, I was speaking to Nancy, a brightly colored blue jay stuffy during naptime. “I still can’t believe you told him, Tusk.”

“Yeah,” I admitted, still having doubts about the whole thing occasionally. “It was a risk, but it was likely that or he could have been broken permanently, and you know what that could mean for a Little.” Nancy nodded her head solemnly. “So, he needed someone in his life to back him up and that wasn’t going to be Emily or Robert,” I added, using their full names. I usually called them Mommy and Daddy, but with so many Littles here, using the same titles could just get confusing quick.

“I know that and that’s honestly the only reason you weren’t shunned when you guys came back to daycare the next day after Willy had ranted on and on about his tawkin’ toy. No one believed him but it would have been a shame to do… or even… well, making you lost.”

I shuddered at the implication of the concept of being ‘lost.’ While it could occur naturally, some toys that were particularly cruel or neglectful could be purposefully ‘lost.’ Toys would gather together and either toss the toy entirely away without evidence, or the toy would be replaced with the exact same replica but with one that would be more… ‘on board’ with the job of caring for their little.

“I would hate to see what that would look like in person.” I lowered my voice so that only Nancy would hear me and not the other surrounding toys milling about during naptime. “I ripped a little bit under my arm and Robert took me to the shop. Gone only a few hours for repairs, but when I got back… Willy was a mess.”

Nancy suddenly got a panicked and horrified look on her face. “Did they…?”

“No. Nothing bad like that from those two, but I think he relies on me at this point to keep him steady back at home at least. Here, he’s got friends to distract him. At home… without me, there’s basically no one.”

Nancy’s eyes squinted in anger. “Darn Bigs… ugh! They just make my blood boil sometimes.”

“If you had any,” I joked.

Nancy and I got a good laugh out of that one and it took a minute for our conversation to return to normal. “Anyway…,” she started back up, trying to catch her breath still, “did you hear about Cicci and Matilda?”

“No, what?” I asked about the Little, Matilda, and her own stuffy zebra, Cicci.

“Her daddy got into an accident… so she got sent to a safehouse.”

“A safehouse?” I questioned.

“Yeah… it’s a place for Littles to go when they don’t have anyone else. It’s like a sort of foster care,” Nancy explained, “but less questions are asked, and Littles are usually safer there than other alternatives.”

“Oh, but wasn’t there anywhere else she could go? I asked.

“Sure… Matilda could’ve gone with her aunt, but I heard she’s more… traditional for a Big.”

“Oh yikes. Yeah, safehouse sounds much better.” I shuddered at the thought of Willy ever going to foster care or even a safehouse. “I can’t imagine going there with Willy. It must be awful.”

“Maybe… though there are worst things out there but also keep in mind…” Nancy wasn’t able finish her thought as some of the Littles began to jostle around. Every toy knew that it was the sound of them starting to wake up, so we each went back to our respective Littles in their cribs.

After waking up, giving me a cuddle, and then getting changed by one of the Big daycare attendants, Willy gathered me up and we both sat in a rotund but comfortable bean bag chair and looked over a large, sturdy book with lots of beautifully illustrated pictures.

By now, having lived a few years by now with Willy, I still had to admit that I wasn’t entirely sure if he still knew how to read or not. The Willy that I had originally met could read just fine, but the diaper and romper clad Little I saw before me now, I was less sure about.

For example, Willy seemed to be able to follow along with most story time activities and could even follow instructions on some of the craft projects we regularly partook in, but he always went for the books predominantly taken up by pictures now, rather than the still accessible wordier books. Of course, I could very well ask him now, but I didn’t want to upset him if he couldn’t. It would just be a reminder of something he had lost and could potentially embarrass him for a lack of ability. I had to prioritize his emotional state over my own curiosity for the moment. ‘Maybe one day I’ll find out…’  

Regardless, Willy and I spent the next hour perusing through several picture books, each more brilliantly colored than the last. Some were more about the propaganda about a Little’s place in a Big’s society, while others were the more typical knights, dragons, lost puppies, or tales of families loving each other no matter what. After the last story, where the young prince broke a curse over a kingdom causing everyone to fall asleep, our name was called from the front desk.

“Willy Galpin! Willy?” one of the older nursery attendants from the front called out toward the play area where we now sat.

Willy’s ears perked up and shuffled off the bean bag chair. He nearly bounded over to the front when I tugged discreetly on his arm. “Psst! Willy… put the books back. You know Miss Shefield doesn’t like it when you all don’t.”

Willy froze and looked back at the stack of books that we had at least been looking at since naptime. “Oh… wight… Tanks Tus’!” He turned back to the front and yelled, “One min! Gotta pu’ da books back!” The older attendant smiled and nodded at Willy, and he got to work putting each book back in its proper place.

“Good job, Willy,” I whispered as he put the last book back.

“Tanks for wookin’ ou’ fo’ me, Tus’,” he said, hugging me back. We both then resumed our happy little shuffle toward the front of the building. The older attendant then smiled and opened the gate for us.

Willy stopped immediately when he saw that it was actually Miss Fedder picking him today. He still kept his smile up, but I saw the disappointed look deep within his eyes, when once again, neither Emily nor Robert was the one to pick him up. Fortunately, Andy, Miss Fedder’s Little and the owner of Nancy, came over and gave us both a big hug.

“Hey, Willy! Mommy says we’re goin’ to have playdate! Isn’ that fun!” Andy giggled out, obviously very excited for them to be hanging out after daycare. Andy was less regressed, but Willy was a good and loyal friend, and both had many exciting adventures at both of their houses since they had first met last year.

Miss Fedder only smiled and took both their bags from the front desk worker. “Come on, boys! There’s fun to be had in my spaceship!” Miss Fedder said eagerly. In truth, it was just her van, but she had elected the top-of-the-line package with the money she had gotten from the government when she had adopted Andy. Ever since we met them, things like that were why I truly wished that Willy would have gotten a caregiver like her. I can’t remember fully now, but something is sticking in my head that the Galpin’s spent the money on a new sports car and a pair of earrings…

Andy and Willy rushed out of the building and toward Miss Fedder’s car parked nearby; Nancy and I just enjoying the rush of the wind outside of daycare. Getting to the car, both bounced up and down impatiently at the locked sliding side door.

On cue, Miss Fedder unlocked both doors and after setting their bags on the floor nearby, loaded both boys into their car seats. I sighed internally at the prospect of two seats. Emily and Robert had so infrequently picked Willy up that they bought an extra seat for Miss Fedder to use whenever the need came about for Willy to be picked up after daycare. ‘Some attention they give!’

Miss Fedder started the car, but then turned around to face Willy. “Your mommy just wanted me to let you know that she had gone out shopping for the day and experienced some… problems. She’ll pick you up soon, but I volunteered for you to come over to our place while you wait.” She smiled and playfully jostled and reassured Willy on his outstretched leg. “Figured you and Andy would rather spend some fun times playing together rather than staying cooped up in daycare still, right?”

Willy nodded happily, buying the lie that Miss Fedder had obviously made up about Emily. “Yes, Miss Fedduh.”

She smiled and turned around. “Maybe she’s even picking you up something…” she added. She then whispered and only my large ears could pick up, “or I at least hope she is… that’s the tenth time in three weeks, Emily… geez.”

I knew she was lying before, but with that last confirmation, I couldn’t help but still appreciate her efforts to protect Willy. Despite having poor caregivers, he did have several people still looking out for him besides me outside of the house and Nanny Sarah. Plus, it was also nice to just see in practice. Now shaking her thoughts away, Miss Fedder then backed out and drove away.

A short ride later listening to some bouncy, but non-hypnotic-laced tunes, we arrived at Miss Fedder’s house. Living alone and not making as much as the Galpin’s, the house was smaller, but I still loved it more. The beautiful gardens, pastel painted window shutters, and the playset in the back gave the outdoor space a wonderful and welcoming vibe to any Little coming over.

The inside was no different and unlike the Galpin’s, it actually felt like a home more than something that could be described as only a few modifications away from a modern art museum. Here, love and kindness seemed to ooze off the walls, which mixed nicely with the sense of adventure and days spent having fun.

Once left alone to mind their own business in the living room, now strewn about with well-loved toys, Willy and Andy began to play mindlessly with Nancy and I and then several other items they could find. In their regressed and simpler minds, playing bounced back and forth between several different activities. It would have been pure chaos and any onlooker would have been confused as to what they were witnessing, but the laughs of two eager and pleased Littles left little doubt that they were having a good time.

Finally, after about an hour of this, Willy collapsed on the ground in exhaustion with Andy following suit soon after. Andy spoke first. “Sowwy about your mommy not bein’ here, Willy…”

Willy looked sad for a moment, but then shrugged. “It’s okay… she’s jus’ busy an’ stuff… wike youw mommy said.”

Andy looked uneasy but got a glint in his eye that I could tell meant that he understood that Willy had believed Ms. Fedder in what she had told him earlier. Andy was regressed enough to need care, but not so much that he was oblivious of the things around him that Bigs would talk about or simply infer. Occasionally, I would see him almost envy Willy’s lackadaisical and removed self but would also simply stare at him in sympathy at other times. Today he was giving a sympathetic look.

Trying to ensure that Willy would remain carefree and happy and being a good friend, Andy began to play once more with a ball being passed back and forth on the ground between the two. Willy only smiled at the gesture and the two began to talk about things pertinent to Littles such as favorite shows, gossip at daycare, or even brands of diapers and what made them feel best. The conversation suddenly stopped when the doorbell rang out.

Ding! Dong!

Both Littles stared at the door and Miss Fedder rushed to the door. Seeing who it was outside, she excused herself and went to talk with whoever was out there. Uninterested in a mysterious figure they could not see, both boys went back to playing. I, on the other hand, listened closely in to catch the conversation between the two.

“Again, Em?” Miss Fedder asked Emily.

“I swear that I got delayed this time!” she defended.

“Right… that makes, what? Six times the past two weeks of that same excuse? I mean, come on. Willy is so great, but I…”

“Now just you wait, Ida. I do my best and Willy has some of the best items that money can afford.”

“Money isn’t everything, Em. What about love? Care? Affection? When was the last time you hugged Willy?”

“That’s none of your business. Now, step aside and let me get my Little. This is making me late enough for dinner already.”

The door opened and Miss Fedder added quickly, “Just watch out. He’s vulnerable and I’ll not stand idly by if I see any signs of neglect.”

Entering into the main entrance, I could only just see Emily role her eyes at that last comment. Willy didn’t see and only got up and ran, one arm outstretched while holding me in the other, right into her legs. Mommy buckled and stood in shock for a moment, but then smiled down at her eager and clingy Little. “Glad to see you too, Willy. Now, come on. Daddy is waiting for us back home.”

“I…” Willy obviously wanted to say more, but he knew the routine by now, “okay, Mommy.”

“Good boy,” she said stiffly after grabbing his bag that he had at daycare that had been set on the front table earlier. “Now, say goodbye and let’s go.”

Willy turned around and waved to Andy with his arm not holding me. “Bye-bye, An’y. See you tomowow.”

Andy waved back, a little more coordinated in his small gesture. “See you den, Willy.”

Mommy then pulled us away and took us to her newly purchased silver and white luxury car. It had been her birthday gift a month ago and from the look she got whenever seeing the thing, I truly believed she had loved it more than Willy himself at this point. I didn’t make these thoughts known to Willy, of course, but I was consistently reminded of that observation every time we went for a ride in it.

After a quick diaper check, so as not to ruin the newly finished rear seats, mommy declared Willy “good enough until we get home,” and buckled him in, me still gripped tightly in Willy’s arm but then also maneuvered around to let mommy do her work with the buckles. She then got in the front seat and turned on the car before pulling out of the driveway. Miss Fedder and Andy were at the front and waved goodbye at us once more. Mommy gave a half-hearted wave herself, but Willy enthusiastically waved goodbye toward both of them.

After a few minutes of Willy humming to the Little tunes playing only in the backseat, Mommy turned down the music. “Willy, honey? About tomorrow…”

“The pwaygwoun’, wight?”

“Well…” ‘Damn.’ I knew that tone of voice and in a minute, Willy would be disappointed for one reason or another. “My friend Atlantica just arrived in town, and it’s been so long since we caught up and she’s coming from really far away,” she prattled on, winding up to her ultimate point. “So, I don’t think I’m going to be able to go with you to the playground tomorrow…” At least she sounded guilty…

“Oh…” I could feel the sadness in Willy’s voice, and he hugged me tighter. Out of view of Mommy, I patted his arm in reassurance with my soft grey arm. His big, sad eyes showed that he needed something more than an apology now. ‘Where did his pacifier go? That could help…’

“Maybe next week?” Mommy said as she tried to rationalize the future to give Willy some amount of hope, even if it was steeped in unknowns.

“Yeah…” Willy said dejectedly, showing that her ploy obviously hadn’t worked. We all knew that the past two weeks had been promises of ‘next week’ as well. A third time wouldn’t likely be any different.

Mommy looked in the rear-view mirror and looked like she was about to say something, but we then turned into our street. Given the size of the Galpin’s house, it was immediately obvious that there were two strange cars parked in the driveway. From my view of Mommy’s face in the rearview mirror, I could tell she didn’t know them, and what’s more, was also nervous about them being there. ‘What I wouldn’t give to be able to speak to her right now...’

Mommy slowed and parked on the left side of the cars near the garage entrance. The driveway was fortunately wide enough, and the two unknown cars had been parked in a single file. Just as Mommy shut off the engine while still looking guarded around the two cars, four men briskly came out of the house.  

The two men in front wore only dark colors and both appeared to have some sort of wire in and wrapped around one of their ears. The two men behind them, however, still wore plain colors, but were now also wearing expensive looking suits as well. Their hair was groomed neatly, and one had a scar on his cheek that interrupted part of his groomed black goatee hair. One of the suited men briefly looked at Mommy but to our relief, made no further action.

Within a few minutes, both dark cars had backed out and were now gone from the driveway. After, even in his regressed state, Willy had noticed what had happened. “Who were dey, Mommy?”

Mommy hesitated and seemed transfixed on the direction they had left in. She was distracted and looked like something I would have almost described as being scared. “Don’t think about them, baby. Just don’t talk about them and forget that you ever saw them…”

I tried to put all the pieces I had seen together, but I just didn’t know enough at this point. ‘Who were those men? Were the two in front bodyguards? Hired thugs? Why were they at our house and presumably with Daddy? What did Mommy know that I didn’t about them?’ My mind swirled but from Mommy’s slightly trembling hands as she unbuckled Willy, I knew that it likely wasn’t anything good. The only positive though was that after days like today, I certainly wasn’t regretting my decision to come out to Willy. If I could predict anything at this point, it was that he would need me in the days to come more now than ever.

[Guilend]

I hope mommy peed a little in her panties when seeing those guys. I don't like her. 

[dirtydingus84]

Ida is a lioness underneath all that politeness I bet, if she's married it's probably to a giga chad and Willy would be better off there. Those guys leaving could be FBI or hitmen I don't know but something is going to happen real soon to his d-bag parents. I love this story more than the others it's good writing when you get emotionally involved. 

[LostBBoyBear]

Chapter 3: Murmurs From Above

A week later, Miss Fedder was now dropping off us at our house. Mommy was away at some social charity event for underprivileged Littles and Daddy was working at home. Due to a government holiday coming up, the daycare had let out early today even before naptime.

Coming up to the house, my stomach sank as I saw the two cars that I had seen previously that had made Mommy so nervous. Now, she wasn’t with us, and I begged more than anything that somehow, they would just leave or that we wouldn’t have to go inside. I had no such luck.

Shuffling solemnly out the front door, Nanny Sarah waved at Miss Fedder and came around to get Willy out of the car. Unbuckling him from the open side door, after Nanny Sarah was finished, Willy also brought me out of the car and held her hand with his other. Standing on the front porch, we all turned around and Willy waved goodbye to the departing car and his friend, Andy, still inside.

Nanny Sarah then turned to us with a serious look. “Now Willy, your daddy has a few friends over in his office. He seemed very stressed when he saw them pull up, so maybe try to avoid him for a little bit?”

Willy only nodded timidly. I knew he could still remember the last time that Daddy had yelled at him, and he was likely intent on avoiding a repeat of that incident. I couldn’t blame him and honestly, I wanted to stay away from him as well. Mommy had been scared stiff by these men and Daddy had obviously been shaken up a bit as well when we entered the house after they had left.

Nanny Sarah smiled. “Very good. Now, Let’s check that diapee, huh? I bet someone has had a bit of an accident.” Willy only stood there while Nanny Sarah checked him on the front porch. No one in this world minded such actions taking place anywhere and Willy had grown used to them while he was still at the regression facility. When one is diaper dependent in a world dead set on ensuring your lack of independence, it was inevitable. “Just as I thought. Soaked right through. Let’s get you upstairs and change you right away.”

Willy nodded in usual submission and indifference, while Nanny Sarah then picked us up and brought us inside. Walking across the main foyer, the trio of us could all hear a few rumblings coming from Daddy’s office door as the sounds echoed off the expensive stone floor and high ceilings. I badly wanted to spy on them, but I knew that would have to wait until I was alone, if at all. For her part, Nanny Sarah just dashed up the nearby stairs and entered the third room on the left once at the top, Willy’s nursery.

Inside was our familiar and cozy resting place every night, all designed toward a wonderful safari theme. A brilliant jungle wallpaper flanked two of the walls, complete with palm leaves and hidden animals. Many of the walls had clever hooks or mere wall decorations in the shapes of animal heads and all the wooden furniture looked like it had been plucked right out of any jungle safari. Real towering plants, animal-themed crib sheets, a rug that looked like a tribal pattern, large stuffed statues of safari animals, and a white canopy shroud positioned right above the crib completed the entire ensemble before us.

While Willy was subjected to another diaper change, I was placed inside the crib for safekeeping. One… incident last year had led to Willy’s caretaker only giving him washable items that were easy to clean with sprays or wiping. I was neither of those, so I was content to be parted from my friend for a quick moment, despite Willy’s continued reluctance to the practice.

Once the change was complete and Willy was smelling like a variety of lotions and baby powder, Nanny Sarah brought us back downstairs and into the playroom. Knowing the routine of the house, we were likely going to stay in here until dinner at this point.

After a moment, satisfied we were content by ourselves, Nanny Sarah got up from the floor and turned to leave the room but stopped cold at the sight before. Standing in the doorway was a stern-looking Daddy.

“I see Willy came back early today,” he said, drumming his fingers on the side of the doorframe.

“Yes, sir… it was a half day. Government holiday and all next week.”

“I see,” he said coolly and calculating, yet somehow distractedly. “Well, the gentleman I am with would like a drink and some food. Bring us some of the sandwiches from the party we had two nights ago. They’re in the permaseal, so they should still be fresh now.”

“Yes, sir. Right away.”

Daddy began to walk away and while Willy was distracted with setting up a scene for us to play pretend again, I heard him whisper to Nanny Sarah. “Willy will be fine playing on his own, so I want you to put up the gate at the door. Knowing the time, he’s likely going to pass out anytime soon, but I don’t want to risk him wandering out.”

“Yes, sir,” Nanny Sarah repeated, a little more resigned now. She never approved of how Daddy treated Willy and her outlook hadn’t gotten any better since last year. Still, I knew she needed the job and yet to find employment with one of the local daycares yet. Due to the high volume of Littles, they were highly particular for who they hired, and Nanny Sarah just hadn’t gotten her foot in the door yet.

So, sure enough and obeying her orders, Nanny Sarah barricaded the door to the playroom with a large wooden baby gate that I had seen Mommy use before when she had some friends over who were… less Little inclined than was usual. Also, as Daddy predicted, not five minutes later, Willy began to slow down and then teetered forward as he was stacking a few blocks for us to use later in a new play scene.

Satisfied no one was around to hear me, I began to wake him slightly so that I could guide Willy to a more suitable spot for a nap. “Willy… Willy, you there?”

“Huh? Tus’? Iss dat you?” he asked sleepily.

“Yeah, Willy. Now, come on. You didn’t have your nap today at the daycare but I’m guessing everyone around here just assumed you probably did. It doesn’t matter, but you still need your rest now.” Willy only sleepily nodded. “Come on. We’ve got our usual comfy spot, so let’s get settled in, okay?”

After another less articulate nod, I pushed a half-dazed and now crawling Willy over to the comfy pad awaiting on one side of the room. After a particularly uncomfortable day inside when it was raining, I got Willy to convince Mommy to get us a mat that we could lay out on to read and relax on while still in this room. For days like today, it was perfect.

As had happened a few times when it was just Mommy or Daddy in charge and they inevitably forgot about Willy’s naptime, I stepped in and ensured he had fluffy pillows and warm blankets to ease his wearied body. Due to his exhausted self being a Little in this Big world, he was out in less than a minute today and didn’t even realize that he wasn’t cuddling me. While unusual and a little sad, this actually worked out well for me.

I wanted to spy on Daddy and his associates, so not having to dislodge myself from Willy was just one less step. To ensure Willy’s contentment while he slept, I hobbled over to a drawer of miscellaneous items and then brought over and popped in one of his large non-punishment pacifiers. Willy took to it instantly, and I knew he would be satisfied for at least the next 30 minutes based on what I had seen in the past, likely more considering how fast he had fallen asleep. ‘Ah. The rigors of playing on a jungle gym all morning with your friends at daycare…’

Seeing Mr. Moo on the far side of the room, I went over to him to ask a favor. “Hey, man. Can you do me a favor?”

Mr. Moo, seeing that Willy had completely passed out, had gotten up from his position on the floor and sat on one of the toy chairs from a café that Willy had used for an undercover mission last week to catch the dastardly ‘Black and White Robber,’ Mr. Moo’s new persona in our games. “Sure, Tusk. What do you have in mind? Going to sneak up on Daddy and those four talking to him?”

“Oh, you know me too well,” I said grinning.

“Maybe… but watch out. I think two of them are packing. I did a little recon myself when they first got here, and they mean business. Been shouting on and off for the past two hours before you all arrived.”

“Got it. Just if Willy wakes up…”

“I’ll be there for him. Seeing him go down today though, I doubt he’ll be up in the next hour or so.”

“True… I guess everyone forgot about his naptime today, even Nanny Sarah. That’s quite unlike her.”

“Don’t think too much about it. Poor dear, Daddy whipped her into a frenzy getting this place ready after you and Willy left this morning for daycare, but anyway, good luck again.”

“Thanks, buddy. Catch you on the other side.” Mr. Moo nodded and went back towards relaxing in his chair as he watched over Willy.

I, on the other hand, now had to contend with several obstacles. The first was the gate that Nanny Sarah had put up as instructed. Getting to its base, I looked up at the five-foot-tall gate. Willy could just stick his nose over the railing if he was standing upright, but now, he was sleeping and couldn’t give me a boost. I would have to do this on my own.

Now, being an elephant stuffy gave me several advantages over my other fellow toys. Unlike Mr. Moo, for example, I could smell and hear what most couldn’t. That being said, like Mr. Moo, my number one flaw was my hands, which is also why I knew I couldn’t ask him for help in this matter. Being a created toy, I did not have to walk on all fours like normal elephants, praise be, but adhering to some reality, I also didn’t have any fingers.

I was so envious when I saw an older Little’s toy, one from the Combat Sergeant Luvman line, at daycare. He had a glorious mustache and well-defined muscles, sure, but what I envied most was that his fingers could articulate in his ‘alive’ form. His expert ability to climb with precision on almost any surface was a skill that I would have killed for right about now.

Putting my thinking cap on, I moved some of the carboard boxes that had formed our town in place right up to the top of the gate and to one side of it. I knew that if I had left them at the entrance, it would be easier, but I also knew that one of the Bigs here would likely blame Willy for causing a blockage to get in the room. So, after climbing onto the fourth box, I took a breath and then leaped onto the gate from the side.

“Oof!” It was rough, but I made it as the gate rattled furiously about. Daddy and the men were talking so loudly that I doubted that they had heard anything. Now, I knew getting back in would be a challenge, but at this point, I just fell to the other side. Being made of mostly fluff or squishy and durable electronics on the inside, falling just meant a possible sore butt or chest in the morning. So, falling flat on my stomach, I knew I was unharmed, but just then, Nanny Sarah then walked into the room nearby to the hallway I had fallen out into. I froze.

Fortunately, she was too occupied with serving drinks and food to the loud men and Daddy in his office that she didn’t notice me outside of the playroom where she had left me. Quickly, taking advantage of her current distraction, I darted underneath one of the couches and hid out of view while still being able to hear what was happening.

“Thank you, Sarah, but actually, we’re going to eat out in the living room. Please take this stuff there.” ‘Crud. That’s where I am. So much for going to them… Just stay calm, Tusk. Just stay calm.’

“Yes, Sir,” Nanny Sarah quickly replied. I could hear some shuffling and then the clanging of the dishes onto the coffee table in front of the couch that I was hidden under.

“Good. Now, I’ll still pay you, but I would like you to take the rest of the day off. If you followed my instructions in order from this morning, I would assume that dinner is now heating in the oven?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good. Now go. You’ve been very helpful today, Sarah. Thank you.” I couldn’t believe that Daddy actually sounded nice to her. It was just another reason that I was always conflicted with that man. He actually seemed like a decent person just going about life, but I just couldn’t forget how he treated Willy, either ignoring or mostly yelling at him. ‘I guess some people just aren’t meant to be daddies…’

I soon heard the front door shut and the men then come out of Daddy’s office. I honestly mostly tuned them out for the next few minutes as they just commented on the food that Nanny Sarah had served them before she left. They were likely taking a break from talking business, but that being said, they had my full attention as one of them began to yell.

“I can’t believe that!” a low voice said.

“Believe it or not, it was lost at the border. A random search I believe,” Daddy said wearily.

“You’re pretty cavalier for someone who just lost all that product,” the low voice sneered.

“But it was…”

“We don’t care of the circumstances right now!” the low voice interrupted. “We just want the product.”

“It’s beyond my control though…”

“Then I would suggest you make it within your control,” another, now deeper, voice countered.

“And how would you suggest doing that?” Daddy meekly asked.  

“Are you suggesting that we do your job for you?” the other voice asked.

“Well… I… errr… no…”

“Then let me be clear, Mr. Galpin,” the deeper voice said. I heard a few bits of shuffling around and then the couch suddenly lurched upward. “We have given you our money, our time, and our patience.” The figure began to walk over to the feet I guess were Daddy’s. “I can give you advice, but only this… find our product or find a way to compensate us for the loss. Though, I would suggest that the product would be a better sign of faith to us… about your… hmmm… commitment.”

“But that’s… argh!” Daddy yelled out in pain. I swear I could hear a sickening crunch as well during his cry of agony, but I only saw one of the other men walk up behind him.

“Fair, don’t you agree, Mr. Galpin? Or shall we be… how can I say this? More of our usual selves? I’m sure Bruno here can help with that.”

“No!” Daddy yelled out quickly. “Uh… I mean, no, sir…” Daddy said more reservedly, though his voice was still trembling in what could only be the strain against a pain of some kind and the fear of something else.

“Good. I’m glad we have that settled.”

One of the figures snapped and the wincing and shuffling that I could hear and the little of it that I could see from under the couch stopped. “I’ll get it for you… somehow…” Daddy mournfully agreed.

“Excellent. Now, I’m sure we have concluded our business here, wouldn’t you say, Mr. Mercer?” the deeper voice asked.

“Yes, Boss Cardigan. I think we have,” Mr. Mercer replied slickly. I could almost imagine his grinning a set of crooked yellowing teeth. For whatever reason, that man’s voice made my skin crawl.

“Finish up here, if you will, Mr. Mercer. I’m going to get some air,” the one called Boss Cardigan said.

There was a little shuffling and the apparently heavier set man known as Boss Cardigan, ambled out of the house with one of the more silent figures that I thought may have been Bruno.

The one I assumed to be Mr. Mercer then stood in front of Daddy. “That was very generous of him, Rob. I hope you know that the Bossman doesn’t give an inch for most that lose his stuff.”

“I told you… it wasn’t me. It was the author…” Daddy said, still grimacing in pain.

“And that’s precisely why I’m guessing he’s even giving you this… opportunity.” Mr. Mercer sighed. “Look… we go back, Rob, but this is business. You have a week until we start searching ourselves. If nothing in two weeks from today, well… I’m sure I don’t need to continue…”

“No. No, you don’t,” Daddy said dejectedly.

“Good. Be seeing you, old friend…” Mr. Mercer then walked out the front door with the other silent man in the room. When the car door outside slammed, Daddy spoke up.

“Sure thing, friend…” the motors turned, and I could hear the two cars then back out. “What the hell am I going to do?” Daddy then sighed and after a large gulp and a little clinking, went towards the direction of the kitchen. Without Nanny Sarah here, he was likely cleaning up after the lunch that she had prepared and set out for them earlier.

With him out of the room, I crawled from under the couch and eyed the playroom where Willy was still asleep across the hall. Remembering the gate that Nanny Sarah had erected to keep him in, I maneuvered myself closer to look at my options.

Getting to the bottom, I stared up at the tall barrier in front of me and cursed my futile appendages. They were a complete hindrance at almost all times when I wanted to do something and now, they were preventing me from getting back in. Determined still though to rejoin Willy and Mr. Moo, I looked around for anything that could possibly help me.

Gratefully, nearby were a few pieces of furniture and a hallway table across the hall from the playroom. If I was lucky, I could jump from each piece off the ground floor and then make a giant leap from the hallway table. I knew it was risky and would definitely be loud, so I waited hidden away until I heard the loud thud of the doors closing to Daddy’s office. Now, even if I missed or made a loud commotion, he likely wouldn’t be able to hear me. Something told me that he would have been too distracted by what just happened to really care anyway…

I then readied myself and hopped up onto the small stool and then the container of Mommy’s clothes that she was going to donate to another one of her social clubs tomorrow. Of course, Nanny Sarah had folded the selected clothes and did most of the heavy lifting, but I only really care that it served my purpose for now. Getting on the hallway table after, I then maneuvered around the family portraits and readied myself. After a calming breath, I leapt into the air in the direction of the gate.

Crack!

I undershot the top of the gate just a little bit and my upper chest slammed right into the top portion before me. It was darn painful, even with my fluff, but I had made it. Fortunately, Mr. Moo had been watching and quickly threw a rope up at me. I had used it the other day to lasso him as a dirty scoundrel bank robber who was robbing the federal reserve at Sippy Cup Junction, west of Block Canyon Gorge. The irony wasn’t lost on me that the former bank robber was now rescuing me, the sheriff with that same rope. Combined with my own effort and a large pull from Mr. Moo, I managed to get to the top and then jump down.

At the bottom, Mr. Moo just shook his head at me. “Geez, Tusk. Couldn’t you have found another way?”

“No time! No time! I need to tell you something!” I then explained everything that I had just overheard from Daddy, Boss Cardigan, and Mr. Mercer. Mr. Moo’s face only grew graver after each word that I uttered.

“Sounds like trouble, Tusk. I know we’re supposed to protect Willy, but what can we do? You barely made it onto and over that gate.”

“I’m not entirely helpless you know. I just can’t grip into those tiny little holes. I can pick up stuff just fine, but I’m worried.”

“Right… it’s just the tiny hole that are your problem.” He rolled his eyes. “But regardless, what was his name? Boss Cardigan? You think he’s just going to surrender over an elephant stuffy? Be the protector all you want but at least be realistic.”

“I know, I know, Mr. Moo. I just can’t stand by and do nothing though. I doubt this will just end on its own.”

“Fair enough.” Mr. Moo went back to his chair, and I followed behind, sitting in my own chair at the café. After a moment of peace, Mr. Moo then turned to me. “You going to tell Willy?”

I nodded. “As soon as he wakes up. He needs to know. Daddy might not be a ray of sunshine always, but even these guys made him nervous. Mommy too.” Mr. Moo looked like he wanted to say something more, but Willy began to rustle around in his sheets. Naptime would soon be over, and I would need to explain things to Willy the best I could.

Mr. Moo and I nodded to each other and after getting up and then walking back over to the still-sleeping Willy, I snuggled in tight to him. Chances are that he would be okay if he didn’t wake up with me at this point, but it was a risk I didn’t want to take. He had it hard enough as it was, and after hearing Daddy and those men, it would likely only be getting harder.

So, sure enough, not long after I nestled into Willy’s mostly peacefully sleeping form, he started to stir awake. “Hey dere Tus’.”

“Hey Willy. Sleep well there, buddy?” I asked, trying to maintain a still-happy demeanor around him.

He yawned but his eyes began to focus around a little more. “Yeah. I was catchin’ bugs. Big ones!”

“That sounds like quite an adventure.” Willy nodded his head, now coming out of the throws of his post-nap sleepiness. “Hey, Willy… I need to tell you something…”

“Oh? Iss ih’ a supwise?”

I sighed. “No, Willy. It’s about Daddy.”

“Oh…” Willy looked immediately disappointed, so I wrapped my form around him to give the most comfort I could.

“I’m sorry. I wish I didn’t have to tell you this, but I think Daddy is… uh…” I thought about how to phrase this to Willy so he would know what was going on but also so that he wouldn’t get immediately scared by the news. “Daddy has been hanging around some… I guess what you would call bullies.”

“Buwies?” Willy rolled the idea around in his head but then looked suddenly panicked. “Oh no! Awe dey stealin’ his toys o’ getting’ him in twouble? Wike dose meanie heads wight aftuh we met?”

I grimaced at the thought of those guys. They were Littles as well but a few steps behind Willy at the facility where they met. I did my own things to Willy, but those bullies ensured that he was punished for things they did, and in a place like that, punishment meant consequences of the mental or physical variety. Willy would have likely ended up much less regressed if it wasn’t for them. It took everything I had not to just enact my own punishment on them…

“Kind of? More like he’s working for them, but he’s a bit in trouble now,” I explained as best I could.

“Dih he do somethin’ wong?”

“Ummm… maybe a little bit, but not directly, I think.” Willy looked at me confused and I sighed. I wanted to protect Willy now, but he needed to know more. “Willy, the people Daddy was with are bad men. I just want you to know going forward. I’ll try to warn you if I see something, but I want you to keep your eyes open as well.”

Willy nodded. “You can coun on me, Tus’!” he said proudly. After a moment though, he then looked off distantly and then started to worryingly look nervous. “Is he gonna get an owie fwom dem?” a now nervous Willy asked.

I brushed his slightly trembling arm. “No, not if he can help it, but I just wanted you to know and not be confused if something happens. Okay?”

“Okay… but Tus’, nuthin’ evuh twuly bad happens awound Mommy an’ Daddy. Wight?” Willy asked as he looked down at me with wide and innocent eyes.

I pondered if I should tell him the truth or not, but I only wanted to protect him. He knew now about what was going on, but raising his fear wouldn’t give him any more of an edge in this state at least. Maybe his former self, but now, it would likely only lead to being afraid all the time and sleepless nights. Knowing that it would be a bit of a lie, but for the greater good, I nodded my head. “Right… I’ll keep my eyes open for us both, okay?”

“Okie dokie, Tus’!” Willy exclaimed, hugging me tightly. His fears were seemingly swept under the rug for now and I kind of envied him, but I also knew that one of us had to stay on guard. Even as I tightly hugged Willy, knowing Daddy and what I had seen today, I could only imagine what sort of trouble that all this could lead to. For now, I just had to enjoy this hug and only pray that things would end quietly.

[dirtydingus84]

Oh dear Tusk has his work cut out for him

[LostBBoyBear]

Chapter 4: Smashed Glass

It was a week later when all of us were in the living room and watching some cartoon about a cow and their desire to go to the city for Willy’s sake. He had been a notably good boy at daycare today by helping out one of the assistants and, with a little help from me, was also able to break up a fight. He had received a gold star and Mommy had promised him to watch this particular cartoon together tonight, much to the annoyance that I could see from Daddy’s face. He supported us all, was a good provider, and was highly protective whenever we went out, but it was just another moment where I questioned why he ever agreed to have a Little in the first place. It was the little things that he didn’t do, but they all added up.

Willy and I were cuddled against a seemingly distant Mommy, when a blaring ‘Breaking News’ segment popped on the TV.

“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen! We bring you the latest report that notorious crime boss, Nick Cardigan, has evaded jail once again and will be released later tonight following his week-long trial. This follows a six-month investigation into the murder of a drug enforcement agent at Red River power plant last Fall. We’ll bring you more updates tonight during our later scheduled programming. And now, back to your local show.”

The group remained in silence for a moment, but I knew it was a different reason for each of us. Mommy was furious typing away on her phone while Willy, who had only been bored during the announcement, stared intently at the bouncing cartoon dog now on the screen who had joined the cow in the city before the announcement. I, however, recognized the name from the one that Mr. Mercer had used last week at the house, and I made the connection that a possible, and likely, murderer had been right here and had even sat above me. It chilled me to the bone with that realization over the gravity of what I had witnessed, but then I looked over to Daddy.

Gripped in a state of white-knuckled fear, the usually brooding and strong Daddy was not looking like himself. He merely stared at the television screen as if someone had just announced that the world was fake or that we all only had another two minutes to survive. The announcement was unnerving enough, but Daddy looked truly panicked now, which was far worse. ‘What did he know that I didn’t?’

From his demeanor afterward and then his sudden race to his office, told me that he had yet to find the so-called ‘product’ that Mr. Mercer and Boss Cardigan had been asking him about. I briefly considered that it was drugs, but this was Daddy. ‘Daddy wouldn’t be involved in drugs, right? He may not be the best daddy out there, but surely not drugs…’ The thought was highly troubling, but a shuffle next to me took me out of my thoughts.

“Come on, baby,” Mommy said tiredly, “time to put you to bed. I think it might be an early night for all of us.”

Willy was about to whine but then only yawned instead. I knew the time and while it was unfortunate that the episode on TV was still going, I also knew that bedtimes were to be strictly adhered to. So, being the compliant Little that he was gratefully being tonight, Willy only sleepily nodded and held out his hands, my form being thrust upward toward Mommy as she gathered him up.

Sighing, Mommy readjusted Willy onto her hip and then carried us to his nursery upstairs. A quick diaper change later and Willy and I were tucked neatly into our crib. I expected a bottle and maybe even a story tonight, but Mommy only flicked on a nearby lantern device nightlight, to match the décor of the safari-themed room, and Willy was out in seconds under the protective jungle canopy that surrounded us. Without any extra fanfare or signs of love, Mommy turned off the overhead lights and left the room, closing the door so that only a crack of light entered the room from the dimming hallway. I hated how she used the hypnotic lullabies of that lantern to lull him into sleep and her subsequent lack of affection when she did so…

*              *              *

I naturally fell asleep with Willy but sometime later, I was awoken by him suddenly bolting upright in the crib. “No Daddy!”

“Willy, Willy. I’m here buddy. Shhh…” I shook the sleepiness out of my system and climbed onto my frightened Little to calm his nerves.

Willy immediately reacted to my presence and hugged me tight. “Oh, Tus’. Dere wewe ba’ men aftuh Daddy.”

“Daddy’s fine, buddy. It was all just a dream.”

“Buh Daddy!”

“Shhh. Easy there.” I continued to embrace Willy and then started rubbing his back in circles as best I could with my shortened arms. It worked wonders and Willy began to loosen his previously petrified grip on my body. “There, there. Just a dream…”

“Dweam…”

“That’s right…” I continued to rub his back for a while to try and ease my Little out of their emotionally distraught nightmare. I wasn’t worried about Mommy or Daddy coming in as I realized that they wanted Willy to self-soothe after our second month being ‘cared’ by them. A few cries would be passively ignored, but they would come if it was longer. Usually these days, I could prevent most of those incidents from happening. While today hadn’t been the first time recently that this had happened, I knew it wasn’t severe enough to warrant their presence. It likely would have only made things worse in the long run…

Willy finally started to ease back on the crib’s mattress, but I could still see the fear in his exhausted eyes. He wasn’t panicking anymore, but he didn’t seem like he wanted to go back to sleep either. “It’s okay, Willy. Promise.”

“Buh you said…”

“I know, Willy. Shhh… Don’t think about what I said. I’ll look out for them, and I’ll protect you if they ever do come. I just wanted you to know, but nothing has happened yet. Just try to get some sleep. You’ll feel better in the morning.”

“Buh dey na’ come, wight?”

I nodded my head, but I knew it was probably a lie from the way that Daddy had reacted tonight. Willy needed reassurance and safety tonight… not me scaring him further with the truth. I hated white lies, but Willy had to be protected from certain realities.

Willy nodded back but still almost seemed to shake under his soft blanket that one of the neighbors had made him when he first came here. Mommy and Daddy seemed to dislike the object, but Willy’s acceptance and love of it convinced them to keep it. Since then, beyond Mr. Moo and I, it had become an integral part of Willy’s life.

I sighed over his continuing anxiety over what I had told him. It was getting worse, and Daddy’s panicking had only made things worse. I hoped that Willy wouldn’t notice, but his daytime questions over Daddy’s odd behavior had to be answered someway. I felt like I had to go with plan B tonight. “Do you want your special help tonight? Like the old days?”

Willy hesitated for a moment but nodded his head slowly.

“Very well.” I sighed again and readied myself. “Just close your eyes and breathe and relax.” Willy did as he was told and with his permission now, I turned on my old hypnotic systems.

I hated relying on it anymore now that Willy had regressed, but I had told him about some of my features nine months ago to gain more of his trust. I knew there was a risk, but in fact, to my surprise, Willy had actually taken quite well to my technology, despite its initial use on him. Since then, if he ever had trouble sleeping, with his permission, I would use the first or maybe second setting to get him to fall asleep. Unlike Mommy’s lantern, mine actually promoted healthy sleep and increased the likelihood of good dreams for the listener.

The consenting Little was soon snoring quietly, and I kept my hypnotics sounds going for a few minutes longer to ensure that Willy would have a complete rest tonight. I just hoped that Daddy would resolve all this soon somehow. Despite Willy’s sleep now, I knew this arrangement couldn’t last forever.

Unfortunately, as I lay next to Willy for some time, I realized that all the commotion and the added time for my messaging meant that I was now wide awake. I could try and go back to sleep, but that would be boring, and Daddy’s panic today had me curious. When Mommy was bringing us upstairs, I had briefly caught a glimpse into Daddy’s office and his feverish working there after he had heard about the special report. I couldn’t pass up this opportunity to check it out. ‘Maybe I would find what I was missing in all this mess…’

Getting out of the crib was difficult, but as I had found, not impossible. Originally, I had tried to fit between the scaled up and roughly Little’s hand width of between the bars of the crib, but my huggable proportions and protruding tusks and trunk made this extremely uncomfortable and nearly impossible to get back in.

So, after a few stretches, I began to climb up the bar themselves. It was tricky work, but my appendages managed to fit through the bars, and I could shimmy my way up by essentially hugging the sides and inching up one side at a time. Soon, my practiced form was at the top. I took a few carefully balanced scoots along the railing that I had been practicing lately at naptime and I hopped onto the nearby half bookshelf and climbed down after. Getting back up would just be a reversal of the same process and after timing it, I knew I could do it in under three minutes now.

I slowly crept into the hallway, and I was immediately grateful that Mommy had been allergic to most forms of animal hair to prevent us from getting a pet. I had heard from my fellow stuffy’s that a pet essentially barricaded you in the nursery and any escape attempts would be met with barking or in some of the rougher cases, shredding of the stuffy in question.

Without any hinderances to my progress and Mommy and Daddy both sound asleep, I slid down the banister and flew out into the main foyer with an audible “oof!” Dusting myself off, I began to walk to Daddy’s office.

“What are you up to, Tusk?” a shadowed Mr. Moo asked as he walked over to me from the playroom. I always felt bad that Willy never brought him upstairs, but Mr. Moo actually seemed to take it in stride and value his independence. As he said before when I asked him about it one day, ‘I get played with when it works, and I can mind my own business and be free when it doesn’t.’

“There was a breaking news story tonight, Mr. Moo. Remember the guy I was telling you that threatened Daddy last week?” He nodded. “Well, that same guy showed on the news tonight after being acquitted of the murder of a drug enforcement agent.”

“Oh shoot. I’m guessing Daddy got a bit panicked.”

“That’s putting it mildly. I swear the guy was even trembling and then he took off for his office. That’s where I’m headed now. Care to join?”

Mr. Moo hesitated for a moment. “Not really, but you’re going to need me in there. You just know that Daddy is the type to have that place memorized. Can’t move something out of order and not put it back properly or he’ll know. Plus, from what you’re saying, he might do something rash if he saw something like that.”

“Oh crud! You’re right!” I smacked him on the shoulder as a thanks. “Saved my bacon there, man.”

“It’s what I do,” Mr. Moo said, grinning all the while. “Now, come on. Let’s get this over with.”

I nodded and we both walked across the house and then towards Daddy’s office on the other side of the living room. Halfway there though, we heard a distinct click at the front door. We froze for a moment and right as the door started to swing open, we dove under the couch where I had hidden earlier when Boss Cardigan and the rest had come to talk with Daddy. ‘Wait… damn it… it’s been a week!’

Hidden away with Mr. Moo, I saw four sets of shoes walking in the front door. Each man wore a pair of plain combat boots and bore a distinct difference to those who had entered before. Small beams and spotlights shown from what I could only guess where their flashlights pointed to, and after a moment of confusion it seemed, they almost all headed for Daddy’s office while another went to the far wall. His boots passed within touching distance of our hidden location. Mr. Moo and I held each other close and dared not make a sound.

Boop! Boop! Beep! Boop! Beep!

“Security alarm deactivated,” the security AI announced that Daddy had only just recently upgraded. ‘So much for state of the art…’

Once the man rejoined the others, Mr. Moo and I could converse somewhat normally again, but in a whispered tone just in case. “Why do you think they’re here?” Mr. Moo asked quietly.

“Probably what I was saying earlier with Daddy and all,” I whispered back. A few voices said something for the first time, but it was just noise, even for someone with ears like mine. “Come on. I think I hear some murmuring. If we’re really quiet, we should be able to hear more.” Mr. Moo hesitantly nodded his head and we crawled from one piece of furniture until the next until we were within a better viewing distance of the door to Daddy’s office.

Upon seeing a few more closely from our new concealed location, I saw that many were rummaging through the stored hard copy files, while one even began to crack the glass in some of the cabinets to access the computer mainframe better.

Boweeeem!

A small blue light emitted from some device against the glass and made an odd noise. My ears hurt for a moment, but I then saw the glass crack all over without falling. Satisfied, the man stopped the machine. The figure then simply tapped on the glass once with a single gloved knuckle.

Errrr… Crack! Smash!

The glass shuddered and then fell away into little pieces, making only tiny little pattering sounds of almost sand-like shattered glass now. The burglars nodded toward each other in recognition and then wasted no time searching through the previously closed cabinets. I couldn’t see anything of value, so I knew I had to take the risk and get closer. I motioned for Mr. Moo to follow, but his safer and probably wiser thoughts stuck him firm where he was, and he shook his head. I nodded at his decision and moved forward, praying that my own wouldn’t end in complete disaster.

Making a series of well-timed and fast paced moves, I quickly scurried under and around varying pieces of furniture. I had never been much for design, but I was glad the Galpin’s hadn’t chosen a minimalist style in their selection of decoration for their house. As a result, I was soon within spitting distance of the burglars and still hidden away.

Upon seeing them closer, I could see plainly that they were searching for something specific. After a moment though, they didn’t seem to be able to find it. “Anything yet?” the one in the middle asked.

“Nothing, sir,” the rest said in unison.

“Well, keep looking. We need to find any documents relating to a shipment of FOY. The boss wants this done tonight. You all know the consequence for failure…”

The rest of the burglars murmured in nervous agreement and then went quickly back to work.

‘What the heck is FOY? Why do I feel like I’ve heard about that before? Something in Losantis maybe?’ A loud noise then broke my thoughts and I saw another filing cabinet being ripped apart. The burglar’s frustration was evidently mounting, but I was also surprised that Mommy and Daddy hadn’t been woken up by now.

I wracked my brain to think of a way out of this. They were obviously the one-week threat that Boss Cardigan had promised when he was over here, but I couldn’t piece everything together. ‘What are you FOY?’

I crept closer when I overheard one of the burglars, who I had seen only getting more frustrated, spoke up. “Come on, Joe. Those two sneaks and liars are upstairs. Just lemme at ‘em. Five minutes, I swear.”

“No!” the boss, evidently called Joe, growled. “We do this clean. If we don’t ask questions, it’s just another robbery gone wrong in this rich neighborhood. Probably blame it on a depraved Middle or Little. Maybe even one of those roving gangs that’s been on the news lately. We go up there and start asking questions, though, they’ll either end up dead or worse. I’ll have to call the boss if you do that and if he says they need to live to confirm something, this becomes bigger, and we’re toast. Boss said no witnesses. You know that. Want to defy him right off the bat and cause problems for the man?”

The underling had looked more intimidated at each of the words that Joe had spoken and after his last question, the underling had even backed up a step and shook his head. “No… definitely not.”

“Alright then,” Joe continued, “just keep looking and with any luck, no one will be any wiser that it was actually us doing the searching, even those idiots upstairs. Besides…”

Creeeeeak…

I stupidly had taken that moment to move about and adjust to hear them better. The floor, however, had other plans for my previously stealthy moves and creaked loudly at my movement. In a second, I saw that each burglar had stopped what they were doing and were looking back in my direction. Fortunately, I was hidden behind one of the potted plants still, but a few of the group began to step forward. Any movement now would have either been heard or would have been seen instantly.

‘Shit! Shit! Shit! What to do? Move and get caught or stay and get caught?’ I was a stuffy sure, but these burglars weren’t fools, or at least Joe didn’t seem to be. Many of my kind had been upgraded to the hilt and contained recording devices and cameras in a select few. I had my own gizmos, but I had been designed for Little comfort, not espionage or protection of that type. They didn’t know that though, so I would have still been viewed as a liability.

Joe signaled to his men and two of the four that had entered were now almost upon me. “Nothing yet, Joe. Wait, is that…”

Errr! Errr! Intruder! Intruder! Errr! Errr!

The alarm the burglars had previously thought they had deactivated started going off. It was deafening to everyone, and it took every fiber of my being not to plug my extra-large ears in discomfort over the obnoxious sound going off around us.

“Shit! Get out of here! Fall back! Fall back!” Joe called out, trying to remain calm, but obviously flustered over a large kink that had occurred in his plan. The four of them then bolted for the door, and I saw two things. The first was Joe screaming into his arm, “Extraction point A! I repeat, A! ETA, 50 seconds!” The second was that one of the four, one of the more aggressive but quieter ones, was wearing a short sleeved black shirt under his gear. I might not have cared one bit but running along the top of one of his arms, was a long and distinctive snake tattoo. It was only in my view for a moment, but I had seen it.

The last of the four scurried out the door and I blessed my luck, but I couldn’t figure out what was going on. “You okay?” Mr. Moo asked from the other side of the room.

“Yeah, but…” I stopped when I looked over at Mr. Moo. He was standing upright with a single ball gripped in his hand while another rolled back toward him. Looking up, I saw a smashed security camera and sensor. Mr. Moo had saved me. “Thanks.”

Mr. Moo walked over to me and helped me back up with a smile. “Any time, but now go, before Mommy an…”

“I don’t know what’s going on. The damn thing shouldn’t have gone off for no reason,” Daddy said walking downstairs and then suddenly stopping.

“Oh, you and your stupid gadgets, Rob! I swear! Just one lousy good night of sleep isn’t too much to ask for. I don’t understand…” Mommy stopped her yelling and stopped at the foot of the stairs behind a still frozen Daddy.

For a moment, I thought that both Mr. Moo and I were done for and that we would be thrown out as best-case scenario for being defective toys. I didn’t even want to think about a worst-case scenario at this point. ‘What would even happen with Willy?’

Instead, both were fixated on the ajar door to Daddy’s office and the shear turmoil that now encapsulated the room. Upon seeing this, Mr. Moo and I quietly slipped around and under the furniture once more. Mommy and Daddy walked unsteadily toward his office, and the stairway now clear with those two being thoroughly distracted, I left Mr. Moo at the base. He sneakily crept back to the playroom, and I went upstairs to rejoin Willy in the nursery.

When I reached the top step, I heard, “Call the cops, Em. Now!”

I scrambled the rest of the way back up as fast as I could and made my way back into Willy’s nursery. Most parents or caretakers would have checked on their Little, but Mommy and Daddy had more pressing concerns of their own, or at least that’s what I had to tell myself that they were thinking, rather than them just not caring about their still sleeping Little.

Having used my hypnotics, Willy would stay asleep for a while unless a nearby loud noise or him being jostled about had occurred. At this point, not even my hopping up onto the furniture or jumping back down into the crib with him had awoken him. Just a groan and a shift, which I took advantage of by crawling in between his arms. His regressed Little reflexes took over, and he cuddled me tightly and smiled softly, still dreaming away.

I settled in and I could only just see some light peeping through the window when Mommy came in and flicked on the lights. “Baby, wake up! Wake up. Come on.” She came over to the crib and started to rock Willy gently back and forth to rouse him from his sleep.

Still groggy, Willy opened his eyes. “M… Mommy?”

“Yes, baby. Something happened last night, and we need to get you up and ready for the day. A lot is going to happen soon, and you might be asked some questions, or we might have to go away for a bit.” 

“Somethin’ happen, Mommy?”

She paused in her rocking him and looked fearful of something. “Yes… but…” she shook her head. “I just need to get you up. Come on.” She then bent down into the crib and retrieved Willy from under his blanket, my form still clutched tightly in his arms.

After placing him on the changing table, Mommy got to work. “Put Tusk down, honey. I need to get your PJ’s off and get you dressed for the day.” Willy nodded and I was placed gingerly right next to him on the padded surface. With a mommy-like efficiency, she then popped the footed sleeper’s buttons off and maneuvered Willy up and around to get the garment off. Walking away, she tossed the airplane-themed sleeper into the dirty hamper for Nanny Sarah to presumably wash later and then started going through his closet.

An obviously nervous Willy then turned to me, completely unconcerned about the swollen yellow mass now entirely visible to whomever walked in the room. It was typical behavior for him at this point. His hesitant expression, on the other hand, wasn’t. “Waht happen, Tus’? Somethin’ bad?” Willy quietly asked me.

“Remember how I said to watch out for some people?” Willy slowly nodded his head. “Well, I think some of them may have come here last night.”

Willy’s eyes bulged. “Oh no! Daddy!”

I sprang into action, confident that with others seeing Willy today that Mommy would be confined in the closet trying to pick out a good outfit, too distracted to pay attention to much else for a moment. I gripped Willy as best I could and looked at him straight in the eye. “Shhh… just breathe and listen. Daddy is fine. They were looking for paperwork or files, or something like that. He’s okay though. So, for me, just try and stay calm.”

Willy immediately looked relieved, and I resumed my previous position. “Well, dat’s good. I was wuhwied dere fo’ a sec.”

I nodded at his regressed ability to just easily let things go but hearing the brief blip of the siren from outside at the front of the house, did little to calm my own feelings. Daddy had his faults, but I had just assumed that he would resolve all this, at least for the sake of his family. Last night, however, had shown that he had failed to do this. I remembered he had said the product had been lost. ‘Was the lost product this thing called FOY that they were looking for? Why does that name sound so familiar?’ I wasn’t sure but I only knew that if they hadn’t found anything, or at least in time, and that Daddy hadn’t returned what had been lost, what had just occurred wouldn’t be the last incident in this house. That, above all else, made me the most nervous.

[Guilend]

Welp, those intruders are going to be in serious trouble. At least the leader will be. His body will either be found in a few days, He'll end up in that one prison possibly getting regression treatment or they'll give him something either a drug or hypnosis that'll basically wipe his memory and regress him. I'm sure there's many choices the boss can and does choose from depending on his mood. 

 

Daddy better figure this out or he'd probably be disappeared. 

 

 

Hopefully Nanny and maybe mommy gets the Little and get into hiding for a while. 

[dirtydingus84]

This was crazy not only is daddy involved in drugs but FOY no less. I'm not worried at all because officer Tusk is on the case!

[LostBBoyBear]

Chapter 5: Tell Them What I Just Told You

After Mommy dressed Willy in a crisp clean pastel yellow onesie and some fresh shortalls, she carried him downstairs, my body now tightly tucked under his arm. Once there, he began to fuss about in fear, and I really couldn’t blame him. In front of us now, were a dozen or so police officers and detectives searching around and investigating the wreckage that I had witnessed firsthand last night.  

Despite the show of brave faces that they were putting on in front of the police, I could still tell that Mommy and Daddy were very nervous about what had happened. If any of the cops saw their true demeanor though, they probably would just chalk it up to nerves after having someone break into their house. From what I heard last night though, I knew better.

That being said, I could still see that Mommy was less practiced at hiding her feelings than Daddy and her fidgeting and nervous ticks were even felt by Willy. “Mommy! You wockin’ us aw’ wee’ud,” Willy complained.

“Wha…” Mommy hadn’t even been paying attention to Willy but turned toward him. “Oh. Sorry for the weird rocking, baby. Here, take this.” She then reached into his front pocket and retrieved and then plopped the yellow bee pacifier that she attached earlier to his shortalls into this mouth. Willy’s regressed instincts took over and he began to nurse contentedly on it, now being distracted and quiet enough to not complain about Mommy’s uncomfortable nervous movements.

The police then began to bustle even more steadily as a man in a long gray trench coat walked in with an obvious air of authority. His eyes were full of life and wonderment still, but the years and stress of the job had etched several deep grooves into his face and his hair and beard were now smattered with varying shades of white or gray amongst the original black.

He then approached Mommy and Daddy who had only been onlookers before in all the commotion. “Mornin’. I’m Detective Wright. I’ll be the lead on this case, as we suspect this could be linked to a few other incidents in this area. Now, I’m gonna talk to each of you alone. Nothing super formal. Just getting’ a lay of the land. We’ll start with you.” He authoritatively pointed to Mommy and his matched tone left little room for protest.

She looked at Daddy worriedly as the detective walked off and sat down while gesturing for her to do the same across from him. “It’ll be okay, Em. Just tell them what you know from last night. Don’t answer any more than you have to.”

“Right… I’ll just set Willy down…” She shakily did so, and Willy fussed a bit once his feet hit the ground. “Now, none of that, young man. You be good for Daddy while I’m away. Just hold Tusk there good and tight.”

Daddy and Willy both nodded and Mommy walked to the living room and sat down across from the detective as he had directed. Voices bounced off the tiled floor and great ceiling, but with the size of the house, we were still too far away to hear anything clearly enough though. One look at Daddy easily showed that he was itching to hear what was being discussed, but like me, could do nothing about it for now.

Willy, however, didn’t care about any of this. He just saw his mommy being talked to by a stranger and there were several other strangers scrutinizing every place the burglars had stepped. Mommy may never win the ‘mommy of the year’ award, but Willy was a Little, and mommies were important and needed to be protected from any types of strangers. After a few minutes of teetering back and forth, Willy couldn’t take just standing there anymore.

He popped the pacifier out, letting it dangle on his shortalls from the clip, and pulled on Daddy’s pant leg with a few hard tugs. I braced for what was to come. If there weren’t as many officers as possible standing around here, I would have quietly talked him out of it, but alas... “Daddy! Daddy!”

“Quiet, Willy!” Daddy tried to calm his adopted son down, but to no avail.

“Buh Daddy! I got’sta ass you somethin’!”

Daddy groaned and then looked back down. “Fine, what is it?”

“Do dese powice haff ta do wif da bad men? Dey wewe…”

“Bad men? What are you talking about?” Daddy’s tone was still aggressive, but I noted a slight waver in his question. ‘Was it fear? Fear that Willy, an unfiltered Little, knew something more?’

“Tus’ said…” ‘Oh damn…’ “Tus’ said dat dere wewe bad men hewe wass’ nigh’. He said…”

“Willy! That’s enough! I can’t deal with lying or your imagination right now.” Daddy then looked back toward Mommy, obviously assuming that Willy was just making stuff up out of boredom. His gruff refusal should have stopped Willy cold, but Willy just wanted to help in any way he could. It was enough to override his usually more reserved demeanor in these types of situations.

“Buh Daddy!”

“No!” Daddy snapped. “You’re just a Little! You don’t know anything about what’s going on.” Upon seeing a few concerned officers, Daddy took a second to calm down. He then turned back to Willy and continued in a more mellow, but still stern voice. “Now, go and sit in that corner over there. I better not here one more thing from your imagination this morning!”

I knew that my big mouth and revelation about what I had witnessed was a risk, but as Willy somberly walked away, I realized that I had forgotten one crucial thing: Willy was a Little. My logic applied to rational and non-regressed adults, but Willy was neither of those anymore. He lived in the moment most days and couldn’t grasp some of the larger concepts or concerns in a delicate situation like this. Daddy was under enough stress and was prone to fits of anger, but a break-in with all that I knew was going on had just made him into a ticking time bomb and Willy had just borne the brunt of it going off.

Once there, Willy just sat in the corner and hugged me tightly but didn’t say another word. Even when Mommy was finished being interviewed and Daddy went next, Willy didn’t budge an inch. I saw several of the officers looking on sadly at the scene before them, but they knew not to interfere with caretaker and Little business, let alone something like this from the rich and influential Galpin’s. Or, from what I saw, I guess all but one did. Daddy’s raised voice drew my attention away however, from the one blonde lady looking at us in the corner. In this one instance, he mattered more than a casual onlooker.

“I don’t care if you need to know that! It’s not relevant what’s in those files.” Our new position and their raised voices carried much more than Mommy’s had. With the addition of my big and curious ears, I could now more clearly hear what was happening between the detective and Daddy.

“Sir, please understand. Those files were being searched for deliberately. I’m guessing they were trying to pass this off as a regular home invasion, but…”

“But…?” Daddy asked impatiently.

“But it’s too clean,” Detective Wright said calmly.

“You call this clean?” Daddy annoyedly asked, gesturing to the chaos and shattered systems nearby in his office.

“For burglars looking for money or jewels, yes.” Detective Wright then leaned forward on the couch to explain better to Daddy. “Why just stick to one room or not grab something more on the way out? You’ve obviously done well for yourself, so they had plenty of other items to pilfer that were much more obvious. I don’t see that here though.”

Daddy just stared at the officer for a moment. I could tell the gears were whirring around in his head on how to answer him exactly, so he remained silent for a little bit. Knowing that the men who had come last night were connected to the deadline that Boss Cardigan had set last week, I knew Daddy likely knew this as well without having seen anything else, but he also knew that revealing the wrong thing at this point could just wind him up in jail or dead as a snitch.

“Mr. Galpin?” Detective Wright asked after a second of Daddy still thinking and not saying a word.

Daddy looked up from the point he had been staring at for the past minute. “Uh… yeah… they, uh… stole some stuff from… work it looks like.” He cleared his throat and tried to sound more like his usual authoritative self. “I would have to check in depth, which could take some time, but that would be my guess.”

The detective looked at him oddly for a moment as if trying to discern if Daddy was telling the truth or not, but then relented quietly. “I see… And that is valuable? The items with your work?”

“To the right person.” Daddy then got a mischievous smile on his face and leaned back on the couch. “As you said, I’ve done well for myself, so some could be looking to get in on my business.”

“Which is… what exactly?” Detective Wright questioned.

“Mostly investments, but a little shipping and…”

“Oh, hello there little one. Aren’t you just a cutie!” a womanly voice said very nearby.

Shifting my focus without moving an inch had been a useful skill I had acquired since I had been first unboxed back when I first met Willy, and now, I could see the same officer who had been eyeing us earlier standing and then bending down in front of us. For his part, Willy just shifted uncomfortably at the new stranger’s presence.

The kindly blonde woman looked concerned for a moment but then relaxed. “I think I see what’s going on. Your Daddy got mad at you, so you’re staying quiet. Am I right?” Willy hesitated but nodded his head quickly. “I see… well, I’m a police officer. I’m sure they’ve told you about us, right?” Willy shook his head.

The officer seemed stunned for a moment, as it was certainly an oddity for a Little to not know the police or know about what they did. There were even shows about them directed towards Littles specifically, but thinking back now, I realized that Mommy and Daddy always shied away from those types of program and lessons. As if a lightbulb suddenly went off above my head, knowing what I knew about Daddy, I realized that this was now likely on purpose and not just a quirk of theirs. ‘A regressed Little is a liability but wouldn’t be a problem if they never ran into a cop or just believed they were an average dangerous stranger. Figures from those two…’

I could see the blonde woman sense that something was different about Willy and this whole situation, so she switched tactics. “Mr. and Mrs. Galpin?” Mommy and Daddy looked at the blonde officer during a break in the questioning, which still seemed like it was going nowhere with Daddy based on the frustrated expression Detective Wright now wore on his face. “Do you mind if I take Willy away? I know he was sent to this corner to be quiet, but I think he could do that even better somewhere else. Would that be okay with you all?”

I could see she didn’t really mean to come across the way she did as simply getting the perceived imaginative Little out of the way, but Mommy and Daddy took the bait. They simply waved their hands and refocused back on the investigation. Both were still nervous, but both looked like they were hatching a scheme for the cops to look elsewhere in their investigation. I was starting to get a peculiar feeling that Mommy knew more about what was going on than I originally thought.

The officer only smiled and crouched down to view Willy once again. “Hey buddy. Your Mommy and Daddy just gave me permission to take you elsewhere if you want. Do you have a room where you go to play or…?”

She didn’t have time to come up with an alternate place, as Willy, now free from his quiet time, made known exactly what he had. “Yes! Yes! My pwaywoom! Come on!” Willy then got up and while holding me in one hand and the officer’s hand in his other, he guided us both to the playroom. Though I couldn’t see the officer from the way Willy was holding me, I swore I could hear a small giggle come from her.

Soon enough, the three of us were in Willy’s playroom. No officer had come in here and I could see the immediate relaxation of Willy’s face. “Dis iss ih’! You wike?” Willy asked, as he turned around to face the awestruck officer.

“Oh… yes. Wow. This is very impressive.” She then crouched down again. “I bet you have a favorite area though. Can you show me?”

Willy nodded enthusiastically and began to toddle quickly over to the bank, where many of our adventures had ended up, but stopped and turned back to the officer with a concerned expression. “I fowgo’ ta ask. Wah’s youw name?”

The officer giggled at the sudden question. “Oh, silly me. I’m Molly.” She crouched down back on the floor and held out her hand. “Good to meet you, Willy.” Willy only smiled cutely and shook her hand back, before turning around to face the coveted bank setup.

Willy then proceeded to guide Molly around for the next few minutes. She was obviously a pro at handling children or Littles and knew the right questions to ask to keep Willy going and occupied. I didn’t know how much time had passed, but I was only immensely glad that Willy was being distracted.

Despite being an obvious natural with Littles or kids, I still couldn’t get over how at ease Willy had become with her. He barely knew this single and wonderful new police officer, but they were soon clowning around like I had always wished for Willy. She made sure to keep Willy mostly quiet, but his infectious grin and laughter could only be stiffened so much. It was all I wanted for him at this point in his life and her mere presence made me sad knowing that she would soon have to leave along with the rest of the officers. I would take what I could get though, so for now, she was the perfect distraction to a previously troubled Little.

Like all good things unfortunately, playtime had to stop. “Officer Donovan!” Molly looked straight up and saw, who I could only assume was her boss, call out to her from outside the playroom. Being loyal and trained well as an officer of the law, she knew by the tone that she had to go now, so she turned and looked at Willy with a definitive hint of sadness. “Willy… I need to go… I’ve had a lot of fun with you, but I might not be able to come back.”

“Buh… okay…” Willy looked down in reluctant acceptance as he barely uttered his last words.

Molly then leaned in and rubbed his shoulder tenderly. “I’ll try to be back, but if not, I’ll be sure to say goodbye before I leave, okay?” Willy continued to look solemnly at the floor but nodded in acceptance of another situation that he couldn’t control as a Little. It sucked, but one had to get used to those types of things in this society. “Good.” Molly then stood up in all her glory as a Big. “Now, Willy, I want you to stay in this room unless it’s an emergency, okay? Can you be a big boy for me and do that?”

Willy looked up at her and almost seemed like he didn’t know what to do with being called a ‘big boy,’ but he nodded once again, this time a little more excitedly. “Okay. I can do that.”

“Good. Just stay right here.” Molly then went over to the doorway and turned back. “I’ll see you later, but just be good for me.” The two then acknowledged and waved at each other before Molly left the room.

Once gone, Willy could only gush. “Oh wow! Dih’ you hewe dat nice wady? Bih’ boy. Me, Tus’! Bih’ boy!”

I didn’t want to burst apart his happy moment and point out that she said he would only be a ‘big boy’ if he stayed, so I only nodded. “Yep. She sure did. Sorry about Daddy though and what I told you.” It was a while ago and could bring down his mood, but I needed to apologize to my Little over the mistake and outburst of someone else. I wanted to apologize for what I told him as well but apologizing for others felt like half of my job as his stuffy these days.

“Dat’s okay. You jus’ wan’ed ta hewp, wight?”

“Right. I just wish there was proof of what I saw, but what?” I slumped against one of the buildings that we had used as a café. Knowing Mr. Moo, he was likely on the second floor and relaxing away from all the commotion.

Willy shrugged and quickly moved onto the next thing to occupy his time to keep his promise and stay in the playroom. “Cwowhn?” he asked, holding out a large crayon to me to help him color the large coloring book before him on the floor.

“Uh, no thank… wait. Color. Picture… Drawing… tattoo! That’s it. The tattoo and the security footage!” I faced Willy and tried to look as serious as possible to convey my critical message. “Willy, you need to tell them to look at the security cameras. Look for a tattoo.”

“Buh dey goh’ smased…” It was true that we had overheard that the main drive was out of commission and likely irreparable after having been trashed in the robbery, but I knew of a backup system that Daddy had just installed. It was worth pointing out at least to catch these guys and potentially end all this with Boss Cardigan. Plus, knowing that Daddy wanted to keep his secrets, he likely hadn’t pointed it out to them.

“Not all of them.” I saw Willy’s hesitation and I couldn’t blame him after the incident with Daddy before. “Please, Willy. Try… for me?”

Willy was still hesitant but put his crayon down and then stood up with a resolve that reminded me of when I had first met him. “Okay, Tus’. Fo’ you…” Willy took a deep breath and gathered me into his arms. Walking to the threshold of the door, I could sense his fear, but after another deep breath in, Willy stepped back out amongst the officers. In a minute, he was facing Daddy and several other law enforcement personnel.

“Daddy?” Willy asked timidly.

Daddy paused mid-sentence to another officer, but then glared over at Willy. “I thought I told you to stay in that corner, or at least to stay with the nice officer.”

Willy gulped but to my pride, continued to stand firm. “Buh Daddy… camewas…”

Many of the nearby officers began to laugh and Daddy only intensified his glare at Willy. I could feel that with each second passing that Willy was shrinking more into a puddle. I didn’t know how much more of this that he could take, but then something I didn’t expect occur. One person spoke above the rest and the laughter immediately died down in a second.

“Cameras?” Detective Wright asked, now walking over to us. Once in front of us, he then crouched down and smiled tenderly at Willy, and I silently wondered if he had a Little of his own back home. “Thank you, little one, but unfortunately those were smashed last night as well. I appreciate your help but…”

“Buh… backuhs…” Willy shouted out. Normally, his limited use of words would hurt, but single words cut through the air and could be heard by all.

“Backups?” Detective Wright asked, almost guessing due to how the word came out of the regressed Little in front of him. It was clear, but Willy had a speech impediment that never really worked in our favor. Still, from my left, I could see Daddy lean forward. I knew we were on to something, so I discretely squeezed Willy to continue.

“Yeah… Daddy instawed dem a lon’ time ago. Wight, Daddy?” Willy asked, now looking at a shocked Daddy.

He had done it secretly and only a few knew, but instead of anger, Daddy only looked confused but to my joy, maybe slightly relieved as well. “I… I…” he stammered. “I forgot all about those.”

“You forgot?” Detective Wright asked, slightly annoyed. We both questioned if he turly forgot, but it still could be a break in the case.

“Yes, okay? It was a last-minute thing. Off the grid and all. Only three of them, mind you, but…”

“But it’s a lead.” Detective Wright interrupted as he stood up. “Show us.”

Daddy nodded and several officers and Detective Wright followed him after he stood up as well. Gratefully, Detective Wright even ruffled Willy’s hair as he passed by and flashed him a smile.

Mommy wanted to join as well, so not wanting to just leave Willy alone, picked him up and then followed the rest into Daddy’s office.

I was just glad the place was big enough to fit everyone important enough, but Mommy found a tight spot behind a few people who were shorter than her in the heels she was now wearing. From our spots, Willy and I could both see Daddy pop on one of the few monitors that wasn’t obliterated. It still had a hefty crack and spiderweb pattern coming off a few points of it, but it was still viewable.

A few clicks and keyboard types later, Daddy had accessed the main server. After a little bit more clicking and Daddy entering a password, all breathed a sigh of relief as the burglars were soon shown to have been caught on camera. Some sections of the footage were damaged and others extremely dark, but to my relief, a few of the men had taken off their masks I guess to be able to see better in Daddy’s office. Further, it took everything I had not to smile in front of everyone when one of those men sported the same distinct and large snake tattoo on his arm. It was all too good.

Everyone else thought so too and I could see equally happy and relieved smiles on everyone’s face, including even Daddy’s, though admittedly, his was mixed with a sort of fear as well. If I had to guess, the footage only confirmed his worst fears about the perpetrators.

“Perfect,” Detective Wright called out. “We’ve got our leads. Hopefully, we can find more with this drive when it comes back with us, but for now, we’ve got some men to find. Let’s get to it!” The other officers and personnel there cheered and then quickly departed to get back to their work.

Detective Wright then turned back and faced Willy. “So, it seems we have a bit of a detective in our midst.” He then reached into his trench coat pocket. “Turns out, I had another place to be today, and I was going to give this away then, but I think you deserve it much more.” The detective smiled and then revealed a cheap metal replica of his own badge and then pinned it to Willy’s shortalls straps, opposite to his still present and dangling pacifier.

Willy eyed the badge like it was made of solid gold and everyone in the room, even including Daddy, couldn’t help but smile at his reaction. After a moment and a small squeeze from me as a reminder about his manners, Willy uttered, “Dank you…” with a smile and wide appreciative eyes toward Detective Wright.

“Awww. You’re very welcome.” Detective Wright then looked at Mommy and Daddy with a more serious look on his face. “Hopefully this footage will help us track down our suspects, but we should be out of your hair soon.” He then turned to the open door. “Sergeant Mantis!”

A slicked back black-haired officer came calmly into the room. “Sir?”

Detective Wright then turned back to Mommy and Daddy. “This is Sergeant Mantis. I’m going to give him and his men the assignment of knocking on doors to take statements from neighbors while we check to see if we can find where the car went after it went north. Good thing you installed that front camera as well, Mr. Galpin.”

“Definitely…” Daddy said, oddly still in a bit of a daze.

“Right… the sergeant here will also coordinate to keep a car in front of your house at night and maintain an hourly check during the day.”

“Perfect. Thank you, Detective Wright,” Mommy said, shaking his hand.

“Yes, thank you,” Daddy added.

The next bit of the day went by quickly as the officers slowly trickled out and thanks and goodbyes were uttered by all. Molly kept her word and gave a personal goodbye but was also hurried out the door by her superior. Left inside, Mommy and Daddy then tried to normalize their day as much as possible, starting by leaving Willy and I back in the playroom once again.

Once again inside, I was very upset at Daddy for not even apologizing yet to Willy for going off on him earlier. I knew it was my knowledge that had helped with the major break in the case with video footage, but he didn’t know that. A simple ‘thank you’ would have gone a long way, but we got nothing. In truth, I could see he was still panicking, but a kind gesture only takes two seconds. The man could have spared that, but for Willy’s current peace of mind, I just let it go.

“So… Mowwy was nice…” Willy mused.

“Oh…” I shook my head to clear my thoughts. “Very nice. Wish you had that more…”

“Yeah, buh’ maybe we can see Mowwy again!”

Ever the optimist with people he liked, Willy was unaware that we would likely never see her again, but I just played along to keep his spirits up. “Yep. You just never know, buddy.”

“Oh, buh’ I do. I fee’ ih’ hewe, Tus’.” Willy cutely pointed to his heart and my own melted at the sight. I then gave in to my instincts and gave him a giant hug. In truth, we probably both could have used it right then.

Willy immediately embraced me, and for that moment, despite a million questions still, I was happy. Questions like, ‘what was FOY,’ or ‘what was in those files’ were important, but Willy’s current contentment was more. I was also concerned that a few cops were no match for the burglars I had seen last night with their precision entry and collected demeanor even when the alarm went off. Obviously, they were professionals, but I didn’t want to think about that today. For now, Willy had found someone else that had made him happy and by collaborating as a dynamic duo with me, Willy was the hero of the day, complete with even an awarded badge that still clung to his shortall’s straps. I just hoped things would stay this good. Just this once.

[dmavn]

pshh.. coommonnnn.. we all know FOY stands for Footies of youth.. sheesh.. there’s a name tag on the inside that says age.. you write down what you want to be an put dem on an sleep an when you wake up thats how old you are… 😛

 

what they don’t tell you is the age is in months.. 😈   … Hopefully you didn’t write the age with permanent marker…

 

 

Oh.. an I really really love this story.. 

[dirtydingus84]

Willy's got a crush and Tusk has a mob boss seems fair. The Gulpins are crap people still after all that. Willy deserves better maybe Molly lol. good story development keeps me hooked can't wait for what happened next

[LostBBoyBear]

If you couldn't tell from the title, this chapter is a little violent. Just wanted to give you some of you a heads up for what's to come in case you needed a moment to prepare yourself. I hate to do this to the characters, but I felt it was needed for the rest of the story. Just hang in there and while it won't be the last ark moment for our characters, I promise that it won't be doom and gloom for Willy and Tusk forever.

That being said, while I won't say my usual in hoping you enjoy this chapter, I at least personally hope you all can get through it, knowing and remembering that bad times are never permanent in almost all my stories. 

Chapter 6: Bangs and Blood

Almost a week to the day that I saw the burglars invade our home, it was a night like any other when we were not all sequestered into one room. Daddy was in his office and still slaving away over the repair and reorganization after the immense level of destruction brought on by the burglars. Sure, the cabinets and electronics had been repaired, but the damage to the files would take longer to restore.

Mommy was relaxing in the living room and reading the latest issue of her weekly fashion magazine. I saw on the cover a tall brunette woman, pouting kindly at the camera with headlines of ‘New Fashion Trends for Fall’ and ‘Is Your Color Really Your Color.’ Willy and I were nearby on the floor on our playmat that Mommy had brought out for us when she didn’t mind if we were nearby, or at least as long as we remained quiet. Despite the lack of interaction between the two, as Willy colored, I still believed he liked just to be near to her.

Disregarding Mommy’s objections, Daddy insisted we stay together when she had suggested going to her friend’s house out in the country for a few days. He knew that splitting up would only lead to further problems, as it would be away from the cops nearly always parked outside and the security system that he had set up and upgraded in connection with the local police. Plus, while he didn’t say it and just kept up the show of announcing that the burglars hadn’t come by now so we would be fine, I knew that deep down, Daddy didn’t want Mommy or Willy to be captured and then used as a bargaining chip to force his hand or to be found in some grizzly form as a message to him.

That being said, there was still no reprisal from Boss Cardigan or his hired thugs or Mr. Mercer, so maybe Daddy was right, but I continued to be wary of a possible attack. Just because they didn’t come back immediately, doesn’t mean they never would. So, as such, I had ensured that Willy played within view of the window and that he would prop me up against a wall or some piece of furniture to give me a better view of the outside. It wasn’t much, but I knew that every second counted if something were to happen.

Tonight, was no different than the past six, except that, after I turned away from Willy getting me to admire his coloring of a large bear trying to get some honey in his coloring book, I noticed that the now usual cop car was gone. It had been a nightly fixture since the burglary, so its absence was odd. Even during changes between squad cars, there would have been two. Never just purely gone. “What the…”

“Did you say something, baby?” Mommy asked from her reclined armchair nearby. ‘Crud! I didn’t mean to say that out loud!’

“No, Mommy. I’m ju’ cowowin’. See?” He pulled up his coloring book and showed her.

She smiled, though still only paying half attention to what he was showing her. “Very good, dear. Thought I heard something…” She then turned fully back to her magazine and Willy went back to coloring.

In a whispered tone, he then turned to me. “You sai’ you couldn’ talk ta udders…”

I remained still but still spoke in a hushed tone. “Yeah… I did say that didn’t I? Sorry, Willy. I just saw something weird. Probably nothing. Just an oversight. Go back to coloring…” I then looked back outside, but what I saw froze my blood.

At least six men in black, doing their best to hide behind bushes and trees and avoid the streetlamps outside, were tactically walking and getting closer to our house. “What the…” I couldn’t help myself once again and spoke out loud. One then came into view more clearly. He was tall and obviously very fit, but he raised something long and black up to his mid-chest height. After a second, I recognized what it was. “Oh… Get down!”

“Wha… Hey!” Willy yelled as I immediately tackled and pushed him to the ground.

Brrrt! Brrrt! Snap! Rat-tat-tat!

A cacophony of explosive gunfire then rang out from what I could only assume was an assortment of munitions being pointed at our house. The living room and whole front of the house erupted and burst into thousands of shards. Whizzes and bangs went off all around us. If I hadn’t acted when I did, Willy would have been cut to ribbons.

I looked up from where I had tackled Willy and saw Mommy immediately duck for the floor. She hid behind the large armchair she had once been sitting in, which now provided some cover for her. One side of the once expensive cladding of the armchair now resembled a cotton field about ready to bloom from all the holes where the stuffing was now pouring out of it.  

“Stay down you two!” a familiar voice said. I managed to pop up my head just a little bit and saw Mr. Moo racing toward us. A stray bullet nicked his flapping tail, but he pressed onward to our prone positions on the floor. “Hurry! We need to get you out of here!”

“What about you?” I asked, seeing Willy was screaming helplessly and trying to shield his eyes and ears from what was happening. In all the commotion and his shielded form, he still wouldn’t know about Mr. Moo being alive.

Brrrt! Pap-pap! Smash!

Another round of bullets whizzed above our heads and Mr. Moo and I both ducked to avoid the shots. Looking up from our position, a new line of bullet holes marked the far wall.

“You just worry about Willy. These guys are out for blood, and this isn’t like how we play, you know. They’re going to come until they’re killed themselves or they get their target. And I mean killed as in permanently. Willy can’t be here for any of that.”

I nodded and then shook Willy so that he would pay attention to me in the midst of his justified panic and fear. Mr. Moo went to his other side, opposite of me, and began to nudge Willy from that side, still trying to maintain his cover while trying to nudge our Little to safety. “Willy! Willy! Open your eyes.” He did and I saw they were full of sheer panic. “Come on, buddy! We need to get someplace safer! Now!” The three of us flinched as a nearby framed photo shattered in a single explosion and sent shards of glass everywhere.

Willy was trembling as much as I had ever seen but he only nodded as he began to realize that he wasn’t safe and that he would need me as a guide out of here. I then took the initiative and popped his strapped cloud decorated pacifier in his mouth. Willy whimpered but began to furiously suck on it. I knew from experience that it would be a source of comfort and to keep him quiet later.

Mr. Moo nodded and we both began to shove Willy toward the back of the house. “You two keep going but take this, Tusk.” He then handed me a metal serving platter that I had seen at Mommy’s and Daddy’s parties before all this when Willy was still allowed downstairs before the guests had started to arrive.

“Wha…?” I took the offered piece of metal, but I wasn’t sure what he wanted me to do with it.

“Shhh. Just take it. It’s not much, but it could help against a few rounds. How I got here in the first place. Look there.” He pointed to a single spot on its ornate and previously flat surface.

I looked at the tray and sure enough, it had a large indent that had definitely not been there before. I looked up and saw Mr. Moo walking toward the front of the house, already being near the window by the time I noticed that he had slipped away. “Wait, where are you going?” I asked frantically while also ensuring that Willy was now behind the thick and protective sofa at least.

“I want to have a look at these guys! Like you did with the tattoo. It could be…”

Brrrt! Snap! Pop! Ding!

A renewed roar of machine gun fire ripped through the front facing wall. The last burst of discharged weapons seemed like all the others before, which had now turned the front of the house into a war zone; however, like in slow motion now, I saw Mr. Moo get hit four times squarely in the chest. A burst of fluff and some electronics went spraying out his front. His arms flew up and he fell forward to the ground.

“Mr. Moo!” I cried out. I knew Willy would be safe for a moment and I went over to try and collect my friend and fellow stuffy. I knew I would need him for the events to come, and besides, I just couldn’t leave him behind like this. He had other ideas…

“No…!” he managed to yell out with some difficulty after seeing me try to get to him. “Save… ah!” he cringed in pain, “…yourself and Willy! Go!”

The floor where Willy had once been laying now erupted into a burst of splinters as more bullets began finding new targets to destroy. A few bullets nearly hit me, and one even pierced and then obliterated Mr. Moo’s ear.

Still, even with all the gunfire and explosions bursting around us, I had to try. “But, Mr. M…!”

“No! You’re…” he grimaced and spasmed as he lay there on the floor. “You’re his only hope now, Tusk. Keep him… safe…” Mr. Moo grimaced in agony once more but then relaxed and faded away. It wasn’t for pretending this time. Mr. Moo, the dirty bank robber and my friend through everything and even the Galpin’s, was now truly gone.

“Mr. Moo…”

Brrrt! Brrrt! Pap pap! Sfew! Ding! Ding!

The gunmen had no time for my grief over the loss of a friend though. I shook my head and got out of my stupor after hearing more gunfire and feeling a rattling in my hands. I briefly looked down and noticed several new indents upon the metal tray I was now carrying. A few were directly aligned with some part of my body. If it hadn’t been for Mr. Moo, I would have ceased to be as well.

I tried to blur out my feelings and focus on Willy, but it was very difficult trying to get him to safety at all. In that moment, it was all I could do to continue to push him toward the back and hope none of the continuing gunfire would hit us on our way. The metal tray was something, but I knew it wouldn’t last forever.

Getting firmly behind the large couch now that I had hidden under previously, I hoped that I could just talk to Willy again and give him some comfort and more direction. His near catatonic state had him purely rocking back and forth and nursing on his pacifier. When he saw me approach, however, he didn’t say a word, but his eyes lit up with joy and relief and he immediately snatched me, still holding the plate, and held me closely to his body.

In that tight embrace, I looked over to Mommy and Daddy, both trying to maintain their own safety through the bursts of gunfire raining down all around them. Daddy was crawling as low as he could to Mommy, who was still taking cover from behind her armchair, but based on the side facing the front of the house, I knew it wouldn’t last much longer.

After another few well-timed crawls, Daddy finally made it to Mommy and the two embraced each other behind the destroyed and still exploding with fluff armchair. Whatever their faults with having a Little or the ones that had led to the culmination of this very night, I couldn’t deny that the two did care very much for each other.

Right on cue, both then broke their embrace and shot their glances at the two of us still rocking back and forth in terror. “Oh God! Baby! Stay right there! We’re going to come and get you!” Mommy cried out.

“Don’t move! We’ll get out of this together!” Daddy shouted. He wasn’t my favorite person in this world, but he did have a fairly strong protective streak. On days like today, it was immediately obvious. I just hoped their renewed care over Willy would be in time.

I saw the two then take each other’s hands, nod at one another, and then charge when there was a brief pause in the gunfire. The destroyed furniture had provided them with some good cover, but the break in the gunfire now only seemed like a ploy to lure us out. In a second as they passed in front of the window and were no longer protected by the furniture, the gunfire began again.

Brrrt! Whiz! Pop! Snap! Brrrt! Rat-tat-tat! Pap-pap! Brrrt!

A renewed flurry of gunfire electrified and filled the air. I could hear the pronounced thudding on the other side of the couch and the smashing of any glass that hadn’t gotten shot out in the first few rounds already. I stared at Mommy and Daddy running toward us in a hunched over position, but the slurry of bullets that had just been unleashed was too much for them.

Mommy was hit first in the leg, the pelvis, the shoulder, and her arm. Two were through and throughs. Daddy was hit in the arm, both legs, and his gut. The effect on their bodies was immediate.

Both let out ungodly shrieks and moans and then crumpled to the floor. Blood spatter covered the far wall and pictures of family, if they hadn’t already been destroyed yet, were now unrecognizable as the blood collected and then dripped down as if to show the bloody carnage that had been wrought upon the family tonight.

I looked at the two figures and as much as I wanted to protect Willy, I was no match for his awareness of what was going on in that moment. I wished he could have just remained facing the other wall and that we would have run out of there, but Willy had turned and faced them when they had called out. The poor Little saw the whole thing that I did and now gazed upon their bloodied bodies on the floor in horrified realization over what he had just witnessed.

“Mommy! Daddy! No!” Willy wailed and reached out toward them. I pushed back as much as I could.

Brrrt! Ding! Crack! Smash Pap-pap!

Daddy twitched and groaned but then looked up at his Little trying to get to him and his wife. “Go!” Daddy called out unsteadily from his position on the ground. “Run, Willy! Run!” His broken form twitched again slightly, and blood oozed out from the wound that I could see on his arm. Mommy barely moved at all and seemed only to wallow without life in her own pool of blood beneath her broken body.

“Buh Daddy!” Willy cried out, trying to lunge forward to hug his father. It was only through my efforts and another hail of gunfire that snapped right in front of Willy that made him stop.

“Go now, Willy! Don’t look back!” Daddy’s bloodied hand shot out and pointed toward the back of the house and through the kitchen. The back door was there and led straight to the backyard and the woods beyond. It was our only way out now. “Run!” he screamed again, a little gurgle in the back of his throat from the blood that was no doubt collecting there from his severe wounds.

Brrt! Brrrt! Pop!

Willy yelped in surprise as another bullet ricocheted and nearly grazed him across the leg. I didn’t like seeing him get hurt, but it was enough to have Willy scurry away to where Daddy had pointed.

Entering the dining room and then the kitchen, Mommy’s beautifully designed space had been torn to shreds as pieces of smashed tile lay all around. A few areas were untouched, and I only surmised that the metal pots had prevented some of the bullets from going further.

Willy stopped and stared back at the still bloodied bodies of Mommy and Daddy. I wanted to give him time to process everything, but I knew we had to keep going. “Willy!” I lightly hit him on the shoulder to get him to focus. “We have to keep going! They’re probably coming right…”

“Move in! Move in!” I heard someone command from the front of the house. The shooters were about to enter. We had minutes only, if not less.

“Come on!” I yelled, but it was no good. Willy’s curiosity over the new strangers in his house was too much for him and he stood up. “Wait, no!”

I had many regrets that night, like being too close to the window or not warning Willy about the lack of a cop car, but this moment was the biggest. In a second, Willy had stood up with me still in his arms. From the open layout of the house and the bar window from the kitchen to the dining room and beyond to the front entrance, one could see straight through the house from a certain angle.

Now, Willy only could freeze as he spotted three men with guns. The four, including Willy, stood motionless and time seemed to slow once more. It was a critical error, but one that would haunt me every night for so long afterward. Willy saw the three, and while I saw them as well as I tried to pull him back down, I devastatingly knew that the gunmen had seen my Little. It was just a moment, but it would shape the rest of our lives.

What was more worrying and damning was when I was still yanking Willy to get down, I spotted the gunmen’s military presence and discipline, but also that two were wearing short sleeves. To my horror, like a deadly calling card, the long and large snake tattoo I had seen last week with the burglars, was proudly displayed by one of them.

Knowing now for sure who these people were and acting only on instinct, I popped Willy in the chest, and he fell backward onto the floor. He thudded loudly to my chagrin. “There’s someone in the back! Go! Go! Go!” one of the gunmen called out.

We were out of time. “Let’s go Willy!” This time, to my relief, he didn’t need to be told twice and we both quickly exited out the back. In our speedy retreat, I grabbed the pair of Willy’s Velcro shoes that had been kept by the backdoor after we had come in from a fun day playing outside.

Going through the pitch-black backyard, memories of happiness on the wonderful playset set up back there were still etched in my mind. Warm days of Mommy sipping her lemonade and Willy and I naming shapes of clouds were all still good memories, but now in the same space, we were being chased by dangerous, if not murderous, gunmen. Seeing a small opening in the fence that Daddy had been meaning to patch, Willy and I struggled but ultimately were able to get through.

Despite his regressed abilities, Willy’s fight or flight response was still well intact and he didn’t stop running or waddling through the forest behind our house until neither of us could see any real lighting other than the moon or stars above. If we were being followed at all after the backyard, we would have lost the gunmen long ago.

“I think this is good, Willy,” I said looking around at the murky darkness of the heavily wooded area. “We can stop…”

Willy was out of breath and collapsed to the forest floor in despair. The realization of everything that had just happened was now catching back up with him “Wat happen’ Tus’?” he cried. “Aw bangin’ and splodin’… an’… an’… Mommy… Daddy? Awe dey…?”

I put my arm around Willy immediately and gave him a small but reassuring shake. “You can’t think like that, buddy. They got hurt, but we don’t know more than that.”

It was all too much, and Willy began to softly cry. I quickly snapped into action and snuggled up to him there in the middle of nowhere. We were safe for now and Willy needed me in a way that he never really had before. Previous moments of regression and dealing with Daddy were tough to cope with, but this was something more. With each of those, they had been terrible times, but there was a light at the end of those tunnels in some form that I could see for him. This, however, was all still ongoing and we were in completely unknown waters. I didn’t know what was going to happen next. I just knew I had to be strong for Willy now.

Willy self-rocked himself back and forth and he quickly popped his pacifier back in his mouth that had slipped out during our walk here. I just wanted to give him the biggest of hugs, but I knew I was too tiny to give the type of hug that he needed. I could think and pull Willy in different directions, but I had neither the size nor strength to help in the ways that I really wanted to right now. I could only play one of my pre-recorded tunes. With a sigh, I clicked through my internal machinations, and soon, a soft melody played about as a breeze wafted through the forest canopy above.

Willy’s breathing slowed and my arms rubbed around his trembling form. He needed to rest now, but I knew that he couldn’t just go to sleep anywhere. So, once he was calm enough and laying down in a curled-up position, I let go and walked away to find some things for the night.

Now left on my own to think while still in view of Willy, I began to ponder the seriousness of our situation. In all likelihood, Mommy and Daddy were now severely injured as a best-case scenario, which meant that we would be put in the system for at least some time, considering that both didn’t really have any close relatives and their friends were the odd ones who usually didn’t care for Littles in a way that meant they could care for Willy for a time. From what I had seen at daycare, however, getting put into the system in some form was not an option I was willing to entertain at this point.

The system was rough on Littles in the best of circumstances, but what worried me most was the missing cop car right before the shooting started. Either someone had messed up and the house was being watched constantly for a crack in the defenses, or the cops were in on it. Maybe not all, but even one would be a problem. For now, they were too big of a risk to go to immediately for help.

As I began to gather some fallen branches for Willy to eventually sleep on, I had little to be grateful for, but I was glad of a few things. Mommy had just changed Willy into his nighttime diaper, so he would be good at least until morning, and I managed to snag his Velcro sneakers. Running through the forest as a toddler with toughened soles was just an average summer afternoon, but I knew we would need the shoes for whatever our next steps were. Depressing as it was though, I felt like those were all the positives, but I had to take what I could get at this point.

Coming back, I neared the exhausted Willy with the branches and sighed. He was so innocent in all this and I, just a simple elephant stuffy, was going to have to help him out. It was a heavy burden, but it was a task and responsibility that I knew I couldn’t fail. The safety or sacrifices of Mr. Moo, Mommy, and Daddy would not be wasted. I had no idea how, but I knew I just had to keep telling myself that somehow, I was going to get my Little through this mess.

[dirtydingus84]

R.I.P Mr.Moo. This is where the story is going to take off and I can't wait.

[LostBBoyBear]

Hopefully everyone is okay after that last chapter. I knew that some of the themes in this story would be a bit difficult for some, but I promise that Willy and Tusk will find their peace eventually.

I hope everyone can enjoy this next chapter!

Chapter 7: Sanctuary At Last?

I woke up to the smell of a fresh pine forest and could feel the damp of the early morning dew about us. I had been able to layout and then get Willy to fall sleep on the branches I had gathered last night. It wasn’t much, but combined with my light sleep subliminal messaging, meant that Willy had gotten a full night of rest.

As I lay snuggled up in his arms, I knew we had to go somewhere else besides the woods. If the gunmen from last night were any kind of smart, they would be searching the woods next and would find us eventually if not in the next few hours. Looking to the east, I could just see the faintest glimmers of sunlight as dawn broke.

In the still early hours before Willy awoke, I thought of our options. Going to the cops made me very uneasy about the possibility of a mole there, or even if I was wrong, the possibility of sending us to foster care at best. There were several automated nurseries we could lay low at, and most didn’t ask many questions, but I knew those were Little traps and had a no-questions policy for a good reason. Most Littles entering were hardly the same afterward, particularly those without support from the outside or who stayed there long like would likely be doing until things were safe again. Transferring between those places was even worse though, as the system would track the Little and would eventually flag them as a runaway. Several Littles found that out the hard way last Spring when that particular update was installed without announcing it first.

The sun started to crest over further and pierce through the trees more acutely. Whatever decision was to be made, had to be made soon. ‘Oh wait! Nancy from daycare! Didn’t she… oh, what was the name of that place?’ I wracked my brain for that one memory of when she had been talking about that place where the one Little went after her Daddy… ‘Right! A safehouse!’

I was overjoyed that I could remember that, and I was even further pleased that I had learned of its location when Mommy had taken us out shopping one day to find some new shoes for an upcoming trip the family was taking. It was a simple and unassuming place from the outside, but I knew it would suit our purposes. First thing though, I had to wake up Willy.

SO, I started to gently shake Willy awake. “Willy… Willy. Come on, buddy. It’s time to get up.”

Willy’s eyes fluttered slowly open and stared back at me. “Mownin’ Tus’. I…” His eyes focused on the surrounding trees rather than the serene view of his previous safari nursery. “Dat wasn’ a dweam was ih’? Wass nigh’ wif aww da bang-bang an’…?’

“No, I’m afraid not, Willy,” I spoke up before he could finish his thought. Memories of sadness and fear would do us no good until we got somewhere safer. “Don’t worry though. I have a plan,” I reassured him, giving him a slight pat to further his comfort.

“You do?” Willy asked hopefully.  

“I do, but first, let’s put these shoes on. I can’t do much about food or your diaper, but I can help with your shoes at least.”

“My…” Willy looked down at the thickened and obviously sodden mass between his legs. He hadn’t noticed of course, and he likely didn’t notice the mess in the rear either. I did, but I didn’t want to draw his attention to it. We only had so much energy to deal with one problem at a time.

“Oh… wight. An’…” Willy’s tummy growled audibly. He hadn’t his nightly sippy cup or occasional bottle and it would soon be breakfast. “I’m hungwy, Tus’.” His eyes began to water up and I stopped for a moment and stroked his leg to reassure him. It was enough for now to keep him calm and his tears at bay.

I sighed at my hastened half-measures with my Little as I popped on his second shoe and fiddled with the Velcro straps, but I knew time was of the essence. I also knew my dexterity wasn’t the best, so I had opted for this particular pair by the rear door rather than his favorite jungle-themed laced-shoes to help me along, but it was still a bit difficult. Willy’s stomach growled again, and he whimpered a little. “I know buddy. We’ll fix that soon but come on. We’ve got some walking ahead of us.” Willy sighed heavily but got up and picked me up to start our journey this morning towards relative safety.

The next few hours were spent wandering through the woods and then through the more abandoned streets once we found them. A Little carrying a stuffy was risky to showcase in public, even with all the new laws, but given the sagging diaper straining through Willy’s dirty one-piece puppy-themed romper, I doubted most would just pass us by if we were seen in the open. At best, we would be subject to being hauled away to an unknown destination, and there were too many worst-case scenarios to fully contemplate right now.

Finally, after running away from three giant dogs, getting snared on one fence, and slipping into two puddles, we made it to the tall brick safehouse before us. “Now, Willy. I can’t talk inside, but I can guide you along. Just say the truth, but I’ll squeeze your hand a bit to guide you away from certain bits if you shouldn’t talk about them, okay?” Willy only nodded. I was surprised he didn’t put up more of a fight for coming here, but I guessed that he was likely just wanting to be in nice place with a roof over his head where he’d be safe and maybe have some fun. I couldn’t blame him at this point.

“Good. They’ll just think you’re in shock or something, which you probably are, but its good cover here.” I stared up at the imposing and yet tranquil structure and then at the large doorbell positioned right above Willy’s head. “Okay,” I took a deep breath in, “let’s do this.”

Willy then stepped up and rang the doorbell. A bit of shuffling inside and the large red front door before us opened. A middle-aged lady Big stood in the doorway, her pockets festooned with various caregiver implements and her frizzy black hair pushed back with a red headband. “Hel…” Her gaze showed that she was expecting a Big, but she then dropped her gaze in shock to see both Willy and I. “Oh, oh my. Come in! Come in!” She outstretched her hands and quickly shuffled us inside her house.

Inside was cozy and pleasant and honestly larger than I was expecting considering the narrower width from the outside. I knew that the safehouse could accommodate more than one Little from the stories from Nancy, but it felt this place could easily accommodate at least a dozen or so Littles based on the dining room table alone. Based on the noises going on around us upstairs and further in the house, I guessed that number was about accurate, if not maybe even too small.

“Please come with me…” the tall lady commanded gently. She then crouched down and looked at a shy and wilting Willy. “But actually first, I’m sorry, dear. I don’t know what on earth to call you. You weren’t expected today, but that’s okay. So, what’s your name, hon?”

Willy seemed hesitant, so I discreetly nudged him a bit. I knew he was sociable with others, but he still needed a push every once in a while. “Wiwwy…”

The woman’s eyes lit up with adoration. “Awww. It’s very good to meet you, Willy. And who’s your friend there?” she asked, pointing towards my limp form tightly pressed against his chest.

“His name is Tus’! He’s my fwiend,” Willy beamed, showing that he was getting a little more comfortable with the woman now before him, especially with her asking about me.

“That’s a wonderful name. I’m Miss Glifford, but most people just call me Miss G.” Willy, stilling smiling, only nodded. “Perfect! Now, if you’ll just follow me, we can just chat for a bit. Just so I can get to know you a bit more, okay?”

Willy nodded and followed the now standing Miss G through the house and into a side rear office space. Along the way, I noticed several photos of smiling Littles adorning the walls, but curiously enough, I noticed that many were dressed for different ages. Being a safehouse, I guessed this should have been obvious with this society but seeing it in person was something else entirely.

Normally most Bigs, even kindly ones, would treat all Littles the same. Only Littles who had no signs of regression or possible maturosis would ever look even remotely adult. Seeing the varying ages represented with the Littles in those photos, made me ease up a tiny bit more in front of Miss G and her intentions.  

Getting into the office, Miss G closed the door but allowed a crack out into the hallway to remain. She then calmly turned toward Willy. “You can sit in this chair here,” she said, pulling up a highchair of sorts into view. “I don’t know you yet, so just let me know if you want my help getting in or not. I assume you walked here based on the state of your shoes, so I think you might be able to climb, but I can lend a hand if needed.”

Willy stood before the tall chair, and while I knew he could do it, I also guessed that his willpower and energy levels weren’t in peak condition currently. Confirming my suspicions, he then looked up at Miss G. “Can you pwease hewp me, Miss G?”

Miss G smiled warmly, and I could tell that her kind ways felt good to Willy after such a trying night. “Why certainly, sweetie.” She then bent down and picked up Willy and I, and then plopped us in the awaiting seat. “Now, just sit tight and this should only be a moment. The seat’s got buckles and all, but I promise to only use those here if I see you start slipping out, okay?” Willy nodded. “Good.” She then walked over to the other side of her desk and promptly sat down on the comfy and worn leather chair.

She spent the next few moments quickly checking her Melon Corp computer, but then calmly turned back to us. “Now, it looks like you’re not listed anywhere on the Littles watchlist, so that’s a start. So, let’s start with some basics beyond your name. I guess first we should start with the obvious. Given your… clothing, I guess it’s fair to ask where’s your mommy or daddy, Willy? Do you have one of those? Or maybe both even?”

“Uh… Mommy an’ Daddy awe… westin’… you see, wass nigh’…” I squeezed and Willy had to come up with something besides the truth. “Wass nigh’ dey jus’ needed a bweak… so, I’m hewe now.”

“And your clothes? Or your diaper? Have your mommy and daddy been treating your right?” Miss G asked, an apparent note of concern in her voice.

“Well, Mommy is nice, buh’ Daddy…” I squeezed and Willy flinched for a moment. I thought Miss G would say something based on her look, Willy quickly spoke back up. “He’s… busy. My cwoes awe fwom bein’ ou’side. Iss nice an’ sunny now!”

“I see… it’s definitely a nice day out, so I guess I just have a messy little boy on my hands.” I wasn’t sure if she was convinced or not, but after a moment, she went back to looking at her computer without any sign of major worry or frustration. It was a small victory, but at this point, that was something at least.

‘Would a kind older lady really turn us away if we had answered those questions wrong?’ I didn’t want to entertain those types of thoughts. Speculation only led to worry that you couldn’t do anything about in that moment of negative thoughts. For now, I just had to focus on the fact that we had made it in the door at all.

“Let’s see… I’m not a fan of a Little showing up unannounced or without a referral, but I can’t just say no to a cutie like you, now, can I?” Willy innocently shook his head and Miss G let out a small giggle. “So, now I just need to know a little bit about you. Helps me figure out where you should go and what I should expect with another Little in this place, okay? Willy nodded his head. “Good. Now, based on your clothes and the fact that you’re holding onto that elephant like you were a holding onto a buoy in a storm, I’m guessing you’ve been… changed?”

Willy looked at her questioningly and she sighed. “I suppose no need to beat around the bush here… I’m guessing you’ve been… regressed at some point.”

Willy tapped his fingers together and seemed to struggle with the answer. “I gwess…” Willy said shakily. I knew Willy still knew that he had once been an adult, but I also knew those memories were fading. If I was being honest with myself however, it was highly possible that Willy was also just struggling with the meaning of the word. I never really knew how much of his vocabulary still remained intact or if that particular word had been targeted specifically at the regression facility where we had met. It was hard to tell these days…

“I’ll take that as a yes. Considering the state of what I can only assume is your diaper and that you haven’t mentioned it at all, I think I know just where to put you.”

Willy shifted nervously and I could hear a faint squish as he did so. Mommy may have not been the most maternal ever, but she at least bought quality diapers for her Little. Still, I knew that Willy wouldn’t last much longer in this one.

Miss G typed a few more things and then reached down below her and opened what I could only assume was a drawer within her desk. She then placed a tubular metal device onto the table that had a black grip on one end and a small triangular red object on the other. “Do you know what this is Willy?” He shook his head, but I could also tell that the new device was unnerving him a little bit. “There’s no need to be nervous, sweetie. This is just a really quick monitor. I push a button and poof! Like magic, I get to know all about you.”

“Wike a magih wan’?”

“Pretty close to it actually.” Miss G then got up and gingerly walked over to Willy and I before crouching down. “Now, this is really simple. Just open your mouth and say ‘ah,’ and it will all be over. Just one second for me… can you do that?”

I wanted to squeeze Willy’s hand so hard to prevent that device from being activated, but Miss G was too close by and likely wasn’t the type to miss even the tiniest of movements.

This felt like the beginning of the end. I heard about these things before at care facilities all over, and instead of poof and you’re good, it was more like poof and your mind goes bye-bye. If I had fingers or toes, I would have crossed them as tightly as I could in the hope that I was wrong as I watched Willy nod and then open his mouth.

“Ahhhhh.” Miss G was fast and pushed her button like she said. To my elation though, no powder, smoke, or liquid of any kind. Just a loud Beep, and she was done.

“Very good Willy,” Miss G said with a smile, now walking back over to her chair on the other side of the desk. “Let’s just see the results…” Miss G sat down and then eyed her screen further, but I also noticed Willy trying to look as well. His efforts weren’t lost on Miss G.

“Curious little fella, aren’t you? I’ll have to keep that in mind, but here,” she then swung the monitor around so we could see as well, “just a bunch of data about you.” Miss G then paused and hesitated. “I actually forgot to ask… can you read this, Willy?”

Willy wavered his hand in the air as he squinted at the screen. “Kinda… some of da words awe twicky… mos’ awe…” Willy then trailed off and what I had predicted with this new perception over his lack of an ability came to pass. In his own words, Willy had confirmed that while he could read a bit, his level was nowhere even close to what was normal for anyone likely above eight, and that was if I was being generous.

“I see…” Miss G looked a bit sad for a sec in her knowing of what that meant, but then started pointing to her screen to explain what was there. Her effort and sympathy were most refreshing in this society. “Well, I’m not sure what you can or cannot see, but this section is for your vitals… all seem normal, o that’s excellent.” She moved her finger. “This and this are for possible contagions, viruses, or genetic anomalies… all good… and here,” she lifted the pen once more, “is where your allergies are. Looks like pollen, possibly multiple sources, and cut grass. Fair enough, but definitely good overall. Don’t want you getting hurt over any meals or whatnot just because of an allergy.”

Willy only nodded at each of her words. He seemed to follow along, but his face showed the same look that I had seen before when Willy was somewhere in the middle of knowing something and being completely lost. It was almost becoming his go-to look lately and I discreetly squeezed his hidden hand under the desk.

“Now, lastly…” Miss G studied Willy for a moment with a curious look swinging equally between analyzation and contemplation. “You know what? Never mind. I was going to ask about your potty control, but… I don’t think I need to do that, do I?”

Willy just stared at her questioningly and I knew that some of the modifications made back at the regression center when we first met were hurtful, if not downright cruel. Some things were obvious, but others had taken me a little time to piece together, one of those being Willy’s ability to potty train. Apparently, the word ‘potty’ almost put him into a near trance-like state for a moment and then forget all about it or anything to do with it. As a result, I doubted that Willy could ever truly be potty trained anymore.

“Right. I’ll take that as a yes.” She then stood up and looked at us both, before smiling and stretching her arms out wide. “Welcome to Safehouse 81.” Willy only giggled a bit at her grand gesture and introduction, but Miss G only kindly smiled back. “First things first. We need to get you all clean for this house.” Miss G then meandered over to the both of us.

“Mid if I carry you out back? It will be easier and faster for us both if you do, but I’ll leave it up to you.” Willy chose not to say a word and allowed his actions to speak loudly enough. With a single gesture, he raised both his hands up to her. Miss G only smiled again and picked us both up.

After a short walk to the rear of the house and outside, Miss G came to a building and door to one side of the yard labeled, ‘Processing.’ Unlocking and then pushing the door open, a simple almost doctor’s-like area stood before us. Inside was only a simple changing table, a shower and bathtub to the rear, and a few bins to the left of the changing table, each containing a label with numbers. Based on their numbers, I deduced that they likely referred to the mental age of the Little being processed.  

Miss G then walked us over and set us down on the large changing table. “Now, I’m going to start to clean you up, okay? Just want to make sure you’re all good here before you meet the others. Don’t want any nasty bits following you around and being squeaky clean is so fun, right?” Willy nodded enthusiastically. “Perfect, but that being said, just speak up if you ever need me to stop.” Willy looked at her questioningly but only nodded and allowed Miss G to get to work.

I imagined that years of dealing with Littles coming to a place known as a ‘safehouse,’ had led to her meeting all types of personalities and those with some degree of trauma. Consent was not the usual route with Littles, but her tender and cautious approach, I knew, was likely to be appreciated. Considering the range of ages, I also guessed that this process varied greatly based on the Little in question. For one like Willy, more help from even a stranger he had just met was just a part of life. Still, her asking consent was a nice touch.

For his part, Willy just lay back and hugged me as long as he could, only letting me go for brief periods of time as Miss G quickly stripped him of his puppy-themed romper that Mommy had dressed him last night and tossed it in the hamper. She then took a second to allow Willy to say ‘no,’ but when he just stared at her blankly and then cuddled me further, she proceeded to undo and then change his diaper.

I once kept track of how many people had changed or had at least seen Willy undressed. One of my subroutines did this quite efficiently to gauge the progress of a Little, as apparently, a Little will no longer mind their diaper being changed by someone else once you reach 50 different people. I disagreed with such a firm number, but I kept the count going after I hit 50. That being said, I stopped a short time later when Willy made it to 65 separate people before not caring anymore.

Once wiped and the diaper removed, Miss G disposed of the tightly wrapped garment and then came back to Willy. “Now, for the next part… bath time. You need to leave Tusk here, but he won’t go anywhere while we clean you right on up.” Willy whimpered a little bit, but a soothing Miss G only cradled him close and into the bathing area nearby.

I was worried at first, but a renewed round of giggles bounced through hallways from the nearby bathroom and my mind instantly relaxed. I further felt a sense of ease when Miss G carried Willy back in, wrapped tightly in a towel with a frog’s head on the top of it. If Miss G was an evil type of Big of any kind, it was getting harder to see it with all she was doing to help ease Willy through all this.

Miss G then set Willy down and proceeded to give his whole body a quick dry with the towel. She even popped the frog hood over Willy’s head on purpose to play with him a bit. “Oops. Where did Willy go? Is he here?” She then tickled his foot and Willy let out a screech of joyous laughter. “Hmmm… maybe not. How about here?” She then cocked her head to the side and blew a few raspberries on Willy’s protruding tummy. My Little was lost in a fit of squeals and giggles for the next few minutes as loud and obnoxious sounds echoed off the processing room. It was good to see Willy this happy again.

Miss G was about to move elsewhere, but Willy beat her to it and popped off his hood. “Heewe I am, Miss G! I’ nah loss’!”

Miss G only giggled warm-heartedly at Willy. “Oh, there he is! You’re so smart for helping me out and finding you!” Willy blushed at being called helpful and Miss G just continued to smile back and then finished drying his hair. After handing me back to Willy, Miss G finished up her work and quickly diapered and then dressed him in a simple tiger-themed onesie.

Willy obviously loved it and just clung to Miss G tighter in affection when she picked us both up and brought us back into the house to what I assumed was the living room. After sitting Willy and I down on the couch and leaving for a moment, she came back with a sippy cup full of juice and a single cookie. “Here you go, Willy. You can eat the cookie first, but make sure you finish that juice as well, okay? Can you do that for me, honey?”

Willy only nodded as he quickly bit into the cookie in ravenous hunger. He paused however after the second bite and then guiltily looked up at a nearby seated Miss G. “Sowwy, Miss G. Dank you fo’ da coo’ie…”

“Aww, you’re very welcome, sweetie. Such a polite and good little boy that I’ve got with me now!” she gushed. She then eased back into her chair as Willy blushed for a moment and then went back to eating.

I recognized the cookie as being a Little and Big favorite alike. For Littles, the cookie was sweet and did seem like a genuine cookie. I had noticed most even believe that they were tricking their caregivers when they asked for one of them back at Willy’s old daycare. For those of us more in the know, however, the cookie was actually designed to deliver several nutrients to the fussier Littles. Nothing hurtful mind you, just enough nutritional value to ensure that no caregiver would dare think to object.

Once Willy had finished the delectable cookie, leaving a few errant crumbs behind, and then started on the sippy cup full of some kind of juice, Miss G spoke up. “Now, Willy. I just want to go over some rules with you while you’re here. We’ve got them posted around and I’m sure others can remind you, but I just want you to know from me first.”

Willy stopped drinking the juice for a moment. “Wules?”

“Yes, Willy. Rules.” I listened in closely as well. Given our dynamic, I knew to prevent Willy from getting punished too severely, I could always gently guide him into following them in case he forgot. “Nothing bad or too hard. Just one’s to keep everyone safe.”

Willy nodded and resumed his drinking, so Miss G continued. “We have your standard rules here, like no fighting, swearing, hitting, lying, and all. I’m sure I don’t need to remind you of those, but we have a few that are less… traditional as well.” Willy only continued to stare blankly but I listened in more intently.

“As this is a safehouse, the safety of those here is most important. If, for whatever reason, you have the ability to communicate with the outside, I ask that you not reveal our exact location and that you don’t talk about the others that are here. This is a safe place for all, so I don’t want anyone not being protected here to know about us.” It was a simple enough rule, and it was nice to have in place.

“Second, as you might know from your own experience, many are here because they are coming from a… not so good place. So, please don’t ask why people are here. If they want, they can reveal that themselves, but I ask you not to push.” It was another good one to have. The less questions about our situation from others, the better off that everyone would be in the long run.

“Lastly, if you ever leave or if someone ever came here and asked about someone besides yourself, don’t say anything. While one of our rules here is not lying, you have full permission to lie in this one case to protect a fellow Little staying here. This is probably the most important one and I would ask you to continue to follow this rule, even when you leave here. Can you do that for me, Willy?”

Willy nodded his head as he began to finish his juice. I just sat next to him and couldn’t believe our luck. This place seemed perfect for our needs right now. No outside communication, no questions asked about a background, and not ratting on each other, even when we leave. It seemed purpose-built for us, though I also realized in sadness that our situation, though unique in some aspects, was likely common with how it was ending up for a Little. I always believed that it was a stupid society that hunted Littles down against their will, but for now, I just had to focus on keeping Willy safe. Governmental and societal policy would have to remain the problem of another day.

“Well, I’m very glad to hear that, Willy. Welcome to the safehouse,” Miss G greeted again.

Willy grinned as he finished the last of the juice. “Dank you, Miss G!”

“Awww. You’re very welcome, Willy. Now, do you want to go and meet your roommates while you’ll be staying with us?” Willy nodded enthusiastically, always relishing the chance to meet new friends. “Perfect! Just set your sippy cup down on the couch, and I can come get it later.” Willy nodded and placed the sippy cup against one of the couch cushions so it wouldn’t fall over. Miss G saw this and smiled, but then picked us both up and brought us up the stairs.

After the third floor, Miss G spoke again. “So, I’ve divided this house up by each floor. As you go up, those staying higher need a little more… love. Does that make sense?” Willy nodded in her arms. I knew she likely meant to say help with more basic things, but she probably knew from experience that telling Littles that they needed help of any kind in their already fragile state likely wasn’t always the wisest of decisions.

We then walked up another floor, and I could see that each one seemed to be a little less mature than the last. “Those on the second floor might help out every once in a while, with my two other assistants, so don’t worry if they come to check up on you every now and then, okay?” Willy nodded a little more hesitantly at the prospect of another caretaker, but just allowed Miss G to continue.

After reaching the fifth floor of the house, I saw that it was the narrowest of the house so far and only had two doors along the hallway, instead of the usual six. “This is your floor. Only one more above, but that’s where the staff here and I stay. This,” she said, coming to a room labeled, ‘Nursery,’ “is where you’ll be staying.”

Opening the door, stood a medium-sized nursery with a simple outdoorsy meadow theme that seemed to persist around the area where it could. I could never classify the area as luxurious, but it definitely seemed comfy, the clouds in various spots on the walls only adding to that image. A few cribs were lined up against one wall, while two changing tables lay against another. A rocking chair, a few toy bins, two art easels, a small bookshelf stuffed with books of all sizes, and a playpen completed the overall look.

What’s more, I spotted two Littles in the middle who had stopped their playing as soon as we had entered. One had a monkey while the other held an octopus. Miss G broke the silence first. “Gina, Harry… this is your new roommate.” Miss G then carried us over to the two seated Littles and I braced for another introduction today. I just hoped that these Littles would be a relief to Willy, rather than another burden like other regressed Littles had been in the past. If I had any fingers, I would have double crossed them as much as I could right then. Hopefully, our luck could just continue for a little longer.

[Guilend]

Sorry I didn't comment on the previous chapter. I ended up with surprise company right after reading it lol. 

I actually hope mommy and daddy didn't die. Hopefully they find them and they've just been held hostage this entire time. 

I want to be a Big helping out at the safehouse. It sounds like fun. 

[CCApril]

Tusk is doing a good job!  It will be interesting to hear what the other stuffies have to say after all the littles fall asleep. Fun Story!

April

[LostBBoyBear]

Sorry for not posting yesterday. I was away visiting some family and just got back this morning. 

I hope everyone enjoys this next chapter!

Chapter 8: A Fear and a Calm

Miss G carefully shuffled Willy and I around and then sat us on the floor in front of the two ogling Littles. Both had now scooched around on their own crinkling butts to make room for our new presence in their tiny group up here. It wasn’t much, but it was still a good sign.

“Gina, Harry… this is Willy and Tusk,” Miss G introduced as Willy wiggled into his position in the circle.

“Hi…” Harry said shyly.

“Hello there, Willy,” Gina said a little more upbeat and articulately.

“Hi. I’m Wiwwy an’ dis is Tus’,” Willy said while holding me up a little, as if he was a knight holding out a shield of sorts to protect himself from the nearby and possibly unfriendly dragons.

“Good to meet you, Willy and Tusk,” Gina said with a slight giggle. She then held up the blue and purple octopus in her own arms. “This is Mindy the oc… octo… ugh…” she rolled her eyes, “octopus.”

Harry seemed more hesitant but after a small nudge from Gina, grabbed his own stuffy. “Dis is E’y. He a chim’.”

“You could just say monkey, Harry. We get it,” Gina said, nudging him playfully.

“No, he a chim… pa… chi… arghh!” Harry then started to get frustrated over his lack of ability to say the word, ‘chimpanzee.’ I half expected Miss G to intervene, but I noticed that she had quietly already left the room, I guess satisfied that the three of us would get along.

“It’s okay, Harry. We know what you mean, right Willy?” Gina asked, turning to Willy.

“I guess…” Willy answered honestly. “I have twouble wih’ bi’ wor’s… ‘speciawy sayin’ dem…”

Harry looked like he wanted to sock Willy in the mouth originally, but immediately softened up when Willy revealed that he had trouble with words as well. “Me too! Hey, we pwababwy cwose in how ol’ we awe!”

“Maybe… I dink dey sai’ I’m ment’ly wike two yea’s old wih my wor’s a’ bes’…”

“That’s okay, you two… we all have our issues… some more in other places…” Gina said sympathetically.

“Buh’ you tal’ so goo’!” Willy pointed out.

“Yeah,” Gina admitted, “but I think it was the formula used on me…” Gina looked suddenly looked very sad for a moment, but then shook her head. ‘Don’t ask Willy. Don’t ask. Please remember the rules…’ Willy remained gratefully silent, and Gina continued. “Anyway… I got messed up in different ways. I can think more clearly half the time and speak like I used to, but I have other issues.” She then looked down at her lower body. “Like… I still have to wear diapers like you two. Plus, I can’t handle half the stuff they do on the other floor’s downstairs or read at all... Just all squiggles on the page now… I’m more mature, but just not enough for them…”

“Oh… I’s sowwy ta heaw dat…” Willy noted, now being his turn to show sympathy in the group.

“Nah… it’s okay. Could have ended up like this little pants pooper. Not even his apparent two years old age most of the time these days!” Gina said jokingly, going as far to wrestle Harry in and mess with his hair.

“Hey! Sto’ ih’ Gina! No faiw!” Harry cried out, trying to struggle in vain out of her clutches.

“Right, right. Sorry, Harry. Hard to know where the line of old me ends and the rambunctious regressed Little begins. I guess that’s why we’re all up here, right?” Gina asked with a hint of regret in voice.

“Fo’ mo wuv, wight?” Willy asked innocently before Harry could speak up.

“Awww,” Gina cooed. “That’s adorable, Willy. I mean maybe a little bit in a way, but we’re all too regressed to be with the others. From what I can tell, the second floor is for those not regressed at all, the third is for those who have been regressed but can still maintain their independence in most ways, and the fourth is for those who definitely need a little help in lots of things.”

“So, we’we fou’?” Willy asked.

Gina and Harry both shook their heads glumly. “No Willy,” Gina continued. “We’re the fifth. The youngest here. We all need more help than everyone else.”

“Buh’ I no baby!” Willy called out as he inferred that’s what Gina was really saying without actually saying it.

“Well… no. You’re less of a baby than Harry here sure, but also, any younger than him and it would be unlikely you would even be able to make it out of your situation to start with. I know we’re not supposed to ask, but I know Harry barely made it, and I’m guessing the same would be for you. Don’t answer, but you don’t exactly seem the type to just escape on your own. No offense,” Gina quickly added after only a second of silence.

“Dat’s okay…” Willy assured her.

I could see that Gina had seen that there was still some pain behind whatever happened for us to land here, so she wisely switched tactics. “Still, you’re not the youngest.” She then retackled and started her tickling attack on Harry. “That honor goes to this widdle toe muncher.”

“Argh! Gina! Ge’ off! Wiwwy! Hewp!” Harry cried under her relentless tickling. No one noticed but I could see his diaper begin to swell a bit, likely because of Harry unknowingly wetting himself. Based on the lack of reaction, the thick padding of the three, and the changing tables, I doubted that it was anything more than routine around here and something that would hardly stop them from playing.

“I’ll sae you, Hawwy!” Willy put me down gently and then tackled the two. In a second, they were all just laughing and rolling about. I sighed internally as a huge wash of relief enveloped my mind. Regressed Littles were a mixed bag, and some could be very bitter about the whole ordeal, but others may have embraced it or could have been too regressed to really care anymore. I didn’t know where Gina or Harry fell exactly, but both seemed to be good company for Willy at this point.   

The three finally stopped their wrestling and began to talk once more amongst themselves for so long, that Miss G and another wispy looking redhead reentered the room for the next phase of the day. The two declared it time for a nap and despite a few protests from the three, each complied readily once they were promised a treat afterward. A few diaper checks and changes later, each of the three Littles were soundly asleep in their cribs. “G’nigh’ Tus’.”

“Sleep tight, Willy…” I tried to stay awake in this new place and surrounded by so many new and unknown faces, but it was all in vain. Within minutes, I was fast asleep.

*              *              *

To my delight, when Willy and I awoke, we were in the same position in the crib and nothing bad had happened. It was a load off my mind, but I also knew that I needed to stay awake tonight. Something was telling me that I needed to speak with Mindy and Eddy alone to discuss Willy’s and I’s relationship, but my thoughts were interrupted when Miss G and the redhead, whom I found out who was named Mildred, or Miss M, entered into the nursery as the Gina and Harry began to stir in their own cribs.

Another round of diaper checks and changes, and the three were back on the floor. This time, however, Mildred stayed and started to play with us while Miss G went back downstairs. It was nice and the Middle caregiver seemed very taken with Willy and his imagination with me. One sailing adventure and search for buried treasure later in the nursery, and we all stopped when we heard a loud bell go off in the room.

Ring! Ring!

“Oops. That’s Miss G, with your all’s dinner. Come on you little rascals. Easy down the steps, Gina, and hold onto the railing.” She then turned down to Willy, Eddy, Harry, and I. “Now, Willy, I know this is your first day, so do you mind if I carry you and Tusk down with me alongside Harry and Eddy?”

Willy looked at Harry, who currently seemed more interested in the fingers flexing in front of his face, and then right at me. Being in the presence of others, I couldn’t move an inch to guide him into saying ‘yes.’ So, under his own hesitant volition and understanding the request or not, Willy only nodded his head in agreement.

Mildred smiled calmly and gently picked up both Harry and Willy, both tightly cradling us stuffy’s. Gina draped Mindy across her back with one hand like a sack of potatoes and went first outside the nursery.

Being less regressed, I figured she was given a few more privileges than Willy or Harry, but now on her feet, I could still see the signs of her regression. Her legs, though upright, were still as wobbly and uncoordinated as Willy’s. What I saw showed me that her strength and coordination were enough to move about, but I also knew from her look that without a significant amount of concentration, tripping and falling were likely outcomes. In all honesty though, I felt that the only reason she wasn’t being held as well is that she would have the mental fortitude to brace herself if she did fall. I wasn’t so sure about Harry or Willy in their current mental awareness or their reactions times…

Finally downstairs, Harry and Willy were both placed in highchairs first, followed quickly by still-teetering Gina. Us three stuffy’s were saddled to the sides of the highchairs comfortably and could only look on as our Littles were fed. Being in the dining room while the three most-regressed Littles were being fed, I could see several other less-regressed Littles walking about. A few seemed to sport a bit of padding, but most looked more like Willy when we first met. Intelligent eyes, strong footsteps, coordinated efforts in whatever they did, and little, if any, breaks in conversation from not being able to say a word or pronounce it well enough if they knew it.

To be honest, from my experience at that facility, I expected Willy to instantly be made fun of for his onesie, the highchair, his diaper, or his now messy face, but none of that came from these less-regressed Littles. If anything in their quick walkthroughs of the room or setting of the table for their own food later, I saw something that amounted to a sense of calm, but also one of sympathy or even fear.

As Willy and the others finished the last of their spaghetti, bread, and veggies, I realized that this being a safehouse, the three seated Littles represented one of the often-dreaded outcomes of this society for a Little. While not infants or newborns, the three’s demeanor, attire, and abilities were testaments to everything that these Littles had likely escaped from. One didn’t need to know their backstories to know the fear inherent in every non-regressed Little. It was just a fact in most corners of the interconnect world society these days. Bastions of safe and Little-only islands were becoming a rarity.

Alas, dinner was finished and the three had made a royal mess of themselves. Harry was the messiest by far, but both Gina and Willy needed a good wiping from Mildred and Miss G as well. The table was nearly set for the next group, and I recognized the place settings as likely belonging to the third and fourth floor groups of Littles, while those helping the most out were likely the second floor and would then eat after all the rest and probably even with the caretakers here.

“Mildred, could you be a dear and take these Littles back up to the nursery with their sippies?” Miss G asked, as she finished wiping the last of the mess from Harry’s face, a particular dried spot of sauce now coming off.

“Sure thing, Miss G. I can come back after they’re done and help a bit more then with the other group’s dinner.” Miss G only smiled as she re-entered the kitchen area and waved her on, which Mildred took as a sign of approval. A few minutes later, the three Littles were once again back upstairs, and each was now sucking greedily on their own filled sippy cup.  

Left alone and their sippy cups discarded to one side of the room, the three began to play with us stuffy’s once more for a little bit. Not long afterward though, Miss G and another brunette called Penelope, or Miss P, came in the nursery and began to take each Little away. Willy was first and after Penelope had taken him first to the changing table, Miss G then hauled him off to a place I could only assume was the bathroom to wash faces and teeth before bed based on the noises of the water coming from the hall.

Miss G then came back with a fresh smelling Willy and traded off with Penelope to bring Harry into the bathroom. In my own little amusement, it almost looked like a dance between the two and the Littles that they were handling. After picking me up though, Penelope then dumped us both into one of the awaiting cribs and then went away to go work on Gina’s diaper next.

Alone in the crib with a freshly smelling, thickly diapered, and bundled Willy, he spoke to me for the first time in a while. “I’m scaew’d, Tus’.”

“About the gunmen?” Willy nodded shakily. “Yeah. Me too a little bit, but I think these people are good, don’t you think so?”

“Oh yeah. I weally wike Miss G. An’ Gina. An’ Hawwy.”

I chuckled a little. “I’m very glad to hear that, buddy. I think we just need to take it one step at a time, but no matter what happens, we’ll stick togeth…”

I then realized that Penelope was walking over to our new crib. “Who you talkin’ to, sweetie?” she asked innocently once she was perched at the top of the railing and smiling innocently.

“Oh… no one weally. Jus’ Tu’s hewe.” He then held my form up to her as if to prove my realness of actually being a toy to her.

“Awww. That’s very cute, honey. Well, you tell Tusk that it’s about to be beddy-bye time for the both of you.” Penelope’s gaze and overall demeanor were soft, but her wording and tone at the end told me that no matter what, these things were going to happen, Little cooperation or not.  

“Nigh’ time?” Willy asked to confirm what I knew he suspected.

“That’s right, honey. If you’re afraid of the dark, it will be okay. We’ve got a little lamb nightlight right over there in the corner. Very calming and it will be on all night once we leave.”

“Okay…” Willy nodded but clutched me tight.

Penelope then stared sadly at Willy. I could only imagine what she was thinking now. For all she knew, Willy could have been emotionally scarred from something that happened at night, or he could have just been regressed so much that he was now afraid of the dark like most youthfully minded. In either case, she then reached into the crib and handed Willy a bottle of what I could only assume was milk. “Here. If you want, you can drink this. Now, we don’t think you’re a baby or anything like that, but we find the milk helps you go to sleep really quickly and with some pleasant dreams even. Isn’t that nice?”

Willy quickly took the bottle with his free hand not squeezing me against his chest and then nodded. “Dank you, Miss P.”

“You’re very welcome, sweetie.” She then turned back to Miss G, who had just returned with a freshly washed and prepped for bed Gina. Unbeknownst to me, Harry had already been placed in his crib while Willy and I had been talking.

The two caretakers then talked for a quick moment, but Penelope soon left the room, leaving Miss G to calmly sit in her giant rocking chair near one of the short bookshelves. Viewing her selection for a moment, she quickly picked out two books. “Now, just two for tonight. No debate, Harry,” she said sternly right as I saw Harry about to speak and probably try to argue for more nearby. “I want you all to get your sleep, but I think I’ve picked out some really good ones, so just settle in, close your eyes, and listen while I read.” She then cleared her throat and started to rock in the chair as each Little relented and then relaxed into their cribs. “The rooster and his Little…”

True to her word, Miss G read the two enchanting books about some animals and their adventures. By the end of the first, Willy had made it halfway through the bottle of milk but was already nodding off. By the time Miss G finished the second, I could see only Gina was still awake of the three Littles, but only just barely.

Miss G noticed as well and quietly crept out of the room and flicked off the lights. The small lamb statue situated on one of the floating shelves in the corner then popped on and bathed the room in a warm and soft calming glow. “Goodnight, my sweet Littles. Rest your heads in safety and dream sweetly of a better tomorrow…”

Miss G then left the room and closed the door, leaving only a small crack in the door where a tiny trickle of light came in. Soon, the nursery only sounded with cute little snores and the occasional shuffling of sheets. I laid back and just privately thanked whatever power was looking over us. For now, at least, we had a clean and comfy place to sleep, new friends, and dutiful and affectionate caretakers.

All seemed well and I shuffled around while still in Willy’s arms. The mattress wasn’t as comfortable as I would have liked but it would do as I stayed wide awake to keep my eye out on things that could go bump in the night, be it shadow monster or gunmen. ‘I really couldn’t hazard a guess which Willy’s afraid of more now. Poor guy… just sleep peacefull…’

Creaaak!

I shot my head to my left to see where the creaking had come from, fearing that it was someone out to hurt Willy. ‘Would he be regressed? Hurt? Kidnapped?’ Instead of any Middle, Big, or Little though, I only saw two small figures staring at me intently through the shadows.

“Tusk Galpin. You have violated the toy code of secrecy with your Little and are therefore subject to punishment if you cannot properly defend yourself with your actions,” a low voice sounded out.

‘Crud.’

[dirtydingus84]

Would they even believe Tusk if he told the truth? And what was Willy like before he seemed very fond of cops and robbers before would that help more later on? How will this duo get through this whole ordeal? 

[LostBBoyBear]

So, this chapter marks the over halfway point in the story, so yay! Hope everyone is enjoying this story so far and some of the plot elements I've added. I promise some good things will happens soon to our two main characters, but just hold on for now.

Chapter 9: They've Come Again

I bolted upright in the crib and squinted a bit to see the two figures looking in at me more clearly. Standing erect and cast in the dark shadows, Mindy and Eddy cut frightening silhouettes in the still of the night. “Geez, you guys really gave me a scare.”

“As well you should be, Tusk,” Mindy retorted.

“Did you hear me, Tusk? You violated the toy code of secrecy. It was so obvious today, and yeah, we know that Willy is a Little and who is going to believe a Little in this society, but still. That is a direct violation of the code of secrecy. Explain yourself or face the consequences,” Eddy commanded.

“What I think my hard-headed compatriot means to say,” Mindy clarified, “is that we believe you are a good toy, and by you and Willy coming here in the first place, we can only assume you had a good reason to reveal yourself. Is this correct?”

“Well… it all started a year ago…” I began and told them my tale. While both had started out as hardened and angry in their own unique way, both began to soften up as Willy’s and I’s tale unfolded.

“Damn… that’s… I don’t know what that is,” Eddy confessed afterward, rubbing the back of his head in guilt.

“I’ll say, but it’s at least evidence enough that you did the right thing,” Mindy said. “I can’t imagine what his life would have been like if you weren’t there, and frankly, I don’t want to imagine where he would be if you hadn’t helped him out after that shootout.”

“Well, I guess let me first say that I’m sorry. Name’s Eddy the chimp,” Eddy said, reaching out to shake my hand through the bars.

“Same goes for me, maybe even doubly so in my apologies, but the name is Mindy,” she said, nodding her head as a further way to say hello to me. “From my tentacles, you can see that I am an octopus. Handy in lots of situations, like now with you. So, need a lift out?” I nodded and like my ears and trunk, Mindy’s legs were actually able to stick to surfaces in her ‘alive’ state quite easily. Within a minute, she used herself to climb into the crib and then form a ladder and stepstool of a kind to help me get out of the surrounding crib.

I plopped to the floor with a light thud, but quickly got up and dusted myself off, Mindy falling down close behind me. “Thanks for that,” I said, turning around to face her.

“No problem. Makes it much easier with these things so we can talk a bit more. What’d you say?”

“Sound perfect.” The other two smiled and we all sat in a circle, each of our faces perfectly bathed in the soft warm light of the sheep-themed nightlight.

Later, after a moment of just peace and quiet, Eddy spoke up with a darkened expression. “You know, I was thinking about what you said. About FOY? I think I’ve heard of it.”

“Oh?” I edged on, needing to know more about what we were dealing with in Boss Cardigan and is thugs.

“Yeah. I heard it was a kind of feel-good drug I heard about was being smuggled by a gang across country borders. Big time players across the country are willing to sell the cheap version of it. Lots of money and violence follows wherever it goes.” Eddy paused. “Found out when I got captured and was then given to Littles to regress each of them quickly to then be sold to a client. That place was useful in gathering information and growing my fighting skills, but I soon escaped that pit before I was thrown away in favor of a new model.”

“But you’re here now. Must be some story,” I noted to Eddy.

“A guess a little bit, but basically, I made my way to a local daycare I had heard about and met up with Gina there. A little prodding by us one day while Gina and Harry were there, and we’ve all be inseparable since.”

“Yeah, it’s not much of a story compared to yours and Willy’s, but I agree with Harry about the dangers of FOY. I heard from a Little who escaped with Gina that a form of that crap is sold and abused on the streets. Mostly nasty stuff being peddled around here, usually for those who just want to escape this world.”

“You mean…?”

“No, not that… at least not directly,” Mindy clarified. “Some virulent forms of it can be pretty nasty but mostly no. No permanent escape. Just a mild regression or temporary mental regression. Can get some users high or regress others in the right doses. It has a lot of uses across the board for pretty much every member of this society.”

“All the freedoms without the long-term consequences of being regressed in most cases for Littles,” Eddy clarified. “Of course, some Littles pushed to far… can’s say that there aren’t risks, you know?”

I nodded. “It all makes such horrible sense now…” The violence, Daddy’s paranoia, why everything had gone so wrong, and even the connection with Boss Cardigan… it all just fit into place with this massive piece of the puzzle now coming into place.

While it was a relief to know more now, I also knew that we were still in danger. A loss of technology could maybe get violent, but drugs… I don’t think there’s ever been a story about drugs where it ended nicely for anyone involved. “So… we’re pretty screwed, right? Or is my imagination just taking a bit too much on this?”

Both looked at me hesitantly for a moment, but Eddy spoke first. “We can’t say, but you just need to be more careful now.”

I looked down sullenly and I felt one of Mindy’s tentacles wrap around me. “It’s okay, Tusk. You’ve been doing a phenomenal job to even get to this point.” Her looks then suddenly turned cloudy and sad. “I know we’re not supposed to talk about the past, but we’ll make an exception as stuffy’s. At this point, I’m honestly not sure Gina or Harry would really mind. Especially if it could help a fellow Little and their stuffy not feel so alone.”

“You don’t have to…”

Mindy held up another one of her tentacles. “No, it’s okay. Maybe we can give you some hope. You see, Gina ran away from an abusive home life. Not even Bigs, but just a large group home of Middles and Littles who all had it rough. It can get pretty nasty in those types of places. Low funding from the government as none of them were regressed… anyway, she ran away but was caught and sentenced to a regression facility. I’m sure you’re familiar?” I nodded. “Yeah… not the nicest of places, but the place was shut down during a raid after they were caught doing illegal things to some of the Littles.”

My morbid curiosity got the best of me. “Like what?”

Mindy’s face soured and darkened, and I regretted asking such a stupid question about something so painful to witness in-person. From her face, something told me that some of the more non-traditional techniques were used there on the Littles. “You don’t want to know. Trust me.”

“Yeah… best not to ask sometimes about this world, you know? Like Harry… little dude escaped a smuggling operation for Littles. They got regressed to a certain point to break them and then require them to get a Big’s help for the rest of their lives. Once those people were cruelly satisfied, the Little would then be sold.”

“So how did he escape. No offense, but Harry is…”

“Yep,” Eddy said before I could finish my sentence. “Harry’s the most regressed Little here. Likely would have gone down even further honestly if one of the Littles from the third floor hadn’t gotten a bunch of them out. Super scary and all from what Harry’s told me in private, but he’s out and that’s what matters at this point. Anyway, point being with both of these, it’s not all doom and gloom. Just keep helping Willy and you two will make it out just fine. Not all Littles have bad endings.”

“Right. Yeah, I mean I definitely appreciate the pep talk. It means a lot to me, and I’m sure Willy too… if he was awake.”

“Don’t mention it,” Mindy said, patting my back with one of her outstretched tentacles. “Just keep him saf…”

We all then froze as we heard a moan from nearby. Harry had just stirred in his sleep, and we all knew from his regression level that he could wake at any minute. His sleeping schedule had been regressed as well, so late night waking’s were just par for the course unfortunately. So, with Mindy’s help, I clambered back into the crib and snuggled into Willy for the rest of the night.

*              *              *

Still being the weekend, we all were woken up and sent downstairs after a quick diaper change to eat breakfast. Gobs of oatmeal were soon smeared all around the three’s faces, but none of them actually seemed to care anymore. It was messy but all really cute watching them eat and then giggle incessantly at the futile attempts of Penelope and Miss G to keep their faces clean. Even Mildred could be heard giggling at their efforts as she set the table around them for the next set of Littles.

After, the three then went back upstairs, guided by a still bright-eyed Penelope. She ensured all were good to go, checked the monitor in the room I just noticed to ensure it was working in case one of them needed something, and then sauntered back down the stairs.

I then lost track of time for a bit as the three then began playing aimlessly with each other and with us stuffy’s. I really only picked up back into the conversation fully when Willy asked a question that I had been curious about as well. “Iss ih’ twue dat we go to daycawe tomowwow?”

Gina and Harry both stopped playing with their stuffy’s and looked sympathetically at Willy. Gina spoke first seeing Willy’s apprehension over the concept. “It’s okay, Willy. The place is actually super nice. All the people there just want the best for us. Miss G even picked it specifically because they don’t do anything weird to their Littles. We’ve been going for a while now, and look at us, we’re totally fine!” Willy looked at the two and his expression conveyed a disbelief over that statement. “Okay, okay. Maybe we’re not the best examples given our current state and all, but I promise, we haven’t changed since we’ve gone. The ones on the lower floors here can attest to that better if you need further proof.”

“Dey go? I daugh’ dey wewe olduh’?” Willy asked out of curiosity.

“Sure, some are, but not everyone is super independent and all. Plus, the daycare has different levels as well. Like we’re not even the youngest there.”

“Yeah, Wi’y. Nah e’en me!” Harry interjected, bouncing up and down in excitement over the prospect of not being the youngest. I could only imagine that being the youngest here meant that Harry would always be prideful and point out his older status whenever he could if there was someone younger.

“Buh’ you… so how… oh…” The realization swept over Willy quickly. With Harry being so young, the only way to be younger was to be the bottom of the barrel for a Little, infants and newborns. “Dat’s so sa’…”

Gina then gave Willy a little side hug. “Hey there. Don’t feel bad for them. They’re practically off in la-la land at this point. It’s maybe a little sad for us to see them, but they don’t really care by now. It’s mostly all about naps, changes, and feeding them. Maybe a little more play with the older of that crowd, but life is very simple for them. And besides, they don’t know anything should be different or more than what it is. They live in the moment.”

I know Gina was trying to comfort Willy, and based on his relaxed expression, I suppose it was working, but at the same time, I wasn’t feeling any better about what she was saying. Infant and newborn Littles were a bit of a dark mark on this society. Sure, most Bigs wanted to regress a Little to diapers. That was just the status quo, but anything below the mental age of one got into some highly questionable territory for most Bigs.

At those levels, Littles were lack little sacks of flour that were only able to really use their diapers, coo, drool, maybe play a bit, nap, and feed. It was a baseless existence and I had thanked my lucky stars when Willy hadn’t been slated for that fate when we first met. I was onboard with regression as it was my job, but I might have bent the rules a bit, regardless of my own fate, just to save Willy back then from ending up like that. The facility pushed him enough that Willy didn’t me causing further harm to him at one point.

Oblivious to the fact now that he had almost shared their fate and satisfied that daycare wouldn’t regress or abuse him any further, Willy just went back to happily playing. This routine continued well into the day and we both enjoyed ourselves capitally in the varying activities that were normally reserved for the more regressed Littles.

Right before lunch, we were all taken back downstairs and allowed to play outside. It was a wonderfully beautiful day and the Littles split their time between the sandbox and playset out back. We saw many of the other Littles there as well and it immediately became obvious over the distinctions between the four groups.

The fourth-floor group could play with our regressed Littles but could also play with those in the group mentally above them. The same went for the group above them, and the oldest above them, like second the floor and third floor Littles. Each may have had to stretch or diminish themselves a bit to play or hang out with a different mental and floor group, but each made it work in their own way.

For example, I was most pleased when one of the kids from the fourth-floor group, Kenny, began to play with Willy and I with his own version of the Sgt. Luvman line that I had seen before. He was obviously a secondhand toy, based on his missing foot and some of the scratches over him, but Kenny obviously loved him, nonetheless.

In all this joy though, I even got to see Miss G in action as she caught one of the older Littles, I think from the third floor, pop out their cellphone. She was one of the more glamorous Littles of that group, but one could still easily see that she had been affected as well. Not diapers or pacifiers or anything, but her jewelry, makeup, and outfit all seemed to try and convey her maturity, but all ended up looking like something a pre-teen would only be able to cobble together, rather than a truly mature woman.

Miss G immediately confiscated the phone and a series of ‘ooohs’ went up amongst the Littles. They all knew she was in trouble, and as expected, she was then grounded and sent back inside to consider her actions. Gina whispered that she would likely get corner time and would have to write out lines as well once inside. It wasn’t a spanking like I had pictured, but I still didn’t envy her.

Regardless though, playtimes of forts, sandcastles, swing sets, and just rolling around in the grass all came to an end when our group was sequestered back inside for lunch. The grumbling in all three Little’s stomachs proved the impeccable timing of the event.

A few sandwiches and a sippy cup of milk later, all three of the Littles had to be carried upstairs for their nap. After, it was basically the same routine as yesterday, but now before dinner, each of the Littles was downstairs and helping pack for tomorrow at daycare for those who were going from the group. Based on what I had learned, that was likely floors three, four, and five. The second floor Littles only seemed to help the others while some even noted that they would be job hunting tomorrow instead.  

For their part, Willy, Harry, and Gina couldn’t do as much in their comparatively highly regressed states but were still included to get their input on things like what they wanted to wear, bring with them to eat, and the like. Willy even got to choose a backpack to pack his stuff away in, selecting a backpack adorned in a cartoon dog that was part of a superhero team. From what I could recall, the particular dog highlighted on the bag had super strength and reflexes but could also communicate with animals. ‘How appropriate…’

Willy had finished selecting his sealed lunch for tomorrow and was now helping pack his bag away with Penelope guiding him along the way. Miss G and Mildred were in the other room helping out the Littles with their own bags while Harry and Gina were already finished and watching cartoons on the TV nearby.

“So, Willy, you excited for daycare tomorrow?” Penelope asked.

Willy nodded his head enthusiastically. “Oh yeah, Miss P! I wa’ ne’vous befo’, buh’ Hawwy and Gina hewped me today. Now, I can’ wai’!”

“Awww. That was super nice of them. I’ll be sure to give them an extra treat for that, but they’re absolutely right, Willy. There’s absolutely no reason to be nervous. Daycare i…”

Crash! Crash! Boom! Bang!

The window in the front of the house smashed open twice and then two loud explosions suddenly went off, emitting a deafening blow and a blinding white light. If I could bleed, I’m sure my big ears would have done so by now.

I had no time to worry about any of that though, as I soon saw the front door being smashed in while many of those in the front room were still extremely dazed.

Crack! Boom!

In a second, my worst fear had come true. Massing inside the shattered door and wrecked living room were six well-armed men dressed all in black. Once again, I spotted the large snake tattoo crawling up one of their arms, though curiously, it also looked like the man had tried to cover it up before entering as well. ‘Did he know that the cops were looking for that tattoo?’

I didn’t have time to ponder it further as the leader, who I assumed was still Joe from last week during the break in, pulled a dazed Miss G to her knees. “You. We’re looking for this Little.” He shoved a picture in her face that I knew had to be Willy. Knowing my luck, I was probably with him as well. “We know he’s here from your database registration. Where is he?”

Miss G looked up at him defiantly. “Those records are sealed. Only an admin or cop can access those, but anyway, the Little doesn’t look familiar. Hard to recall with the pounding in my head. You wouldn’t have done something naughty like that to a bunch of innocent Littles, would you?” she taunted.

Joe groaned and forced the picture in front of her face again. “I won’t ask you again. Where is he?”

I then heard Willy groan and when I turned around, I saw that he saw the unconscious body of Penelope on the ground, her head slightly bleeding from where a pan had hit her after the flashbangs went off. Willy looked like he was about to scream, but I leapt into action and put my arm over his mouth and whispered quietly to him. “I need you to stay calm and quiet, Willy. I know it’s hard, but please try for me, okay? Just nod your head if you understand.” Willy did so nervously, and I removed my arm, before looking back into the front living room.

Miss G hesitated for a moment, but then looked quite proud as she stared defiantly back at Joe. “Screw you.”

It was too much for Joe. With one blow, he sent her hurdling to the ground. Those Littles now conscious from the blast screamed in terror and I could hear Willy whimper slightly. “Get the brats upstairs now!” Joe commanded. “Lock ‘em in and hit ‘em with the smoke.”

Four of the six men nodded and at gunpoint, forced all the terrified Littles they could see upstairs. Moments later, while Joe was picking up a distressed Miss G, I could hear the bang of a door and then a faint hiss from upstairs. Once Miss G was back on her knees, the men came back downstairs. “Is it done?” Joe asked.

“Yes, sir!” one of them answered quickly. “The Littles are locked away and the gas has been deployed. In such a confined space, memories of tonight will only be foggy at best.”

“Good.” Joe then turned his attention back to Miss G. “Now, your little ones are all upstairs and unconscious for the moment. Helpless,” he emphasized as he stroked the large knife on his belt. “Tell me where the Little known as Willy Galpin is, or things might just get nasty.”

While Miss G was hesitating in her answer back to Joe, I saw two small figures waving at me from behind the couch. Squinting while also trying not to be noticed, I saw that it was Eddy and Mindy. Both then quickly indicated that they would cause a distraction and Willy and I could use it to escape out the back once more. I didn’t like putting them in that position, but I knew our options were limited. I indicated that I needed one moment but would signal again when ready.

“Might still be upstairs… fifth floor,” Miss G said, still lying to protect our location. She of course knew that we were in the room next door, but I remembered the third rule of hers. Apparently, she absolutely kept that one as one of the most sacred. ‘Oh, how I wish I could just thank and hug you right now, Miss G.’

Smiling internally at her devotion towards her Littles, I crawled down from my viewing position and whispered the plan to Willy while I could hear the thumping of boots going up to the fifth floor to search for Willy and me there. I knew that we would need to leave by the time they got back.

Fortunately, our daycare bag was already packed and to apparently allow for some independence, was made so that a Little could carry it on their own back. It had a few supplies that I knew would come in handy once we left, but I was even more grateful that many of the Littles, including Willy, had left their shoes nearby when they had come in earlier from playing outside.

I quickly snatched back his Velcro shoes and popped them on his feet right as I heard a renewed thudding of footsteps down the stairs. I knew it was now or never. So, I climbed back up and thanked them silently, but then gave the signal to Eddy and Mindy to cause the distraction.

Squeak!  

True to their word, one of them let out a giant squeak. The men immediately began to search for the source of the noise, and I gave the signal to Willy to flee out the back, the backdoor shutting behind us with just a small noise. In moments, we were once again out in the cold of the night beyond the most recently assaulted house and running from the same people.

This time, we didn’t have the woods to protect our movements, but we had plenty of places to hide in, under, and around. Once I knew we were clear of the house and neighborhood, I signaled from my carried position under Willy’s arm that we could stop.

“Oh, gawd, Tus’! Dey came fo’ su again! I daugh’ we wewe safe dewe!” Willy wailed, a single tear cascading down his cheek.

“Yeah, me too. Me too.” I sighed and for now at least, I didn’t want to tell Willy about what Miss G had said about the records. At this point, it was all but confirmed that there was a mole to Boss Cardigan within the local police. It could have been someone at the safehouse, but from the utter devotion I had just seen from Miss G, that option didn’t seem very likely. Plus, given the absence of the cop car the other night, there were just too many coincidences aligned to say otherwise.

“Wah we gonna do, Tus’?” Willy pitifully asked.

“I’m thinking, buddy. I’m…”

“I think he went this way!” a familiar voice shouted. I prayed that I was wrong, but a series of barks and further shouting confirmed that the men in the house had somehow followed us. I thought we were being discreet, but that’s when I looked up to the heavens for answers. I may not have found absolution from above, but I did spot a blinking and fixed security camera pointing right at us. ‘Crud. If there’s a mole, not much of a leap to think that they could see the security cameras on the streets as well.’

I panicked and started looking for options. There weren’t many, but a single manhole cover shined in the moonlight nearby. It was a detestable option, but I knew we didn’t have much of a choice. “There! Open it up now, Willy!”

“Buh’…”

I could hear the men coming closer, their dogs snarling and barking ravenously. “Now!”

Willy’s bottom lip trembled precariously as he opened the manhole cover, and I felt bad, but we just had to escape at this point.

Climbing down into the underbelly of the city was not as bad as I was originally thinking but the greenish water neither smelled nor looked entirely pleasant. Willy attempted to close the manhole cover, but simply wasn’t strong enough from this angle to maneuver it back. “Forget it! Come on! We’ve got to move!”

Willy scrambled down the ladder from the manhole opening with me perched on his shoulder, and then came to a large platform leading in three different directions. I could still hear the mumbling from the men above getting closer, so I elected to go in the opposite direction of where they seemed to be coming from. “This way. Come on!”

Willy whimpered but only nodded. The platform narrowed to a single ledge hugging the tubular tunnel. One wrong move and we would both be subject to the foul ooze that now spilled quickly under our feet. It was too unpleasant to really think about, but my fears kept me steady and moving forward. Soon, we reached another, albeit smaller, platform situated delicately under a single rusty light.

Despite our bad luck of things as of late, as soon as we got to the platform, I was still surprised when I heard a voice shout from where we had just come from. “Hey! This manhole cover is open! Maybe they went this way!”

I froze and pushed Willy up against the wall and under the light. We would be goners if they came this way, but I just hoped the narrowing of the tunnel and foul-smelling nearby odors would dissuade them from doing so.

I peered around the edge of the darkened and rotten-smelling tunnel and spotted at least three men wandering down the tunnel where we had just come from. One shined their powerful flashlight toward me, and I jolted back as quietly as I could.

I saw another beam of light illuminate the murky water before us. They were getting closer. I climbed up onto Willy’s lap and could feel his heart pounding through his shortalls as I neared my head to his chest. He began to whimper, and it seemed to echo off the concrete walls as if he was shouting his fears throughout the city.

“You need to keep quiet, Willy,” I whispered. “Just hold me as tight as you want. Squeeze me to pieces if you need, but just stay quiet.”

Willy meekly nodded and immediately hugged me close. I gave him permission to hug me to the point of releasing all his fears, but it was mighty uncomfortable at that moment. That being said, I knew this was it. They had never had us so cornered before. Finding us now would mean certain doom for us both.

I would likely be destroyed, and Willy would be lucky to end up as an infant after they regressed as punishment and to ensure he was mentally too young to be used as a reliable witness. It had happened before with other Littles that I had seen. Joining Mommy one day on one of her charity visits, we had seen the squalling and abandoned Littles left alone in the foster care nursery. They seemed so pitiful and miserable. So, with each passing step and each inch the light came closer to us, I felt as if was another step toward their terrible fate.

I could hear them growing louder. I could hear the clunk of their footsteps, the drops and plunks of water as they waded in the tunnel where it had gotten too narrow to stand alongside the wall. My head swam with fear, and I could hear Willy’s heart continue to race.

But then, just like their sudden entrance into our lives, it was over just as quickly. “Ah, screw this. They can’t have gone this far! I’m barely standing upright as it is and that ledge. Now way, man.”

“Yeah, far too narrow even for a Little. If they did come this way, they probably fell in and drowned. Their gator crap by now.”

“But the boss…” a weakened voice mused.

“Shut it newbie! We only let you on this mission with us for backup with the Littles.” The other meeker man seemed to let out a breath as if to say something, but nothing came. “Good. Now, we go back up. If the boss asks, we say that if he did come down here, he won’t be a problem anymore.”

“We should still keep looking above though. Just in case…”

“Well, no shit, Stan! Of course, we’ll keep looking. Don’t want to slack off for the boss or anything. You know how he gets.”

A series of fear-stricken murmurs went out amongst the three and I could then hear a shift in their steps. Each one grew quieter and more distant. At last, my fears were lifted when I heard the pinging of their boots climbing back out of the manhole. A loud thud signaled them closing off the manhole.

I don’t know how long Willy and I held each other for, but I just knew that I was grateful that they hadn’t come any further. Being a Big gave one lots of advantages in this world, but the chief disadvantage was not thinking like a Little. They had to get here by wading through filth and strong currents, while Willy and I had been able to balance on the narrow ledge to get here. They couldn’t conceive of a Little having the willpower or strength to do something like that. It was a small weakness of theirs in this case, but it proved to be our salvation.

Slowly but surely, as Willy’s heartbeat relaxed, so did his grip on me. Once free enough, I began to rub the whimpering Little’s back as best I could. Willy was emotionally exhausted, and I couldn’t help but feel the same. While his regressed emotions made him feel even the tiniest of sensations like these, I actually knew the full scope of what was going on. It wasn’t very reassuring.

Once Willy allowed me enough slack to look at him, I stared as kindly as I could back at my Little. “Willy… we need to figure out our next steps. I don’t like our options, so I want you to at least give your input.”

“Buh’… buh’… I’m jus’ a widdle. Can you pwease do it fo’ me, Tus’? I twus’ you wots! Pwease don’ make me pick!”

I could see the tears start to reform in his eyes and I just wanted to hug him tightly again and reassure him that everything would be okay. I wasn’t sure I believed that myself, but he needed to hear it while we also needed to make a plan. “I appreciate that, Willy. I really do. More than you’ll ever really know, but while I want everything to be okay for you, we have some tough decisions. I’m sure it will be okay, but I need your help as well.”

“You wan’ da’ fo’ me? Ta be okay?”

“Of course, buddy. Sunshine days filled with playtime! Chocolate sundaes for breakfast, cartoons until dusk, and loving parents who love and care for you as much as I do. More even!” Willy smiled widely and I wanted nothing more than for all that to come to pass with him, but for now, we had to deal with the situation at hand. “I want that all for you, but right now, we’re in trouble. I can think of two options, but I need you to be a big boy for me and help me out. Can you do that for me, Willy?”

“I… I can twy… fo’ you, Tus’.”

“Good. Thank you, buddy, but here they are.” It took a breath and began. “First, we can run away together forever until we find a good place to stay permanently.”

“Dat soun’s good ta me!”

“Yeah, I’m sure it does… problem is though that if we get caught, you risk being regressed more, and we would likely never see Mommy or Daddy again at that point.” I honestly didn’t mind that last part, but I knew I had to lay out all the outcomes for Willy.

“Oh…” he said, now looking sadder than he had originally.

“Yeah, but the second option is that we go to the cops.”

Willy immediately tensed up. “Buh’ da powice… ddey bad, wigh? We goo’ powice when we pway, buh’ dey awe mostwy bah’ men, wight Tus’?”

I hesitated on how to answer that, but again, Willy needed to know everything for these two options. “Well… yes and no. The police are usually good people like us when we play. Good versus at least some kind of evil and all that. There’s a few bad ones out there for sure, but some police really just want to help out.” I sighed despondently. “That being said, I think they may have a… bad man there.”

“Wike Joe?”

“Uh… probably not? I’m not sure who it is, but we need to keep our eyes open if we choose that one. Plus, if we go there, we could be sent to foster care or LPS.” Willy looked at me questioningly and I realized that acronym had never really been used around Willy before. It was unmentionable at daycare and Willy had never escaped during or after he had been regressed. “LPS is Little Protection Services, Willy. They can help, but they can also be bad people sometimes.”

Willy paused for a moment and looked deep in thought. “Iss dewe a dird optin?” he finally asked.

I would have chuckled at his question at any other time, but now wasn’t the time for jokes. “No. I know those two choices aren’t great, but I think we might consider the police.”

“Buh’ bad men…” Willy protested.

“Yes, that’s sadly true, but we could always run away from there as well. We’ve done it before these past two days, and besides, we could just go with the first option afterward.”

“Maybe bedduh pwotec… pwote… you know wah’ I sayin’, wigh?”

“Protection, yes. The police could provide us that from the gunmen who seem to keep finding us. So, what do you say? Police route or running away?”

Willy took a minute to think, and I could hear the drips of the sewer we were in echo off the walls. Running away had an appeal to the adventurous side of me, but I knew that nights in places like these or the woods from before would be the norm for a while. Seeing the thickly diapered Little before me who needed comfort items and more food than was in the backpack currently, I knew what I wanted. Still, I had to consider what Willy wanted as well.

Finally, he answered. “Powice, Tus’. Wet’s go dewe…” I sighed and nodded in agreement. It was a mighty step into the unknown, but I just hoped this step would be the right one.

[dirtydingus84]

1 Who's the rat? 2 Who's the good cop(s)? 3 How is FOY said foy like soy, boy, toy or spelled out F-O-Y? The chapter didn't end on a cliffhanger, but you got me wanting more the suspense is killing me. 

[dmavn]

I’m thinkin the lady cop that played with him after the break in is probably one of the good ones..

[Guilend]

24 minutes ago, dmavn said:

I’m thinkin the lady cop that played with him after the break in is probably one of the good ones..

You're right, I forgot about her already. So they do have an in at the police station. The question is, is she really good or could she still be on the take or being blackmailed? So many possibilities.