The Opening: A Diaper Dimension Story (Chapter 26 - Complete)

[Guilend]

Oh no. She'll definitely get caught now. While they can probably convince them that she went off exploring on her own, I doubt Jenn will get out of at the very least having a bad mark on file that could take her out of running for that promotion that Amy wants her to get. Especially if Jenns key is found in her pocket and then Jenn will no doubt face some sort of punishment for a security breach, even if they think Magen had only gotten the key or keys to play with. For some reason I get this feeling that Amy is not completely on the up and up. That she has some sort of alternative motive, either just for her career or because she's on the take. I have gotten weird vibes the last couple of times they saw her, especially when she started Magen on this higher dose of pills. But this does show that while Magen is somewhat aware of her regression, she doesn't see how far she has really gone. The Magen from before the higher dose of medication and decent into diapers would have never tried to save that girl, because she'd understand that even if she got her out of the room where would she have taken her? Regardless of the mission, she'd have thought things through a little better. Now instead of constantly thinking with logic and some emotions, she has let her emotions overrule her logic which is never good. As a former Corrections Officer and former Security Officer, I know there has to be a more of a balance between emotions and logic. And in most cases logic would be required over emotions. Emotions is for when you get home.

I'm both excited and scared to see what happens next. Obviously she's going to be much further regressed. My hope is that security officer told Jenn about running into Magen and Jenn realizing what Magen might have done, goes to see her and finds her in that room fairly quickly and is able to cover most of her tracks so nothing will happen to completely jeopardize the mission. She might not get out of getting disciplined herself, but maybe it'll be enough to keep the mission in tacked. 

[LostBBoyBear]

Woo hoo! Post 200 on here!

Hey everyone! Sorry for the late posting today. Went out with some friends and didn't realize the time until it was getting close to midnight. Oh well, but I guess that's just how these things go sometimes. 

I'm still going to try and keep writing and editing until this story is complete, but I also know with New Years Eve and Day, I might have only one or two days where I would be away. As such, now, there's just no way I can put this story out there in time. I do apologize for this, but the rest of the story should be posted in the next week if my luck holds out. 

Anyways, I hope you all enjoy this next chapter!

Chapter 22: The Simple Giddiness of It All

Floating lights. Pretty lights. Tinkling music. Tinkling everywhere. My thoughts were simple, and I felt as if I was floating through a dream forever. One sea of bliss surrounded by all the good in my own tiny world. Something tasted good in my mouth. I took it out and it popped. ‘Pop!’ I laugh at the funny noise.

I could feel myself being lifted. Being pressed on, padded, and shaken, but nothing would disturb my peace. I was happy. I just laughed. Others looked concerned, but they were all just part of my dream now. I was sleepy. It was sleepy time, but then one of them opened up my diapy. Cold! So cold!

I squirmed in discomfort and an odd smell reached my nose. ‘What is that? Wait… why do I even care…? I’m just warm and a really pretty lady is helping me. Hello, pretty lady!’ I waved to her, and she looked sad, so I just gave her a big kiss as I lay before her.

She doesn’t seem to like my gift though. I then started to panic. ‘Was I a bad girl? Did I mess up?’ She begins yelling at all the people in front of me. I don’t think she likes a few of the ones in those… ‘What do you call them? Mab Floats? Bad boats? Lamb dotes?’ It didn’t matter. Only the pretty lady was mad, and they seemed scared. At least it wasn’t me. I still felt bad for them. What did they even do to be screamed at by the really, really pretty lady. ‘Maybe they could use Buster to feel better… wait… where is Buster?’

I began to freak out amongst the still arguing adults around me. I felt so scared that I would never see my doggy again. I wanted… needed a cuddle, now. Right now. These people were scaring me. Someone was getting close wearing those white thingies. Something big was in their hands. ‘Wait… what is that in your hands? Why are you coming to me with it? Why do you look scared the pretty lady still looks really upset?’ I began to squirm in place, but the pretty lady and a few others just held me down and exposed my arm. ‘No! Please, no! I was a good girl! I just wanted to save someone else! Why are you doing this to me pretty lady? I thought we were friends here. You mean, but why do I still want to hug you. Oh no! He’s getting closer! Please, no!’ I screamed, rallied, and ranted, but it was no use. Soon, the massive needle stuck me in my arm and the plunger sank in.

‘Ow! Owww! Stupid meanie heads… stupid… wait… what I doing? No… what am I doing? Yes... that’s better… I think. Wait… I think. I can think!’ My head felt like it was some museum painting being dusted off for the first time in centuries. ‘Pretty lady… no! Not pretty lady… Jenn… my Jenn. Wait… I know Jenn. Of course, I know Jenn. How could I have forgotten about her… or… the mission? Or… hold on a sec… why is my thumb all wet?’

I squirmed about at my realization of what happened to me and the hypnotic program I had just watched. I slowly began to blink my eyes to get rid of the muck that seemed to cloud them over. I refocused as best I could… I felt different… but maybe more normal as well…? I wasn’t sure of most anything at that point. I was awake, but I was asleep. I needed answers. “Jenn?”

“Oh, thank heavens!” Dr. James exclaimed in front of me as he set the needle back down. “See, Jennifer? I told you I could help her. There was no need to get so angry. I helped her just as I said I would. When I say I’m going to help, I help.”

“Help? Help Megan? What do you mean by, ‘help her?’” Jennifer questioned seemingly louder and more pissed off each time. “Help her, Oliver? You practically destroyed her brain. It’s almost a miracle that she didn’t shit herself again and isn’t drooling over my fingers right this second. She was in here, what? Five minutes? Fifteen at most? What the hell are you all doing in here anyways? What are you working on that is so powerful and why? Why don’t I know about it?”

I could immediately see that Dr. James was taken aback by Jenn’s sudden assault and her poignant questions. If the party and what I had seen of his ego were any indication, I guess that rejection or a perceived screw up coming from others weren’t likely what he was used to. “I… I can’t talk about everything,” he babbled, “but it seems like the Naomi and Oliver program got switched on while she was here. One of our more popular videos I might add. We’re even thinking of turning it into a TV show next year, and Megan here got to watch a preview of the pilot episode! I mean, isn’t she so lucky to be the truly first to watch it?” Neither I nor Jenn moved a muscle and just glared back at him in disapproval and anger. “Uh…” Dr. James said, shrinking back a bit. “Maybe I should adjust the intensity though… could be a bit too much for mainstream audiences at this point…”

At that point, I was truly worried at what Jenn might do this cretin of a man. She was an undercover ABI agent after all, and from some of the things I had seen in her file and that we had discussed since first getting together, I was pretty sure she was ex-military. Something told me that if something was about to happen, Dr. James wouldn’t stand a chance. So, instead, I just tugged on Jenn’s arm nearest to me.

“Jenn. Jenn. Jenn! Please… can we just go home now?” I asked, my eyes wide as I pleaded once more. With my fog mostly lifting now, I could feel my control come back again. Loosely based almost, but I was still the pilot in my own body once again. As I viewed Yvonne from the corner of my eye, I wasn’t sure if I could still honestly say the same about her.

At my pleas, Jenn then turned away from her glare towards Dr. James and looked deeply into my eyes. “Of course, sweetie. We can go right away. Just let me…”

“Uh… actually,” Mrs. Harrington then butted in from the door, “daycare is not over today and I’m sure you’re a busy woman. We’ll take her out of your hands. No need to worry. We’ll take good care of her.” She then smiled but for whatever reason, a deep pit in my stomach just tied itself into a knot. After, I just clung to Jenn’s arm tighter as if I was a drowning woman about to be walloped by a monster of a wave in an already pitching sea. I did not want to leave Jenn at all, especially with her.

Jenn quickly looked at me and my grip. I could see something was bubbling about in her head, but I just wasn’t sure exactly what it was. Trying to stall for time, I tried to seem uninterested, but then I saw her begin to play with the handle of Crimson. Also… her eyes. They seemed to pierce into me and say, ‘I know what you did,’ and ‘come now and I won’t use my friend here…’ I didn’t want to go, but I sighed and relented to her whims. “I’m not sure wither way… uh, Jenn? Maybe going with them could be a good thing actually. Like sundaes in the rain.” I made sure to add my code word at the end for possible signs of distress. Jenn seemed to catch on, but someone else then entered the room.

“You know it, darling!” Mrs. Louder then piped up from behind Mrs. Harrington, even soon nearly popping herself into the room. “I even have a little treat for you if that makes any of this any easier. Whadya say?” She then held up a single chocolate chip cookie before me.

My knees suddenly became weak, and my eyes bulged from their sockets. I wanted that cookie. It was now my primary goal, more than anything else. I wasn’t sure why, but I also didn’t want to fight it, so I turned back to Jenn. “Can I please go? Please?” I begged my caregiver. “They still have snack time today!”

Jenn looked very hesitant, but ultimately nodded after sighing deeply. For a moment after though, I thought I saw a flash of something. ‘Maybe resignation?’

Still, without a single other thought at that point and trying to seal the deal, I then got up and practically jumped into her arms. I wasn’t sure even what I was doing, but it just felt so… right. Jenn also seemed shocked, but just embraced me tightly and stroked my hair and patted my oddly now dry padded rear. ‘Wasn’t I wet right before this room?’

Regardless though, my eyesight broken away from my cookie, I held Jenn tighter and then whispered into her ear. “I’m sorry, Jenn. I feel funny, but I think I should still go. Before though… I was so stupid but check your locker and check the bib of my skirtalls. Maybe we could think about presents coming up?” I asked, using another one of my code words as my head started to feel suddenly normal again. ‘What was happening to me?’

At my last words, Jenn’s form went rigid, but she ultimately just nodded and after a moment, set me back down on the ground and discreetly pulled the key out of my front bib pocket. Upon seeing that it was one of hers, I swore that she could bust a vein in forehead right then from the fury behind her stoic façade, but she then just let out a large breath of air. “Alright… if you really want to go, I won’t stop you, but I think we’re also going need to do a little… talking tonight when you get home.”

I nodded solemnly but after being let down from the table I was currently sitting on, I went over to Mrs. Louder, before grabbing her hand and waving goodbye to Jenn. Minutes later, armed with Buster, who had been on temporary loan to Kelsey, I waltzed right out of the front door and ate my delicious cookie with a large smile all over my face. As the fog lifted on our little walk, I felt accomplished, but as I just continued to hug Buster even more now, I was still confused on what had happened or why I was already wet so soon after I thought I was dry.

Still, I couldn’t think of such things, and back at the daycare and with my friends, the workers quickly put us into smocks so we could enjoy our art afternoon activity if we didn’t need a nap. So, because of that, Bea wasn’t with us, but Kelsey and Jasper seemed very curious about where I had gone as they painted a rainbow and a teddy bear respectively with their fingers on their own large pieces of paper before them.

“So… you go to the bad place, Meggy?” Jasper asked, trying but failing to ask his question casually.

“Bad place?” Still, his question was valid, but I also racked my brain trying to figure out what he was asking. He was just a little baby after all though… he could always just be remembering a wrong word because of the fuzzy noodler in his head. Still though, I needed to know by now. “What is the bad place then? Is it really so bad?”

“Hmmm,” Kelsey mused. “Probably weren’t there then…” She then sighed. “It’s basically a place where the adults take you to be punished. Lots of people come away from there… different.” She paused and looked at me a bit strangely. “So, Meggy, did you go to the bad place when you were gone from us today? I think you might of…”

I quickly shook my head. “No, you two sillys! I just went away to do something really, really special for Jenn. Then after… uh, after…” My head still felt like it was asleep. ‘Why am I having trouble remembering what happened? I came out… saw Yvonne, she hit me, and then… oh! Bright lights!’ I smacked myself on the head over my stupidity and wondered how I could ever forget such a simple thing. “Then, I helped Yvonne and watched some really good cartoons. I bet you all will love them too!” I then sighed in relief over having remembered what happened. That being said, from their faces, I didn’t think either really believed me.

To my shock though, after a little time, they just smiled back at me. “Oh!” Kelsey shouted. “We thought you had gone all mushy in your head because of that place. Been a proper Little around here or something like the rest of us… weird though, right?”

We all then laughed over her little joke over my expense, but the thought lingered even as we went back to finishing our pictures. Mine was of Jenn, Paul, Buster, and I in front of a large and pretty house. It was a masterpiece and I even got purple and magenta I used for the house to look perfect. ‘I’m such an artist around here… maybe I should do that when I grow… uh, leave here?’ My cheeks blushed but I didn’t want one little thing to ruin all this. After all, I did just…

“Snack time!” Mrs. Louder announced from the other side of the room.

“Oh! Goodie! Come on you two! It’s snack time!” I cheered. “Best time of the whole day!” Without warning, I then grabbed both of my friend’s hands and pulled them over to get their daily afternoon snack. I think they were just being their more regressed selves for a minute because they didn’t follow me in skipping. ‘Stupid babies…’ Still though, after a minute, they soon joined me, and I could only just smile at what a great day this was turning out to be. ‘It’s such a good life…’

The hours ticked by, and I was just having fun with my friends. I already knew that I would see them later at the dinner potluck tonight in our neighborhood, so, it was easier to say goodbye to them than I was anticipating today. Still, to help me along until then, as always, Jenn was there to pick me up. Once again though, her face looked worried when I ran into her arms, but she just smiled afterward and took me to the car.

As the front door of our home closed, however, her smile quickly vanished, and she ran to the other room. Not having heard her tell me ‘no’ or ‘to stay put,’ I followed along. Inside the other room and after reaching behind the bookshelf in the living room, I saw a small suitcase followed by Jenn opening it up and pulling out a very long needle. “Uh, Jenn? Whatcha’ doin’ with that?” I asked nervously.

Jenn flicked on the side of the needle and looked back over at me. “Just stay still and all this should be over and done with. She approached me with the needle and my eyes nearly bugged out of my head when I saw the sheer size of that sucker, but I wanted to be a good girl, so I just stayed in place as she had told me to. That didn’t stop me from whimpering in fear though.

“Easy, baby. Easy…” Jenn then angled the needle right above my shoulder, and in a second, jabbed me with it and pushed down on the plunger.

“Oww!” I cried, quickly clutching my arm as soon as the giant needle was out of it. “You hurt me! That wasn’t very nice…”

Jenn’s more subtle panicked expression soon turned to one of clear despair. “Sweetie… I’m really sorry about that, but do you feel any different? I mean… at all?”

‘What a weird question…’ I thought about how I felt, beyond the tremendous stinging pain in my arm that is. I even wiggled about to get a better sense of my body as well. Still though, I felt different, but I wasn’t really sure how. “Uh… maybe? Kinda since the whole bright lights and awesome cartoon, I’ve felt a bit different, but I’m okay, right?” I peered into Jenn’s worried eyes and tried to find a scrap of truth in all this.

Now, I knew something was different, but I really couldn’t quite place what. I was still me, still undercover for the ABI, and still hopeful about my mission today, which I noted that Jenn had yet to bring up. I just couldn’t help but feel that I was a changed person. So, I just clung to Jenn and hoped she would give me the answers I was looking for.

Instead, Jenn sighed heavily. “That’s what I was afraid of… I guess I was too late…” She looked very sad for a moment, so, in my limited capacity as a Little, I did the one thing I knew how to without question for situations like these; I gave her a massive hug from the side as best I could.

Jenn appeared shocked for a moment, but just embraced my tiny side hug after and then smiled. “Thank you, sweetie. I guess it could always be worse, though… I am curious why it’s not…” She seemed to think for another minute or so, but then broke the hug and began looking over me. “I’m not sure what the difference is with you. You and Yvonne were both from Earth, both Littles, both… wait.” Jenn paused and tilted my head slowly to the side. A tiny pull later, and I could suddenly hear better in my right ear.

“Oh! So much better!” I popped my ear a few times, and soon, I felt much better. “Thank you so much for that. Everything felt so weird, but… what is that?” I asked as I pointed to the small red bit clutched between two of Jenn’s fingers.

“This…” Jenn began to explain, “looks like half of an ear plug. It explains a lot really… you were probably trying to prevent anything from happening to you again, but still got sucked in after I’m guessing Yvonne hit you. Probably why your cheek is a bit red and maybe even a little sore?”

With this new information, I then thought to myself for a moment and rubbed my cheek. True to her word, it did hurt a little bit. I cursed myself. ‘Ugh! Why is so much of those few minutes so blurry?’

“I guess I have my answer, but… the files… I told you not to go, Megan.” Jenn was now using her sterner voice and I knew I was going to be a little bit in trouble at least. “You stole my keys and broke in without me or a plan. And look at what happened.”

I felt so confused. I tried to speak up to defend myself, but Jenn was just too powerful and went right over me and my stupid and puny objections.

“You were basically captured…” she continued. “Did you think of the mission? No! Did you think of me or Amy or the ABI? No! You just thought of yourself or going back home and leaving me. You didn’t care about any of as long as that you’ve got your ticket out of here. After everything… how could you do this to me? I mean, you know…”

Since she had first started to scold me, my emotions had been purely taking over. I didn’t want to cry in front of Jenn at this important moment between us, but I just couldn’t help it. I wanted to be a good girl for her, and I got the files to prove just how much I wanted that. ‘Right?’ I mean, I knew it was to prevent all the collapse and all that mumbo jumbo, but I really did it for Jenn, or even Kelsey and all the others. ‘I was a good girl… I just knew it, but why was I feeling so sad now? Did Jenn really think I was a bad girl?’ At that singular thought then, my waterworks completely took over, and while I wasn’t bawling, the waterfall now erupting from my eyes, quickly caught Jenn’s attention.

“Oh…” she said a little surprised. I guess she wasn’t expecting me to be such a blubber now, and I hated it, but it just felt so out of my control now. Jenn’s face quickly switched from anger to confusion, and then to that of regret. Her own eyes seemed to now be shimmering a bit, and before I knew it, she had stopped talking and gave me one of the biggest hugs I had experienced yet under her care. “I’m so sorry, baby… please don’t be upset… I was just worried about you… I was so, so worried.”

“You mean… I… I’m not a bad girl? You’re not upset?” I asked, my voice trembling all the way.

Jenn then looked at me with such sorrow. “No… don’t think that now, baby. You did something wrong, but… you did what I couldn’t. You went in and gave us exactly what we needed. I wasn’t sure if you could do it, and I’m sorry I ever doubted you. Can you ever forgive me, baby?”

To answer her question fully, I would probably need much better communication skills than I had right then, so, I squeezed her as tightly as I could. “Of course, mo… uh… Jenn.” ‘That was an odd thing to say… What did I want to call her?’ I shook my head a bit and refocused on Jenn. “Of course, I forgive you. Always.” The two of us then shared the hug for quite a long time. I didn’t want to ever let go.

But… I promised my friends at daycare about tonight, so I didn’t want to disappoint them and not come. Still though, I needed to ask. “Uh… does this mean we can still go to the potluck thingy tonight?” I asked, seeing just how good of a girl I really was.

Jenn hugged me tighter. “Of course, we can still go tonight, sweetie.” I smiled, and relieved, just luxuriated in the continued warmth of Jenn’s chest. It was… amazing.

Bringing over an old family casserole recipe, Jenn knocked on the door and was quickly greeted by Drew, a face I knew quite well from my times over here while I was playing with Kelsey. “Well, hello there, neighbors! Come on in!”

“Thanks, Drew…” Jenn said as she entered and guided me in as well. “Mighty cold out there tonight.”

“Definitely. Definitely. But come on in and warm yourselves up.” He then deliciously smelled in the air. “Oh my! I think someone brought their famous casserole. Hopefully you brought enough for seconds for everyone!” Most of the nearby Bigs then laughed at his stupid joke.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I liked Drew and all, but he always felt… a bit much. He wasn’t boring, but I’d just much rather be doing other things tonight. So, I tugged on Jenn’s pant leg. “Jenn… Jenn…”

Jenn and Drew stopped their laughing and looked down at me. “We were in the middle of talking, honey. I know you know not to do that, so I want you to apologize first.”

I hated apologizing to Bigs, but I knew it was required and expected of me here. I also knew that not a single Big would object if Jenn or even Drew decided to give me a lesson and give me a spanking. So, for the time being, I just looked up at Drew. “I’m sorry…”

Fortunately for me, he only smiled and patted me on the head. “It’s okay, Megan…”

Throughout the whole sequence, Jenn just smiled. Finally, though, we then sat back down again. “So, Megan, what is it that you just had to ask us?”

“Uh… uh…” I searched the room and quickly found my friends. “Can I go over and play with my friends?” I asked, pointing to the playpen that they all were in tonight.

Jenn’s face almost instantly resumed its previously worried look. “Uh… Meggy…? Are you sure that’s what you really want? I think there’s a few others playing cards in the basement, or…” I shook my head. “Oh… uh…”

“Relax, Jennifer,” Drew interjected. “Let the little tyke have her fun with her friends. What’s the harm in that, right?”

Jenn looked oddly annoyed with Drew… they usually got along so well. I felt like I was missing something in all this, but she eventually relented and nodded back at me. “Okay… just keep an eye on things and if you need anything, just come and get me, okay?” I nodded as fast as I could, and in seconds, I was gone.

A quick ask later to one of the other Bigs to lift me up and in, Buster and I were now comfortably situated on the playpen flooring. In truth, I think even if all my friends weren’t in here, I might have still wanted to be in here tonight. There were a few of the Big children here tonight and from all the Bigs around… I just felt safer here. Besides, it was hard to beat the padded surface now under my feet.

“Hey guys!” I excitedly said as I made my way over to the opposite end of the giant playpen set up in the living room of Kelsey’s house. I always forgot how big her place was compared to most because of Drew’s higher up position within the research facility, but now, I really only just cared about the playpen I was in.

Minutes later, we were all playing together… even Jasper with our stuffy’s. It was so much fun! “I am the king of the castle!” Jasper yelled out as he perched Otto on top of the playpen railing. “I rule all my subjects with humility and wisdom!”

“Pssht! Dat’s nuthin’!” Bea countered. She and Marie then came charging in. “You may be king, but we have the powuh of pinkness!”

“What?” Otto and even Jasper seemed to ask simultaneously. “That’s not possible!”

Bea then wickedly smiled and brought out a large pink blanket that both Kelsey and I, and our respective stuffy’s, held aloft. “Yes, but behold!” Kelsey announced as Fifi. “The power of pink!”

Jasper and Otto both seemed very confused, and I knew now would be the time to spring our trap. “Now! I cried. Buster, Fifi, Kelsey, Marie, Bea, and I then all lunged at once with the blanket over them and captured both Jasper and Ben in one fell swoop of coordination.

“Yay!” the three of us girls shouted.

“We’ve won!” Kelsey proclaimed as the tiny form of the conquered Jasper and Otto duo struggled a bit to get free of the blanket we were still holding onto. “Now we shall rule as co-queens forever!”

A tremendous joy then swelled in my heart. I didn’t know what it was… or even what truly happened to me other than a few images of a bunny… maybe a boy and a girl… telling me to be a good girl… ‘Because I am… I’m so good. Jenn will be so proud… Mo…’ I quickly shook the thoughts out of my head. Something had happened to me, but I wasn’t sure what.

I still felt like me, but now I felt like so much more in most areas of my life since I had first really woken up afterward. I was now playing and laughing with my friends without a care in the world. Before, I might have tried to steer myself over to the Bigs. They were mature, so they were fun, and I didn’t really have to act, but now?

Now, I just felt scared of the Bigs. They were the adults… they kidnappers, the scientists. Only people like Jenn or Mrs. Louder were the truly good ones. I knew they weren’t all bad, but it just seemed to me that now, it was almost stupid not to be with my own people. I wanted… ‘Hold on.’

I suddenly felt a full sensation and then crouched on the ground for a quick moment to get some relief. It felt better, but I still felt the odd sensation. ‘Maybe if I push…?’ I did a little pushing and like some unclogged milkshake, I could quickly feel the instant relief. I wasn’t sure why, but I didn’t really care and only liked the warmth I seemed to make around me. Even my friends seemed to do the same. ‘So, it was okay, right?’

Regardless… ‘Where was I? Right…’ I wanted safety and to have fun. I don’t think anyone in their right mind over here would ever talk about those qualities while they were ever describing the Bigs. Whatever the case though, I just felt happy now, and as I snuggled Buster even close to me and leaned back.

Not long after, I noticed a slightly worried Jenn. I don’t think she was expecting me to look at her for whatever reason, so when I gave her a tiny wave, she almost looked horrified or at least shocked. ‘She was so weird these days, but I loved her, so what could one really do?’ She was my rock, and besides from some things I just didn’t get lately, she was amazing. Of course, she was a Big… ‘Maybe there’s just some things in life that she knows about more than me. Only natural…’

Regardless, my friends and I just had some fun. We smelled something odd at one point and saw and heard a few snickers from around us, but we were just happy in our little lives. Kelsey even suggested it might be the household dog, and as we looked over the giant beast running around, I felt a little warmth enter my diaper. ‘How odd…’ but still, I wanted to ride the thing so badly now, despite its hind quarters nearly being four feet off the ground.

I then imagined myself as a lady knight saving stuffy’s from the great shredders of the Bigs. I was their hero, and they could call me princess buttercup. No idea why… though the name did sound familiar, but as a few of the Bigs began to come over to us sporting a slung bag over their shoulder, including a sad looking Jenn, I just continued to laugh giddily with my friends. Life seemed so perfect now. Nothing was or could go wrong, right?

[Emily Ruby Rose]

God I can't wait for the next chapter I'm super worried now.

[Guilend]

I guess it could have gone worse? She could have been caught with the key and someone look at the security footage before Jenn could tamper with it. Though I have a feeling that the doctor has like backup security footage that's stored separately so if she feels the need she can look at it and know that no one has tampered with it. That's what I'd do if I was her and was worried about some organization infiltrating my operation.

 

It is odd that Jenn as high in security she is has places and stuff like this kept from her. Though she now has the leverage to demand a higher security clearance as a high ranking security officer so she can better do her job she was hired to do. 

I just hope some of what happened to her is temporary, while I understand some of it's effects will be permanent, like complete incontinence, but her awareness I really hope gets better, even a little bit at this point will be an improvement. 

I still think it's possible for the higher ups to punish Jenn just because Magen was in an area she was not meant to be in and since Jenn is her caregiver it's her responsibility to have Magen more under control. 

I can't wait for the next few chapters.

[CDfm]

Had a couple new chapters come out.  Work kept me from getting too the first before the second came out so I didn’t get to comment on that one.  Both excellent chapters.  I wasn’t sure if Megan would get out of the lab room with her mind still intact.  Apparently she made it but not without some damage.  Appears as though she is going to be putting her diapers to good use from now on and that might not be a bad trade off for getting the evidence needed to shut this facility down.  It might still be too early to assess the full damage her mind has taken but there’s definitely some regression present. I am actually rather hoping that it really won’t matter very much because I am hoping that she and Jenn can make a life together after the mission is complete. 
I am looking forward to seeing more of the story. 

[LostBBoyBear]

Hey everyone! I hope you all had a great New Years Eve!

Looking forward in this story, there are only three more chapters. I was hoping to get this chapter out yesterday, but I just wasn’t able to edit it to the level that I wanted before I had to head out to my party. That being said, after this, there are only three more chapters in this story. I might make some big edits to them, but there shouldn’t be any more or less than that. So, if everything goes according to plan, I should be able to edit these remaining chapters over the next few days, which means that the final chapter should be released at some point on Thursday.

Looking ahead, I need to make a few decisions about this upcoming year. I definitely want to write more content for these chapters before they are actually released like I used to do. It makes it much easier to release and I don’t feel like I’m rushing. I think I will be able to do this in the coming year, but I’ll just have to see how things go. Further, when I release the last chapter, I will be sure to include a plan with what is next and what you all should expect in the coming months at least.

Anyways, I hope everyone has a wonderful 2024 and enjoys this next chapter!

Chapter 23: Something Like Joy, Fun, Romance, and Cocoa

When do you know you’re dreaming versus when you’re awake? It was a question I had asked myself numerous times over the past year being undercover with the ABI, but never have I asked that question to myself so much since my… incident.

Despite Jenn’s worries and all her efforts to ‘fix’ me, it turned out that time was the greatest healer of all in this situation. Now, a month after my break-in to the research facility, I could say that the major effects of the video had faded… though I suppose I can say with certainty that at least a degree of their damage had been done to my system already.

Since then, I felt that I tended to drift a bit when I wasn’t being directly stimulated by something and my emotions seemed to fluctuate with such regularity that if I was to have seen myself now from a year ago, I might have suggested some mood stabilizing medication, but like most things, I just had to get used to it. I guess the only positive from my emotions now though was that I seemed to take even more comfort in Buster and Jenn. Buster of course didn’t mind, but Jenn took a little bit longer, though in truth, I really do think that she now actually enjoys my little extra hugs and kisses with her. What can I say? I just can’t help myself.

Sadly, speaking of which, I’ve kind of given up any hope of ever returning to pull-ups. I even saw one of the ‘older’ Littles the other day pick out some new panties, and I drifted off a little bit over that now far-off dream. As if to punctuate the fact even further, I didn’t even realize that my diaper was growing even more soaked as I looked over to this supposed more mature Little. I hated it, but in a life with so many problems lately, I was at least happy about one thing since my incident.

A week after I had infiltrated the daycare, Jenn and I debriefed Amy once more back in Centerton. We had decided to play off the whole thing until the end of our debriefing to get a better surprised reaction from her just to see if we could break her usual unemotional state. Was it the mature and agent-like thing to do? No, but to our delight, it also worked.

As soon as Jenn started to say what had happened with my break-in, Amy was furious, but then, as soon as I then relayed how I retrieved the evidence that she had been searching for so long for, I don’t think I had ever seen her smile so much. Then, with trembling hands and almost tears in her eyes, she took the evidence I had gathered and presented to her back to her car. “Thank you… you have no idea how much this means to me… uh, us.” She then cleared her throat and then straightened herself up… clearly realizing that she might have almost looked like she had a soul… couldn’t have that, right?

“Anyways… this is huge for this mission, as I’m sure you both well know.” She then turned directly to me. “Agent Jennifer has informed me of the lengths and sacrifices you made at one point, and I was a bit confused. Now though, I realized that you made them in getting this evidence. I was already going to recommend you two for personal accommodation medals for this whole mission… but this might just call for something… more.”

To be honest, at the time, with my trance still lingering about a bit, I could only think of how much of a good girl I was and that I might get some type of special retreat. ‘How humiliating looking back now…’ Still, I was still there enough in my head to be excited over the notion when she promised us support within two months at the absolute latest. Jenn seemed upset over the extended timeline, but I was just glad there was an end date now to all this.

All that seemed so distant in my clearer head now though, especially on a day like today. Paul and Jenn were out on yet another date, and she had contacted Nancy to take me out for the day. I didn’t necessarily mind the whole notion of being babysat anymore, I mean… who would change my diapers? At the same time though, I could also immediately tell that Jenn had a chat with her and they were both still concerned about me. It was nice to be so looked after and have my well-being cared for, but soon, even as I tried to enjoy our drive to Fun Zone, I was bombarded with a flurry of questions from Nancy.  

“How are you feeling today?” “Do you want to play on the slides and tunnels would you rather play some cards with me?” “Can I borrow Buster for a moment, or should I find someone else to keep me company?” “Chocolate milk or milo juice?” “Do you know the state of your diaper?” Now, of course without my fully fogged brain anymore, I could see through her thinly veiled attempts as an attempt to assess how I was really doing, and I did indulge her, but I did it with a sigh and a groan.

Still, as we pulled up to Fun Zone, I couldn’t help but feel elated to be back here in Centerton. Nancy wanted to check out a bookstore in town anyways, so I felt less guilty over me getting to see my own friends so far out here. I was disappointed that Jamie and Harriet couldn’t join us today, but as usual, it seemed like Wendy was there once again. After the bookstore and before we entered Fun Zone though, my jaw nearly dropped to the floor as I saw someone familiar from my past… well, at least their familiar facial region.

“Officer Blausky?” I questioned the figure now being yanked through the parking lot. A tall blonde quickly snapped to my direction with a fury I had rarely witnessed before.

“Now see here, you…” she then saw who she was actually talking to, and her face instantly softened. “Sorry, sugar. Didn’t realize it was you who was talking. Mostly get Bigs questioning us.”

“You know this lady, Meggy?” Nancy asked stepping up from behind me, clearly wary over the dominating figure before us.

“Uh, well… no, but him… uh… from a long time ago it feels like now,” I said pointing to the figure behind her that at least somewhat resembled Officer Blausky. “It is him… right?” I felt my question was pretty fair, and to my relief, the blonde woman nodded.

“That’s right. It’s him,” she said proudly, yanking the leash that was attached to the baby blue leather harness around his chest. I could only really blink at the figure now standing before me. I knew that Paul had implied that something had happened to him back in July, but I would have never expected what I was currently looking at. In essence, Blausky was a baby.

Well, at least a baby in the same sense that we Littles were babies. He was still his same size and even sported the same hair loss, gut, and a few wrinkles, but it was still him. Now though, he looked very different.

I could see plainly that most of his now clearly hairless body was covered by a circus-themed onesie, complete with diapered clowns, acrobats, and even animals. It was honestly very cute, but my eyes were far more distracted by the prominent bulge around his waist that I knew could only really be a diaper. It might have even been an even more obvious feature on him, but he also sported light-up Velcro sneakers, which I was honestly a little jealous of, and a large pacifier pulsating within his mouth. Lastly, he wore the blue leather harness connected to the leash the blonde woman was now holding. His eyes though… I disturbingly saw no life in them. To say the least, I was stunned at the figure now standing bow-legged before me.  

Fortunately for my muteness, Nancy was just as curious as I was. “Uh, Meggy here said, ‘officer.’ No offense to you ma’am or to Meggy, but he doesn’t really seem like any police officer I’ve ever seen before.”

The blonde lady shook her head. “No, I wouldn’t imagine so anymore.” She then sighed and pulled Officer Blausky even closer to her. “You see… little Jakey here got himself into trouble. I’m guessing you probably knew him in an… unpleasant way?” I nodded. “Well, I’m sorry about that, but Jakey was warned about abusing his position of power, and he didn’t listen very well. In fact, some Little was almost killed after he took things a bit too far one night.”

She then adjusted the front of his romper, and from my own personal experience, I could also tell that she was giving him a quick diaper check. “Sorry… can’t be too careful with these types… anyways, some government official turned him in with all his crimes against Littles over the years. One incident… it’s sadly ignored, but several? Others start to take notice. So, wanting to make an example out of him, the government did this and assigned me to him to tell anyone who ever asks.”

“But how?” Nancy quickly asked, obviously feeling nervous now that it seemed like not even Bigs themselves would be spared this society’s trademark childish punishment… something most thought only previously was reserved for us Littles.

The blonde woman suddenly looked fearful, and her gaze then looked right at Nancy. “You don’t want to know but mark my words. Use Jake here as a warning, as I’m pretty sure this is about to become the standard of treatment for out of line Bigs instead of jail anymore, so I would watch out if I were you…”

Nancy immediately stood about as straight up as she could and quickly nodded. “Yes, ma’am. No need to worry with me!”

The blonde woman only chuckled. “I’m sure you are… just stay that way, or someone like me might one day be hauling you around.” Jakey then started to whimper a bit and the woman looked back at him. “Oops. Got to be going now. It’s about time for his afternoon feeding in just a bit. You two take care now.” She then waved and pulled Jakey away and out of our view. Nancy and I just stood silently shocked for a moment.

After, and probably just wanting to move on though, Nancy remained silent, but also just held my hand and guided me along to the entrance to Fun Zone. Of course, I was still mortified at what I had just seen. Not for Jakey… he deserved every second of it, but more for Jenn. I knew it was an odd connection to make, but I had been worried for some time now over the fate of Jenn if either of us were ever caught.

For me, I knew it was straight, one-way ticket to one of those stupid and scary reform academies where they would regress what was left of me to oblivion. Being like Vicky or Daisy would have been a mercy after all that, but Jenn was truly the big mystery in that type of scenario. At this point, I knew I would still be having nightmares about the whole business if it wasn’t for Buster, still currently tucked tightly in my arms, or my nightlight in my room back home. Fortunately for my own peace of mind, friends can be the best erasures when bad thoughts like those can plague one’s mind.

“Meggy!” Wendy exclaimed as soon as she saw me once I entered beyond the security and hand stamp checkpoint.

Dusting my bad thoughts off, I waved over to my friend. “Wendy!” I shouted back. Without a second, I then quickly broke free of Nancy’s guiding hand and immediately hugged my friend.

As much as I hated to admit it, but Kelsey and I had been growing apart for a little bit now. As soon as my trance had started to wither a bit two weeks ago, I could see that we were once again at odds in our mental ages. Ironically, she now began to hang out with Tess more, and I heard the whispers of moving her and even Jasper now into the side nursery room. I had briefly worried that I would soon be all alone in the main section, but my visits with Wendy helped my overall disposition.

Since I had first met her, we had kept messaging each other at least three times a week and would be sure to meet up at least every other week. Like me, she had also since been demoted to diapers, but unlike most of the residents back at the research facility, like me beyond the medication, her regression only mostly seemed to halt.

“Oh my god! I love your overalls!” she said, getting a full look at the ones that Jenn had just bought for me the other week. The snaps running up the seams of the legs were dead giveaways to what I wore underneath, if not their prominent bulge, but the small grouping of plants on the bib and a few larger strawberries on the legs perfectly made up for all that.

“I know! Jenn just got them for me!” I then twirled around. “I just love how they fit over my diapers as opposed to some of my other outfits lately.”

“Ooh!” she gawked, going so far as to even pad my rear. I didn’t even care that it squished a bit, but still, hand in hand and a few jokes later, we ran off into our paradise of bright lights and entertainment. For the next few hours, we played in utter bliss. In that single stretch of time, the outside world only seemed to melt away. I wasn’t undercover, a Little constantly on the edge of being regressed, or some hapless test subject. No, I was just a happy person hanging out with my friend.

“Come on, Wendy!” I shouted down at my friend from the top of the climbing tower to the rest of the tunnels up here. “Captain Toodles needs our help in engineering. We gotta make it to the red end cap over there!” I then pointed to the other end of the labyrinth of tunnels at the glass dome that jutted out a bit further than most of the other plastic tubes.

“Ugh! When’d you get so much energy, Meggy?” Wendy asked as she panted in her crouched state above it all now, her flowery dress easily slipping back and revealing her slightly damp diapers underneath.

I shrugged. “I dunno…” I paused for a moment, but when she looked a little less blue in the face, I scrambled over to the other tunnel. “Come on, Wendy! We gotta go!”

Her question was honestly valid, as recently I had continued to notice one new oddity in my life that wasn’t always so terrible. My energy levels had somehow skyrocketed, which had made running around a whole lot easier, which now just added hours more of pure joy and excitement to my life. My luck in this world being what it was though, it also led to two problems. The first problem was that I tended to eat more now, which wasn’t terrible in and of itself, but it also all inevitably ended up in the rear of my diaper.

Not long after, I saw Wendy sniff around for a bit, but she didn’t seem to mind too much. Once she followed me down the slide however, she asserted herself in a way that I found odd but ultimately didn’t mind. “Come here, Meggy. I think you made a stinky…” I then stood about as still as I could as I desperately wanted to go down the slide again, but I also yelped a bit as I then found her hand pressing against my, regrettably full, diaper. “That’s what I thought. Let’s go get Nancy.” She then led me away without further comment, I got changed, and Wendy and I were back at it like nothing had ever happened.

Life was chaotic and dangerous in all sorts of ways now, but I truly appreciated the ways that most things never really seemed to stick with other Littles. Poopy diaper? It must just be after lunchtime. Throwing a fit? One must just need a nap or have a really good excuse because someone just told you ‘no’ to something that should have been a ‘yes’ if everything was fair. Despite a few hiccups, it was all deceptively relaxing.

Another hour in though, I started to experience the secondary problem of my increased energy output; my increased drowsiness… particularly in the afternoons. Now, I had noticed that Wendy had now edged over me a bit in maturity, which I really didn’t mind given how much worse things could be, but today felt even more drastic as I hadn’t napped in the car like I had been doing the past few weeks in my drives over to Centerton for my playdates or the debriefings. So, as much as I tried to fight it, after our fourth run out of the ball pit and to the arcade machines, I slowly started to slow down and even drift off as we continued to play.

Wendy noticed and soon guided my exhausted form back to a nearby and reading Nancy. “Uh, Nancy? I think someone’s a bit sleepy…” she said quietly.

Wendy quickly put her book down and gathered me into her body and away from my friend. I wanted to protest, but I only ended up nodding. Nancy smiled over my tied state. “Okay, sweetie. Say goodbye to Wendy. I’m sure you’ll see her again next week as well.” I just nodded and waved goodbye to my friend. My energy levels were dropping too quickly for any further action after that on my part.

The last thing I was truly conscious of was when Wendy said goodbye as well and when Nancy quickly bounced me up and onto her hip, Buster still tightly wrapped under my left arm. I only awoke once more when Wendy was strapping me into my new federally mandated car seat for my size. I had wanted to protest originally, but I just liked the heated seat and the cupholder it came with as well. It was all probably a trap to increase their allure, but I was just content that my butt was now being warmed by something else other than my own waste.

When I awoke next, much to my surprise, and admitted delight, we were back home. Nancy quickly noticed my stirrings in the back. “Hey there, Meggy. I guess someone really needed that nap, huh?”

Rubbing the sleep out of my eyes and just hugging Buster closer, I nodded.

Soon, Nancy gathered me up from my car seat and we walked straight into the front door, though oddly, I noticed that both Jenn’s and Paul’s cars were parked outside. Entering the living room, I soon found out why… or at least experienced why after being a little confused still.

“Oh!” Nancy sputtered out and then whipped me around to reface the door. “I’m really sorry you two! I didn’t think you would be home… or… uh, Megan fell asleep at Fun Zone, so we came back a bit earlier than expected I’m guessing.” Nancy kept stumbling over her words and apologizing profusely. “I’m so sorry.”

I was so confused. ‘Why were Jenn and Paul home together? I thought they were on a date? Why is Nancy shielding me from the couch side of the room? Why is Paul’s jacket just tossed off on the floor in front of me?’

I then heard a persistent chaotic shuffling noise and a few words that seemed like whispered bad words. Finally, though, Jenn spoke. “It’s okay, Nancy. Like you said, we just weren’t expecting you all back so… soon.” She then paused and seemed to struggle with something for a moment. “Just caught us unaware… but the date went… uh, really well…”

Nancy chuckled for a moment. “I think I saw that…” She then composed herself a little more. “So, uh, do you need me to take Meggy out for a little bit. I heard there was a fair or something at the park?”

“You know…” Paul said in between the odd sound of something zipping, “we could all go… finish our date up… and all of us could have some fun.”

“Uh… yeah!” Nancy seemed hesitant to say. “Probably would be really nice. Not too cold either today. Even heard there was hot chocolate or something like that. If you all are still on your date, I can take Meggy still,” she offered. I still hated being talked over and about, but it was yet another thing that I had gotten used to months ago in this world. I suppose I just never expected it to happen in my previously ‘safe’ house.

“Oh! That would be…” Jenn then paused. “Nancy… you can turn around now…” Nancy slowly did, and I just saw Jenn fixing her hair while Paul adjusted his button-up shirt. ‘Doesn’t seem so bad to me… Why all the fuss?’

“Sorry again, but yeah…” Jenn continued. “If you don’t mind, I know Meggy just loves having you around… I’m sure she would appreciate some fun on the swings or slides maybe…?” she said in such a way that I knew her statement was more of a third-person question to me. So, at least catching on to that, I nodded my head really quickly.

They all laughed. “Good. Seems settled. Let’s just get our coats…”

“Oh, and let me restock her bag,” Nancy pointed out. “Need to restock a few things.” They all nodded in agreement, but only after a short time, we were all strolling back out the door, me safely sitting in my latest gift.

Okay… here’s the deal. I was me in the strictest of senses, but as I noted before, I found myself not noticing or minding certain things that had entered my life. I knew some of those things, like holding hands or coloring in a book were just things one got used to. Others, like the diapers, I had no control over. Still others, like the me-sized stroller I was now sitting in, were just practical. I got tired after expelling my energy as I noted earlier, and this would just save everyone’s arms and back from having to carry me and all my stuff everywhere we went. So, it meant more walks, more interactions, more fun… I mean, what’s not to like?

Once we all got to the park, I kept my eye on the couple in front of me. Jenn and Paul seemed to easily like each other, but I couldn’t help but feel weird about the pairing of the two. Now, I can fully admit maybe a little jealousy played a part in this and my concern for the mission, but I felt there was always something more to the pair than what met the eye.  

Ever since they had seemingly first truly met at our house back in July, I had felt a spark between the two. Having had several relationships in my past before I came here, I knew that spark well, and while I knew it could have just been me and my little changes since then, but this one felt different. It felt old and comfortable… not the fumbling’s of a new couple head over heels for each other. No, I could have sworn they were a couple that felt like they had known each other for years. I had to keep my eye on them. I had to pay attention to…

“Do you want a cup of hot cocoa, Meggy?” Paul innocently asked, knocking me out of my train of thought.

“Huh? Oh…” I felt a little embarrassed as everyone seemed to be intently watching me now from above. “Yes… definitely yes.”

Paul chuckled and nodded. “Very good. Four hot chocolates coming right up!” He then bounded away to the small snack hut to one side of the park. They sold various things throughout the year, and the lemon cookies in the Spring, the watermelon smoothies in the summer, and the pumpkin bread slices in the Fall had been my favorite so far.

I tried to think of what I was musing about earlier, but a few Big children skating on the nearby ice rink that had been set up quickly distracted me. They all seemed so free, but I guess that was just the prize for being older and all. It made me a little upset that the older kids had so much more freedom than I did in my admittedly comfortable stroller, but a quickly returning Paul with my hot chocolate and the others soon changed my demeanor. “Thank you…” I said as I took my first sip of the steaming sweet beverage. It was practically heavenly in my mouth.

“You’re very welcome, sweetie.” He then hugged Jenn and the two just looked off in the distance as they smiled and drank their own hot chocolates. Nancy drank her own while still keeping her ever vigilant eye fixed on me.  

Not long after, and we had finished our hot chocolates, Nancy and I went away and played on the swings and slides for a while. She would push me on the swings and would even resume her questions that she had been asking me earlier in the day, and I of course answered them, but I was more distracted by how I could really go on these things. “Higher, Nancy! Higher!”

I heard her sigh. “Very well, but not too high. Don’t want you getting lost in space or anything.”

I giggled back at her and just let myself fly as high as I could, or at least as high as she would let me go. Nearby, I spotted Jenn and Paul talking. They seemed happy for a moment, but I think Paul asked her a question and Jenn got really upset. I got really worried about her and almost jumped off, but Paul quickly soothed her back down. Oddly enough though, Jenn then looked directly back at me and soon after, rejoined us with Paul right behind her.

“Hey you two. Having fun?” she asked, clearly still a little emotional from whatever the currently weary Paul next to her had asked. I wanted to know, but I knew Jenn had her secrets. We were partners in all this, but I had accepted long ago that she was the real ABI agent. I was just the undercover outside help in all this and, as much as I didn’t like to admit my lower status compared to her, a Little in this world.

Still, I appreciated our bond and Jenn had even taken me off the swing at one point and sat me delightedly on her knee. Nancy and Paul joined us, and we all watched as a few birds flew overhead. It was all very peaceful on that cold day, but like most things around here, it didn’t last. Soon, I could feel Jenn snake her way in between the poppers of my overalls and check my diaper.

“Tsk. Tsk,” she chided. “I think someone’s been drinking a bit too much hot chocolate.” She then stood up and cradled me on her hip. Nancy seemed to know what she was referring to and started to get up, but Jenn only stopped her. “It’s okay. I got this, Nancy. You just sit back and relax a bit. You’ve more than earned it today.” Nancy nodded and Jenn just grabbed my diaper bag as we then headed to the potty rooms at the edge of the park.

Walking up the hill, we soon entered the small brick building. The two sides of the building just contained the minimum needed, which really just boiled down to two potty stalls, two changing stations, and two sinks. It wasn’t much, but Jenn only eased me back onto one of the changing areas. I then realized in horror that I was about to receive my first public change.

I had been pretty reliant on my diapers for a while now, and fully reliant on them for… everything since last month, but this was also a small town, and my diapers were pretty thick and absorbent. I had wet and messed in them several times by now at the park, but we had always just gone home right after. I was grateful for that small mercy in all this, but I also knew that this day was coming. Jenn could only change me for so long in private stalls or back at home. So, with a sigh, I just went along with Jenn’s directions and laid back as she arced a strap over my stomach and tightened me into place.

“Alright, sweetie. You just hold onto Buster, and I’ll get you all settled in just a moment here, okay?” I squeezed my ever-present Buster tightly and nodded. Jenn then quickly went to work.

Fortunately, the bathroom remained empty as Jenn quickly stripped me of the lower half of my clothing by unsnapping my overalls and onesie and laying the flaps back over my tummy. She made sure to use plenty of reassuring faces and what I could only surmise as cooing sounds, which at first embarrassed me, but oddly enough soothed me endlessly once my diaper had been untapped.

Soon, she was wiping me down before balling it all up into my old diaper. Jenn smoothed out a new diaper, cutely adorned with a few monkeys and zebras, and slid it under me. It was another thick, soft, and crinkly thing, but by now, I was just appreciative of the abuse it could take. It was a feeling of safety that was only compounded as she added the baby powder and soon encased me in my nice and fresh new garment. “There! All better.”

I nodded as she finished snapping my onesie and overalls back up. I hugged Buster once more as she disposed of everything and then helped me down. We quickly washed both of our hands, me of course using a provided step stool, and we were done. I suppose in an effort to reduce my burden of walking or even to just assuage her own self with whatever had happened earlier with Paul, Jenn picked me up and then walked out of the bathroom.

Oddly enough, as soon as we exited, I could tell that we both could hear a loud rattling and roar of a noise from nearby. Being on a hill though, it didn’t take long for Jenn and me to see the convoy of trucks heading into town and then up the other larger hill to the research facility. “Is that what I think it is?” I asked.

Jenn seemed horrified but nodded. “I think so, sweetie. You did say that Dr. Talbott was expecting some people and I saw that security needed to be increased for the next few weeks even around town.”

The whole thing sat uneasily in my stomach. I knew we were getting close to the end of all this, but curiously, I couldn’t help but notice the government labels on the vehicles before us. “I thought we were the government, Jenn. Are we the bad guys instead here with the ABI?”

Jenn quickly looked sad and shook her head. “No, baby. We’re with the ABI and the government, but remember I told you a long time ago that our government was split over you Littles?” I nodded. “Well, this is the other side.” Shen then sighed. “I’ve suspected direct government help in this place ever since I got to my new position, but I didn’t realize just how much they were really involved. Explains a lot of why no one has questioned anything and why there seems to be an almost unlimited supply of funds around here.” She then sighed heavily and readjusted me on her hip. “I’m going to have to inform Amy about all this tonight…”

I looked on in horror as all this seemed so much worse than I had thought before. Government divisions were one thing, but this felt like the funding and power to make an impact. It even seemed like enough for all this about portals to be a success. ‘How the heck are we supposed to go up against all this? Is our mission now actually and realistically doomed?’ Thoughts of failure plagued my head quickly, but I had one terrible revelation in all this. Soon, no matter what, all this would be over.  

It was frankly a sobering thought to have and despite all the implications, I was almost even glad of that. It meant all this was ending, but I just wasn’t sure exactly how. Outcome one, if the plan succeeded, I would be going home through the portal and back to my life of at least what I could salvage. ‘Could I still salvage it though?’ I then shook those thoughts out of my head and focused on only my immediate future.

Or the second outcome in all this, even if it was a bit dark, the portal would activate and then shatter this dimension. I and everyone else here would be gone, but it would be over. It would be over for everything but in some twisted way, I almost felt relieved over the notion of not waking up the next morning in a wet or messy diaper.

Still, fearing it all and my future, as an adult, I could only have closed my eyes and taken the next steps forward regardless of the outcome or how much fear I truly had. As a Little here though, my options weren’t so bleak. So, taking comfort in what little I could, I quickly nestled further into Jenn and hugged Buster just about as much as I could. Around here, one never knew quite just how much time they really had.

[kerry]

Wow. I've really enjoyed this as a DD origin story. At least I think that's what it is. I mean obviously the dimension itself already existed, as did the way its bigs treated its littles, but the portals change everything. I've been trying from the start, though, to mesh this post-apocalyptic (at least for Earth) DD with the rest of them. Maybe this is just a different Earth? And the scientists here in the DD could commence targeting our Earth, which they surely could assume to exist. (Just two concurrent dimensions makes little sense.)

I'm rambling. I know. But, as this story draws toward its close, I find myself more and more trying to place it on the spectrum of DD stories. It certainly could be a stand-alone set in another universe, but it just feels as if it should connect...

[Guilend]

I'm happy to see the mean Amazon officer punished, I just hate to see his brain turned to mush. I wonder if it's only because he was so resistant to the punishment or even got too violent and hurt one of the caregivers he either was assigned or at whatever facility he was at.

I'm certain things are going to happen and happen fast now. I have a feeling they're going to get caught, but before anything permanent happens to Jennifer they'll be rescued. Maybe Jennifer will come out the otherside as a bedwetter lol.

[CDfm]

Enjoyed the latest chapter.  I am rather sad knowing the story only has three more chapters.  I guess it has to end eventually but I have really been enjoying it and not quite ready to see it end. 
I was really pleased to see Officer Blausky turned into an overgrown baby.  I have a firm belief that people who act like jerks will eventually pay for their actions.  
I think Megan is actually becoming rather comfortable being a toddler.  At this point I am not sure she even fully realizes it but I think it suits her well.  
Jenn and Paul have also become very comfortable together and if they keep it up,  there may soon be four in their family. 
Finally, I want to wish you a Happy New Year. 

[LostBBoyBear]

Hey everyone and whew! So far, I’ll just say that it’s not been the greatest way to start off a new year for me, but I’ve just thrown myself into this story a bit more and figured out some of the details my ending originally lacked. I’m pretty satisfied with the conclusion, which should still be out by Thursday night, or very early Friday morning at the latest.

I also just want to update you all that once I have completed this story, I will be revising a few sections of it, namely chapter 2. These various revisions won’t necessarily add much except for some better plot movement, consistencies, and some minor errors I’ve picked up since I first started, so if you’ve made it this far, you shouldn’t have to go back and reread anything with how I’m structuring everything. Again, I will go into more detail about what is next for me when I post the final chapter of this story, but I just wanted to put this out due to some of the events in this chapter.

Regardless though, I hope you all enjoy this next chapter!

Chapter 24: This Is It

Sure enough, in the next two weeks, everyone was on edge who lived in the town. Everyone knew… they weren’t sure what exactly was going on from what I could tell, but they still knew that something was about to happen. Something big, and in a town where something new is invented at least once a week, when they began to panic, it was only natural for most people not in the loop directly to freak out a bit… as Amy had.

“Trucks? What do you mean by ‘trucks?’ Don’t just give me that, Jennifer!” she yelled, clearly taking full advantage of the still abandoned area in Centerton by the factories. “I need more than that or simply your gut feeling for this one! I can’t just order everything that needs to be in place based on that alone.”

“I’m sorry, ma’am,” Jenn replied as bravely and calmly as she could. “We saw the trucks enter in, I’ve noticed an increase in security in and around the research facility, and Megan overheard about someone important coming regarding a demonstration of some kind that even used the word, ‘travel’ in the same sentence. I think everyone here knows full-well what that means.”

Amy’s frantic fiery nature seemed to be instantly doused from Jenn’s clear and steadfast evidence. To be frank, I was very proud of Amy at that moment. “Very well… you know,” Amy said once again calmly, “I was a bit worried when one of you showed up with a stuffed animal this time…” I quickly blushed over my inclusion of Buster for this particular debriefing, but I just needed him in the tense moments like the ones I knew would occur today. Amy scared me a bit, okay?

“But,” she continued, “you two have continued to impress me and I guess it’s time I do my part in all this.” She then took a deep breath and looked at Jenn. “Okay. Let me get this straight, a demonstration is happening soon that is apparently enough to include a VIP guest that needs protection due to something involving ‘travel.’ It’s not much but tell me what you need from me.”

For the rest of the debriefing, the two debated about the logistics for how the next weeks were going to go. As the research town had been purposely built away from most towns and cities for reasons of safety or security, nearby personnel were more difficult to manage. Still, by the end of the debrief, Jenn had convinced Amy to keep a reserve number of agents and other personnel nearby to assist with taking down the base on the first push when needed. The bulk of the forces would come later, but the small contingent located nearby on a rotating basis at least could buy us time to delay their efforts if we were lucky.

I questioned afterward why we didn’t just go in now, but according to Jenn on our ride back home, her best guess was that we had to wait to catch them in the act for all this to truly stick in a court of law. She had answered the question well, but from the look on her face, I knew she didn’t know the real reason either. Still, her words had the intended effect, and I did in fact feel better after her explanation to me. I always did lately.

Now, at daycare, not too long after, it felt like any other day. I was even surprised by the appearance of my friends from the nursery in the main part of the playroom. They had of course been let out before, but it was usually only around sing-along time or when everyone would go outside to play. The two scenarios didn’t present much time to really be with them, particularly Tess, but I took what I could get beyond my tiny visits with them here and there. Today, however, it seemed that they were almost fully integrated with the rest of the daycare as they had been before the nursery had even been built. In retrospect, that should have been a big clue to me that something was about to happen.

“I can’t believe you all are here,” I noted after a little bit of each of us playing with our respective stuffy’s.

“Yeah… mommy really doesn’t want me out of the nursery too much these days. She says it could undo my progress so far,” Tess explained. “You think you were a bad influence or something. Aren’t mommy’s just so silly sometimes?”

There was no inkling of inflection in her voice, no hesitation… not even a whisper of being forced to say those things. The way ‘mommy’ just slid off her tongue so seamlessly though, sickened me to no end. My mentor… my friend, had seemingly been reduced to an almost regressed Little in this messed up world. “I'm sure Tess. Remember though, Jenn isn't my mommy.”

Tess then looked at me with a sense of curiosity, dread, and an odd mix of something I guess was confusion in her regressed state. “But why?”

Her question was so simple yet so direct that I couldn't help but think about it for a second. Perhaps a year ago by now, I would have outright rejected the notion, but there was a strange tingling sensation in my head that made me think that the label I had fought against so hard, was now seemingly applicable. Of course, I guess my higher brain functions prevailed and took over, and I quickly shook the notion out of my head. “She's just not my mommy, Tess. Not sure I can even say why, but I know she isn't. Okay?”

Tess still seemed puzzled for a minute, but then just shrugged and went back to playing with her own doll. Curiously enough, the doll almost seemed to reflect the current mental state of Tess whenever I saw her with it lately. Plus, like the rest of us, she always seemed to have it nowadays, but the doll’s maturity seemed to continually decrease whenever Tess’s did oddly enough. When she first hugged the thing in front of me, it wore a pair of jeans and a shirt. Now, the thing was clearly diapered and wearing the most babyish dress I think I could have ever pictured in her mind. Still, it gave my old friend comfort, and despite the odd sensation of the doll’s eyes seeming to follow me around, that was enough for me at this point.  

The next few hours then proceeded much as it had in the past, but just after we had all been fed lunch, I saw Dr. Talbott standing at the head of the lunchroom. I only noticed her because it was odd for her ever to stop by for lunch, even on caregiver-Little days. I mean, testing days in the back, sure, but after a seemingly innocent lunch? It was too much of a coincidence for me to simply pass by. That should have been my next clue that something was happening.

Still, maybe being more awake, I decided to continue to monitor her, even when we went back to the main playroom. Kelsey, B, Daisy, Vicky, Tess, and I all played with our stuffy’s quite contentedly, but keeping the mission in the forefront of my mind, I kept a vigilant eye over Dr. Talbot. I wasn't sure what I was even going to find, but I knew something was afoot with her continued presence in the daycare as she continued to watch us all like some possessed hawk. Thinking back on it, the last time I had seen her here for this long, not long after, Harry had been taken and I saw the bright lights later that night.

Of course, since then, I had developed several theories of why he seemed to be unique over many of the other Littles that had been taken since then. Now, I know that my personal connection with Harry could have clouded my findings, but it still seemed pretty clear to me after I got to know the Littles here that there was just something more going on with him. It was hard getting closer to most of them knowing that they could leave any day, and often they would, but I was still able to find the final connection over why some Littles seemed to activate the portal, while others didn't; the portal was only activated for Littles who had come from Earth... my Earth.

I hadn't shared the revelation with Jenn or Amy yet, as I really didn't have any evidence to back it up conclusively, but I knew deep inside that I was right about a week ago when Sylvia had been taken away. After being the fourth Earth Little that I had seen in the bright lights that followed since I had come here, I knew I had a pattern on my hands. The only problem was, I didn't feel my suspicions were still great enough to warrant an investigation by the ABI. It might have only blown our cover, so I remained quiet. I now regret that decision today. How many Littles may have been saved from the fate I now knew they shared back on Earth?

Still, as most of the daycare luxuriated in the calm of the afterglow of a warm belly and a satisfied mind regarding lunchtime, I knew I was alone in all this mess. So, with the sense I had left remaining, I decided to break away from my group and sit near Dr. Talbott. Of course, I stayed a good deal of distance away from her and her assistant that had now just arrived, but I also wanted to know what they were talking about.

“Are you sure everything is ready?” Dr. Talbott hesitantly asked her assistant. “I don't want another incident where the machine threatens to blow up on us…”

Slowly but surely, the assistant nodded their head. “I can't speak for everyone ma'am, but I know I've completed my tasks alone. I can get someone else to check if you really want to be sure, but that might just cause a delay and when we could do our test today.”

Dr. Talbott looked at her assistant with an evil look that I had rarely seen before or since. I wasn't initially sure why she was making the face as she was, but it didn't take me too embarrassingly long to understand. “There will be no delay, understand?” Her assistant quickly nodded her head. “Good. The others are already on their way. Any delay now could shut us down for good if they’re in a bad mood. They already think we’re an expenditure that they can't afford. If we give them an excuse, they will pounce on us like we have never seen before. I can hold them off for a time, but eventually, we need to produce results for them.”

The assistant then looked very nervous. “So, you mean to test out the machine today? Full effects and all I mean?” The assistant suddenly looked flustered and as if a great weight had now been placed on her shoulders.

I could shockingly quickly see Dr. Talbott grimace. “I'm afraid so. If we don't do it today, all our special guests may pull out of the agreement we made with them. Our fledgling company may be killed before it's even off the ground.”

“Don’t we have a name yet?” the assistant asked.

Doctor Talbott nodded. “Yes, I believe so, as Miss Beakerman was quite insistent after the party. I think the paperwork even went through the other week for the official logo of the company now, but still no official announcement yet.” Dr. Talbott then sighed. “I can't say I'm a fan with what they came up with. We’re not a jewelry company after all but I'm sure it will catch on quickly elsewhere.”

The assistant nodded but was still very unnerved about the whole business going down. “So, what’s our next steps then, doctor?”

Dr. Talbott stroked her chin in deep thought for a moment, and then spoke up. “Well, if we go by the book, we’ll test a few out at a time according to their age. That being said, I think we should start with those that Mrs. Harrington suggested and maybe just go all at once with a few at a time. Probably better looking and she might just know them better than what we see in our little weekly tests here.”

“Why is that doctor?” The assistant asked. “How can she know more than our refined and perfected tests?”

“She's very... thorough in doing her job,” Dr. Talbott admitted. “I trust her judgment completely with her adherence to the absolute truth, rather than what someone else might think I just want to hear at the time to keep them in my good graces.”

There was a pause for a moment between the two. “So,” the assistant then continued, “who's the first going to the demonstration?”

“Well, give me a sec to look over the list that she gave of at least the partially acceptable candidates,” Dr. Talbott added. “We can then narrow it down afterward based on what we think we may need.” After a moment, Dr. Talbott then seemed very intrigued by the names she listed. “Hmmm… not sure if I agree with all of these, but I think we can take half and then judge who will actually go while we’re there. Besides, we haven’t even given the pill a full test yet. If something goes wrong, we have the backup to ensure the day is at least mostly successful in one way. You know who’s watching all this, right?”

The assistant then nodded. “I saw the vehicles pull up this morning with her and the others. Have to say that I’m more than a little nervous with her being here and all.”

Dr. Talbott nodded. “Perfectly understandable. We owe a lot to her for the creation of all this.” Dr. Talbott then put the list down. “Dr. Simmons is going over the final checks now. Start rounding up the candidates and then get them on a bus over to the facility.” She was about to turn away but then quickly added, “Use Mrs. Louder as the main worker for those we’re taking. She’s the most level-headed and will be a good addition to Mrs. Harrington who’s already secured her spot for this demonstration.”

“Yes, ma’am,” the assistant said, practically almost saluting at the same time. Dr. Talbott only smiled, nodded, and turned away. As soon as she was gone, the assistant took the list that Dr. Talbott had been looking over and started to read off the names. “Let’s see who’s first up…” Her face quickly went sour, and she sighed. “I guess if that’s what she wants then… Tess? Come here, Tess!”

The next few minutes were chaotic to say the least. There were at least 50 Littles now inhabiting the daycare and at least 15 were chosen right off the bat, including most of my friends, such as Bea, Kelsey, Tess, Daisy, Vicky, and Yvonne. It quickly dawned on me, however, that I was not amongst them. Panicking, and despite knowing that I had done my job and should be calling the cavalry by now, I just couldn’t leave my friends to be subjected to the portal device I knew they were about to see.

“Mrs. Louder! Mrs. Louder!” I quickly called out to my daycare teacher. She quickly turned down to look at me.

“Yes, Megan? Is there something wrong?” she asked with the great deal of patience I knew her to have, despite the yelling and twitching Littles all lined up behind her.

“Uh…” I then realized I hadn’t formed a plan on how exactly to accompany all my friends, but I knew I had to try something… anything. “I wanna go with my friends… it’s a fieldtrip, right? So, can I go with you all? Please?” I made sure to pout my lips ever so delicately and widen my eyes about as much as I could.

Mrs. Louder then sighed, and I noticed she quickly looked over to Mrs. Harrington and the assistant, both of which just nodded. Surprised, but also elated to now be tagging along, I just watched Mrs. Louder as she turned back around. “Alright, sweetie, but this isn’t a normal field trip. I need you to stick with the group… no matter what this time. Okay?”

Mrs. Louder had apparently taken some heat after I ‘walked off’ during my incident and had made sure to keep a special eye on me ever since. I knew it was partially because of some of the changed aspects of my personality, but I also knew it was to ensure that I wouldn’t get into any more trouble on her watch. In truth though, it wasn’t really all that bad. One of the ways she ensured my compliance was to feed me a few cookies now and then for being a good girl and even taking to braiding my hair in the afternoons while my friends had started taking naps. I knew I was a good girl internally, but it was at least nice to get that type of confirmation from her as well in a place like this.  

After, I soon joined almost all my friends on the bus that was now departing to go up to the research facility. It was a bumpy and uncomfortable seat, but my irritation with the gray lump also reminded me that I was now placing myself in a dire situation. So, as discussed previously by Amy for just these types of situations, I looked at the bracelet still attached to my wrist. It had been nicely modified even further from the ones the rest of my friends also now wore, and I clicked the secret emergency button on it three times. Once was an emergency as before, but three times meant that the main event was going down. Then, as also discussed, my bracelet buzzed back a single time to indicate that they had received my message and were now on the way. For a moment at least, I was relieved.

The packed sardine-like tube of a bus that we were now all riding in, however, felt oddly claustrophobic and almost damning us all to a future that I knew most in here weren’t even processing anymore. With the exception of maybe Kelsey on some of her better days, almost all of my old friends had continued to only slink back into the muck of regression. They were happy for sure… almost enviably to be honest, but I was still glad for what was still left of my mind from all that had happened on this mission.

After hitting a bump, my attention then focused to the front of the shuttle bus where Mrs. Louder was singing at the top of her lungs to distract the other Littles from what was happening in her own nervous yet excitable energy. Despite her outward appearance of her warm and caring nature, I could still see through all that charm and musicality that she was worried about what was to happen next. I wasn’t sure if she was more nervous with what was about to happen to her precious Littles or for what would happen to her if she didn’t keep her Littles calm on the way over. I could also keenly see Mrs. Harrington sitting at the front of the bus, with ‘Crimson’ still perched right at her hip in the middle of it all as if to show the rest of us to remind all of us Littles to be good girls and boys for her or else. ‘Typical…’

I then saw my friend, Kelsey, sitting and humming amusedly right next to Mrs. Louder. ‘Why did she have to be so complacent today of all days?’ I knew the effects of everything here were powerful, but my friend was now likely first up in all this madness. In maybe another ten minutes after we arrived, if the other portal effects I had witnessed back on Earth were any indication, she would either be a pile of goo as a drooling and babbling disaster of a once proud adult, or she would rank among the great successful firsts such as Ameilia Earheart or Valentina Tereshkova in great traveling milestones. Nearby to her, Tess, Bea, Vicky, and my other friends seemed perfectly content as well, despite likely sharing her same fate. If we were going to get out of all this in one piece, I couldn’t help but feel that it would be a true miracle.

“The wheels on the bus go round and round!” Miss Louder sang out as a contrast to my own thoughts of the doom that awaited or of the great explorers who had come before us. A few of the more regressed Littles joined her, but most just seemed scared or confused as today wasn’t our usual field trip day and most around here like that hated change. I, however, was neither complacent nor confused, but I was legitimately scared. My only solace now was that my hair was up in a single ponytail today and that I was wearing my now favorite pair of daffodil-colored shortalls, as opposed to the short and cutesy dresses most of the rest of the girl Littles were dressed in around me. Small concessions like that were important here, and if nothing else, were one of the few things keeping my mind at least relatively intact after being here for over a year now.

Still though, from all my work on this mission, I knew exactly what was going to happen, and despite my previous mishap and incident and a slight burning desire to join in on the song now, much to my annoyance and shame, my awareness ensured that I knew most of the grizzly details of what could potentially be our fate. If Amy was even remotely correct about her warnings about other peoples’ theories, everything that I had ever known could be ripped apart in a few violent seconds as reality imploded over the breach that was about to be purposely formed right in front of me.  

My inner thoughts mattered little though, as we finally arrived at our destination and exited the bus. Before we entered the place that could likely be the death of me, literally or just who I was as a person, I thought I heard sirens in the distance. After a moment though, I knew this likely wasn’t going to be the storybook ending that Jenn always liked to choose for me at nights lately. I was a damsel at least in a certain sense, and while I may have been lacking the tiara that Bea had chosen for herself this morning, I knew I was certainly in distress.

Without any further delay, we then entered the building, and of course, Dr. Talbott was waiting there for all of us. “Good evening, class. We’ve got a busy day ahead, so just follow me. Single file now.” Each of us then waddled closely behind our teachers and Dr. Talbott further into the building.

Waiting at the front desk was Bert. “Good evening, again, Dr. Talbot.” He then nervously looked at each of us Littles waddling behind her, most of us struggling with even that now. “Is today some kind of special day maybe?”

Dr. Talbott looked back at us and then back to Bert and smiled. “Oh, today is a very special day, Bert. In fact, it’s the special day.”

Bert seemed confused for a moment, but I could see the instant he realized what she had meant. For a moment, I was confused over why kindly, but low-man-on-the-totem-pole-around-here Bert seemed to know about the portal, and Jenn didn’t. It filled me with a decent amount of dread on top of how Dr. Talbott just said everything about our day. So admittedly, after all that, I was sufficiently creeped out if I wasn’t already after my incident at this place.

Bert then happily nodded, and we all followed Dr. Talbott into the main corridor of the building. I, however, stopped really quickly to check with Bert. “Bert! Where’s Jenn? Is she here? I need to see her!”

“Aww… I guess someone misses a special someone, huh?” he rhetorically asked while still grinning. ‘Damn you, Bert.’ “I’m sorry to inform you though, Meggy, but Jenn just had to step away not that long ago, but I’m sure she’ll be back. Until then, I’m sure you’ll be safe with Dr. Talbot. She just wants to help all you Littles. So, run along and be a good girl for them.”

Right then, Mrs. Louder then gently guided me away by the hand from the front desk and Bert only gave a cutesy wave to me as I was sucked further into the building that could very well be mine and everyone else’s doom. ‘Damn you, Bert.’

Afterwards, as had become typical around here, we then went through the various corridors and security checkpoints that had been beefed up since the New Years party and even my tiny incident. No one knew about what I had done, but a wandering Little around here was just a disaster waiting to happen and they had clearly learned. Finally, though, we were back in the main hallway and faced the still curious black door at the end of it that I still didn’t know where it led to.

As usual, still to the left was robotics and to right, was what I now knew to be the hypnotics room… ‘so colorful, so pretty, so…’ I shook my head and refocused on not tripping over my pink Velcro shoes as we entered a large room beyond the single sturdy and thick black door. Just as we stepped inside, I thought I heard a boom, but just shook my head and refocused on what was now before me.

Once inside, from what I saw, I knew it was the source of my current lot in life and recently secretly admitted joy, but it was also the main villain in all my recent experiences as well. Right in front of me, long awaited and deeply hated, was the portal device.

It was still off, but the scaling metal poles around the central part of the lab seemed to crawl up like a demon’s hand from hell. The lab layout was simple, but all was focused around that one central spot, including a viewing gallery just off to the front of it where anyone standing there would get a perfect view of everything.

As I had come to expect around here by now, a host Bigs stood on said viewing gallery and the room was filled, beyond the hum of the various bits of equipment around us, with the clinking of their champagne glasses together. I quickly recognized Miss Beakerman, her daughter, and a few others, but there were several others that I didn’t recognize. Typically, though, all just seemed focused on their own enjoyment rather than the terrified expressions on the faces of the Littles passing below them.

Once we were all in, one of the more elegant and reposed Bigs then raised her glass to Dr. Talbott and Dr. Simmons who were standing nearby next to a myriad of controls and switches. “We’re ready when you are, doctor! Make us and our whole dimension proud! We’re all counting on you.” I tried to make out who she was, but Miss Beakerman quickly obstructed my view from what I could see down on the ground off to the left a bit of the center of the room.

Regardless though, I was quickly distracted when I saw Dr. Talbott step up and tap on a small microphone that she then attached to her chest. “Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Today, we will be exploring the depths of what until today, has only been a destructive force for our world. Our previous experiments have hurt this planet, and we apologize for those dreadful but necessary steps. While they are regrettable, in just a moment, all those pains will have been worth it. I guarantee when you all leave,” Dr. Talbott noted, clearly speaking to the Bigs, “that you all will feel the same.” She then took a dep breath and looked over at Dr. Simmons next to her by the control panel. “Now, Dr. Simmons. We are ready to proceed.”

Dr. Simmons nodded and with his black-gloved right-hand yanked down hard on a large lever that was connected to an expansive and impressive control panel. Everything then began to glow and whir to life around us.

It was right at that moment that I realized that Amy and her fellow ABI agents were all too late. All our months of hard work were about to be flushed down the tubes. My sacrifices… all the snooping… all the endless nightmares and days of worry… everything came down to this and seemingly amounted to nothing. I had little time to mourn though.

All at once then, the room began to vibrate erratically, and I quickly tasted cooper in my mouth. Each of most of the Littles sequestered in the room began to cry out; some for mercy, some for their appointed mommies or daddies. I watched my friends with renewed terror in their eyes. I wanted to reach out and help them, but I just remained silent and as still as I could.

Before long though, I couldn’t stand it any longer and tried to plug my screeching ears as much as I could. My eyes shut tightly but when they opened for a split second, I could see many of the Littles in front of me squat and mess themselves completely. It was a normal thing for most of us by now and their thick diapers and onesies or humiliatingly short dresses were a continual visual testament to that notion, but still, to see them all at once with everything else going on was positively horrifying to witness and experience firsthand. Fearful of it all, I even probed my hand to my own rear in the tiny amount of strength I could muster. To my relief though, I found that I didn’t have my still dreaded ‘mush tush.’ In a day full of bad things, it seemed to be the one of the few legitimately good things occurring now.

Finally, though, the vibrations and noises ceased and for a moment, I felt a tiny trickle of blood exit my nose. As I wiped it away, the portal hummed once more, but this pitch was lower and seemed to shake the very foundations of the building. As soon as this one started though, it stopped. The once skeletal finger-like metal shafts in front of us then belched forth a liquid barrier and was soon still. To my utter relief, reality remained for now, but I quickly saw something even more troubling on the other side of the perceived opening.

The bright lights and portals that I had come to know so well and had almost become my own white whale of sorts were not present. Instead, this still shimmering liquid-like mass before me now looked more like a pane of glass that one could just easily pass through. That wasn’t what concerned me though. No… it was instead the huddled figures on the other side.

The most concerning thing about them though, was that they at least appeared to my height. To my utter relief, it was a portal home, but in my utter inner joy, I also quickly noticed one more thing. The figures weren’t shocked about what they were witnessing. No horror, confusion, or reverence. They just seemed in awe and relieved almost. It then clicked in my head that they were expecting us. This wasn’t random. All this had been carefully planned by both sides.

Oddly enough, right at that moment, I could hear a rumbling from outside the room and I saw that Dr. Talbott’s assistant was whispering something into her ear. Dr. Talbott at first seemed shocked but then nodded and while the assistant seemed confused, just stood with the rest of the doctors as whom I recognized as the various heads of departments around here.

Shuffling whatever the news was all off though, Dr. Talbott then walked up to the glassy surface of the portal and cleared her throat. “Good evening, distinguished guests of Earth. I am glad you all have accepted our invitation to this most momentous day. My name is Dr. Talbott, and I am the one in charge of the technology that you are seeing before you. Our agents have clearly done their work on your side and from all our efforts, we have now created a bridge between our worlds.”

The world leaders remained quiet, but many just toasted if they possessed a glass in their hands or simply nodded in acknowledgement over what Dr. Talbott had just said.

“Now,” Dr. Talbott continued, “this breach is not sustainable. We have only done this today to facilitate our demonstration and to make our communication easier. If all goes well today, however, we do have another version of the technology that will be far more sustainable… if less see through.”

Shen then turned around and nodded to her assistant and Dr. Simmons. Both nodded and then handed each of us Littles still standing there a single pill. “Swallow it. You won’t need water with this one,” Dr. Simmons commanded abruptly.

I looked at the tiny purple capsule in my hand now but from everything going on around us, I felt I had very little say in the matter if I even wanted to take it or not. So, with a large sigh, I quickly swallowed the unknown pill. Dr. Talbott just smiled as every Little did the same. “Good… very good…” she breathed excitedly from above. “Now, we will demonstrate the safety of the travel.”

Just then, I could hear a rumble from another door off to the side of the room. Everyone in the room paused and looked toward that direction. Dr. Talbott seemed to sense what was happening and quickly gestured to Mrs. Harrington and Dr. Simmons to bring a few of us up to the portal. Cursing my need to protect my friends at that very moment, as luck would have it, I was one of the ones chosen alongside Daisy, Tess, and Kelsey.

Not a second later though, the door completely burst open. “Halt!” a voice I recognized as Amy’s shouted out. I felt I was saved, but Dr. Talbott was also a determined woman and scientist and clearly had something to prove to everyone watching from both dimensions now.

“You’re too late,” Dr. Talbott noted to the ABI agents before her, whom I now saw included several who were masked, but also Jenn as well.

As if time had suddenly slowed down, I then felt the myself being shoved from behind and into the glowing surface before me. I could feel myself lurch into the barrier and almost cried out as I saw Jenn immediately panic as she saw what was unfolding before her eyes. She couldn’t do anything. She was too late. It was all too late. Less than a second later, my entire body went into the portal before me. I barely had time to hope that I would be fine on the other side. Then, the plunge all around me.

[Guilend]

Oh wow. Did not see that coming. When that guy said that Jenn was not there, that she had to go do something I was expecting the doctor to come get Magen right before everything started and take her to a room where they had Jenn tied up and trying to get information out of her. 

[LostBBoyBear]

Welcome everyone to the penultimate chapter of this story. It’s been a long run, but everything should be wrapping up very soon. This chapter should answer a bunch of questions and the conclusion should answer a bunch more. I basically knew I wanted to end up here since the beginning of the story, but I had to modify some parts with how some things turned out. I’m pretty sure most will appreciate the story for how it flows now.

Looking ahead, the final chapter should be posted late tomorrow or very early the next day. I really want to focus in on some parts and make sure I’m not droning on or anything like that though, but everyone should be able to read it before this coming weekend.

Anyways, I hope everyone enjoys this next to last chapter!

Chapter 25: There’s No Place Like Home, Right?

It was like belly flopping into an electrified pool of water as my whole body tensed up and even seized as I passed through the portal. I tried to scream, but it just got stuck in my throat. I had gone through before and I just barely felt the trickle of fear enter my diaper as I panicked helplessly for what could happen to me this time. ‘Would I end up like those near brain dead people that I discovered that led me down this road in the first place?’

To my surprise though, I came out on the other side in one piece. I was free. I was home. I was alone with only the world leaders before me and Tess, Daisy, and Kelsey by my side. Once I thankfully didn’t feel like a babbling idiot and that I wasn’t on fire, I looked back through the portal. Jenn looked about to faint, Amy looked horrified, Mrs. Louder seemed nervous, and both Dr. Simmons and Dr. Talbott just looked pleased with their own apparent success of the portal.

“Excellent! No signs of damage.” Dr. Talbott then approached the portal barrier. “Mrs. Harrington… get ready and take the pill just as a precaution for now.” Mrs. Harrington nodded and quickly popped her own pill. “Now to you all… let’s test out those brains of yours…” Dr. Talbott then asked us each a series of questions, ones that I quickly recognized from our testing days every Monday. To my pleasant relief once more, all of us Littles were completely mentally unchanged from before… or at least from our mental states five minutes ago before we had unceremoniously shoved through the portal. Daisy still had trouble making even the faintest of signs of acknowledgement to Dr. Talbot’s questions and I’m pretty sure she would have fallen over by now if I wasn’t helping prop her up. Plus, it only took a quick whiff to understand that both Tess and Kelsey had been at least two of the Littles who had messed themselves when the portal had activated, but to them by now, it probably just felt like another Tuesday. Shockingly, our travel through the portal hadn’t melted our brains any more now it seemed.

Smiling at her success, Dr. Talbott then turned back to Mrs. Harrington. “You’re up next, and make sure our little ones don’t wander off on the other side if you will, please.”

Mrs. Harrington nodded, then took a breath, and stepped through the portal herself. Once she was deemed all okay, Dr. Talbott smiled again, and Mrs. Harrington collected us all off to the side so that Dr. Talbott could speak to the world leaders once more. For the time being, despite Mrs. Harrington being shockingly only about a foot taller than me now, I knew she still had the overwhelmingly bigger hand. For all intents and purposes, I was still very much trapped as I was.

As calm as always, Dr. Talbott then triumphantly just held up her finger to the world leaders on the other side. “I do apologize for this, but we have had some uninvited guests that I just need to deal with really quickly. If you indulge me, I promise you that you won’t regret it.” The world leaders looked annoyed but only waved on to allow Dr. Talbott to leave temporarily and do what she had to. It didn’t take me long to understand that she was referring to the now rearming ABI agents.  

“I said halt!” Amy shouted out from the rear of the main agents in front of her, including a now clearly pissed off Jenn. “I am the head of this branch of the ABI, and you are all under arrest for attempting an unauthorized breach of the dimensional space.”

From just slightly above them on the main catwalk and access to the portal, Dr. Talbott then bent down slightly to greet the ABI. “Hello… Amy, if that is even your real name. I’ve suspected your involvement for quite some time and at any other point, I might use my influence to demote you all within your own organization or even inflict one of our new devices on you lot and regress you to mere nothingness.” Amy’s eyes grew wide as she clearly realized the threat and that Dr. Talbott had known about her and the ABI for at least some time now. “As it stands though, today is a special day…” She then waved her hands and several other security guards suddenly flooded the upper-most catwalk of the lab and pointed their guns at the agents below them. My soul felt like it was being pulverized as the scene unfolded before my eyes from beyond the portal veil.

From my position, I could also still quickly see the panic in Amy’s eyes and her subtle signs of surrender as the reality of what was happening began to sink in. “What do you want, Dr. Talbot?” Amy bluntly asked as if she was still biting her tongue to prevent her from saying something worse. “You clearly have something in mind…”

Dr. Talbott smirked and nodded. “Good… I’m glad you made the decision today to hear me out, and yes, I do. I see great things in your future after today, but for now, you and your agents can just stand back and watch the rest of this demonstration. You might find it… illuminating.” To my horror, Amy simply nodded and pointed her weapon down. The other agents soon followed. “Good. Now, no sudden movements or this little truce of ours is off. You are surrounded, so just think of your agents and their families. Everyone just wants to go home today.” As if to emphasize her point, Dr. Talbott gestured over to me, and Jenn nearly snapped her head to her side to ensure that Amy would comply. At this point, even though I was a valuable scientific part of their test, I knew very well that I was also now a hostage.

Satisfied, as Dr. Talbott then walked back over to the world leaders on the other side of the portal with me, Mrs. Harrington, and the other Littles, I found myself in an odd position. Here I was, back home and in my own dimension finally, but I oddly just wanted to go back to Jenn and my life there. For someone who had been trying to get back for over a year and had even joined this near suicidal mission to do so, it was a decidedly odd sensation. Before I had time to think about it more though, Dr. Talbott spoke up once more.

“I do apologize for that, but,” she emphasized as she then held up the same purple pill that all of us on this side had just consumed, “this pill is the main reason why we are doing all this today. From our previous studies, while we could pass back and forth unharmed for the most part, most of you all tended to have… uh, problems. This pill solves those effects by and large.”

She then set it down back in its tiny case and sighed. “Unfortunately, this pill is not ready for the mass market quite yet.” The world leaders then began to murmur worriedly. “Still, we do have another method in place for at least the three more years we need to produce the pill in the required mass quantities to be viable. This other transportation method will still require a quarantine procedure before and after travel, but you all will still be perfectly healthy with it.”

Someone from the gallery then cleared their throat and Dr. Talbott immediately looked behind her before quickly realizing something. “Oh yes! Right!” She turned back to the world leaders and the same woman who had given the go for Dr. Talbott and Dr. Simmons to proceed then stepped forward. “World leaders of Earth, now that the scientific side of today has mostly been concluded, I would like to introduce you to the president of our country here of Libertalia… President Madeline Doukas.”

The even taller woman stepped forward and her elegant pantsuit seemed to flow gracefully around her. I had seen her picture once before, but now here… I was legitimately awestruck by her mere presence. Almost instantly though, I was also fearful of what the president of the entire country here could mean for the ABI and my situation in all this.

President Doukas then bowed her head toward Dr. Talbott. “Thank you, doctor. Your contributions to science will never be forgotten and I want to personally thank you.” The two then shook hands before Dr. Talbott slipped over to the side for President Doukas to take center stage and look directly at the world leaders. “Hello, world leaders of Earth. I have been given the authority by my world to speak on our behalf to you all today, though I know that many are watching from their own countries. As such, I shall not waste yours or their time on further pleasantries and instead talk directly about why we are all gathered here today.”

She then took a breath and continued. “Today, I wish to make a trade deal with you all. I believe one which will be beneficial to everyone here.”

The world leaders began to mumble once more and I quickly saw the panic growing in most of their eyes, but also the lust and interest for what President Doukas had to offer them. Chief amongst the more ravenous I’m sad to say was my own president from back home, President John Haythem. I never really liked the man, but he was always looking for ways to get our country out of its slump. In all our mess, I guess that was something at least.

All at once it seemed like though, the world leaders then began to ask a myriad of questions. “What are you offering?” “Why choose us?” “¿Qué ofreces como intercambio y qué querrías de nosotros?” “Who are these people that you sent through?” “Why are they wearing diapers?” “Are we being invaded?” “Wǒmen wèishéme yào xiāngxìn nǐ?” “Mozhem li my dobrovol'no poyti tuda pryamo seychas?” I was so overwhelmed with all the questions being thrown out, but President Doukas only held up her hand and waited patiently.

Curiously, the world leaders caught on and she only smiled back at them. Having been on the other side for so long, I quickly recognized her smile as being like the ones that Mrs. Louder or Miss Ginny would shower us with after we quieted down after coming in from recess. I quickly wasn’t liking the direction all this seemed to be headed.

“Thank you,” she said with her disturbing yet sentimental smile. “I can appreciate that you all have many questions, and many will be answered in the future further in depth. For now, however, I will just give you the basics of what we are looking for and what we can offer you all.”

She then reached behind her and Dr. Talbott was quickly there with a tablet device, which President Doukas then quickly read from and then looked up. “In the simplest of terms, we can offer your society the technology to rapidly improve your world and to offer you our own dimension as an exclusive tourist destination unlike any that you have ever witnessed before.”

The world leaders seemed shocked over something seemingly so simple, but like most times in human history, suspicion leered around every corner and likely in the back of each of their minds over this… generosity. President Haythem soon spoke up first. “That sounds like a fine deal from you all, but what are you asking for in return exactly?”

‘Oh boy… here we go…’ As soon as I had seen the world leaders, I knew where all this was likely headed. My only question now would be if our Earthly leaders were willing to give into the Bigs simple yet complex demands. After all, in my experience, Bigs usually only wanted one thing from people like us. To my shock though, the once confident and stoic President Doukas then looked a little nervous, though I could have guessed why at this point from the likely reaction of the world leaders before her.

She then took a deep breath, set the tablet in her hands down, and exhaled. “Well, we know what we are asking will be difficult at first, but we do see it as a mutually beneficial solution to both our societies.” I could see the world leaders then lean in closer as if to hear her better. “We are asking, in exchange for the greatly beneficial destination and technology of our land, that you trade part of your populace over to us… permanently.”

The two dimensions remained silent for a moment. I could see the still-present odd hesitation in President Doukas, but I could also see the confusion in the faces of the world leaders. Their at least quiet demeanor didn’t last.

“What? You want to take us away like slaves?” “Why do you want to take us?” “¿Por qué querrías alejarnos de nuestras familias?” “There’s no way that trade is worth it!” “Ne dumayu, chto ya byl by protiv, yesli by eto ty zabiral…”

It was all so chaotic, and I could barely make out what one of them was saying, let alone the two dozen or so now before me. Still, through it all, I felt pretty confident that, despite their differences, despite their previous wars with each other, most were saying pretty much the same thing: no.

President Doukas then sighed but then suddenly snapped her fingers.

I wasn’t sure what that was supposed to do, but soon, dozens of the security guards once facing the ABI agents, now turned inward and began marching over to the portal. Almost as soon as they got there, they halted, and the room began to shake once more. To my horror, the portal then expanded by about seven feet on all sides. Instantly, the world leaders began to panic, and their slew of insults and refusals soon turned into the nervous rumblings of a people under attack and who were afraid. President Doukas then snapped her fingers again and the rumbling stopped.

She sighed once more. “I’m very sorry to have to do that, but as you see, we have the…”

Suddenly, one of the guards of the world leaders then began to charge the portal. “Stirb, außerirdischer Abschaum!” Everyone panicked, and as odd as it may have sounded, Mrs. Harrington even shielded us from this maddened individual.

Still, on the other side, President Doukas just snapped her fingers and without a second thought, one of the guards then popped a pill and entered to the other side. Like an optical illusion and like what had happened with Mrs. Harrington, his size soon shrank down to a smidge under seven feet tall. He then aimed his gun at the man and fired.

“Warten! NEIN! Günther!” the German world leader called out, but it was too late.

The gun discharged and the security guard was quickly overtaken by some kind of pulse. He tried firing a single round in fear, but his gun wouldn’t shoot. Still, determined, the man charged once more, but the Big guard had already anticipated this and fired another shot now into his body. Almost instantly, he froze and fell over as if asleep.

The world leaders panicked even more now, but another snap of President Doukas’ fingers quickly quieted them all down almost instantly. Her power already over them was truly frightening to witness firsthand.

“Tsk. Tsk…” President Doukas said while shaking her head. “I was hoping to avoid all this nonsense, but it seems that Dr. Talbott’s original theories may have been right about you all. Shame really…” She seemed to be disappointed for some reason, but then continued. “As I was saying, I know this may be difficult for most of you in positions of power to accept, but this really isn’t a deal you can say no to. You all have the numbers over us, but we have the technology. So, we can go to war if you want over this simple little thing, but in the end, we will win. After, you will still find yourself at the negotiating table once you’ve been defeated by our forces, but your position will be significantly weaker to make any requests of us by then. So, just accept all this for your own sakes now. As you see from your little friend here, outright refusal and violence against us is ultimately just not possible.”

Once again for what seemed like the millionth time today, to my horror, the world leaders then nodded submissively at what she was saying. President Doukas only smiled back as I had seen most Bigs do after a naughty Little had been bad and then accepted the consequences of their actions.

Then, as if to dust off the whole unfortunate incident from herself, she then quickly flicked off her cuffs, and looked back up. “Now, where were we…? Oh yes! All this may be hard for you all to accept, but we want to offer our help to you all.”

The world leaders gathered in fear, but like he was known for, President Haythem stepped up first. He was functionally an idiot in my opinion, but he at least took the risks when he felt the need to for his country. He then cleared his clearly nervous voice. “After all that… uh, you just warned us with, how in the world will you all actually be helping us?”

President Doukas smiled once again, likely because she knew that the world leaders were now on the verge of participating rather than just listening or cowering. It wasn’t much, but it was a step in the right direction for the Bigs on this side.

“Well, I’m glad you’ve asked that, Mr. President.” The president seemed flustered that she would know his title, but she just smirked and continued on without comment. “You see, this portal is unique, and it will close today and likely not reopen in this same fashion again. That being said, we have opened other portals to your world for decades now. As you may find, we like to investigate many things, so we sent our… observers over to see how you all functioned.”

“You mean spies?” the British Prime Minster then accused from the back, before quickly sitting back down.

President Doukas shook her head. “Nothing of the sort, but we wanted a few observers to possibly make this transition one day.” She then snapped her fingers and one of the taller security guards stood up from the rear of the group and made his way down to the front. “You see… we sent in one of our observers to stick close with many of you all years ago. His reports have been most… illuminating.”

All the world leaders were speechless as the recently revealed Big smiled over to us and then walked over through the portal, his mission clearly now over. I couldn’t help but feel bad for some of the leaders being duped like that, but I knew it was merely another sign of the Bigs power over our society even before today.

Then, to my surprise, President Doukas popped a purple pill of her own and walked through the portal with an odd almost frisbee-like device in her hands. “Now… I’ve come over here to give you all this device. I will show you all what it is in a moment, but first, we know that you all have been struggling for decades now.”

I half expected the world leaders to deny their own weaknesses, but each remained perfectly silent. I had been gone for over a year by now, so I also wondered if things had somehow gotten even worse. I knew pollution was starting to become an issue once again, but I just hoped I was wrong. President Doukas however, then hit a button on the device, and the world problems were suddenly all holographically listed right in front of me.

“As you see here… the list is quite extensive,” she remarked. “Global warming, radiation pollution, a lack of resources or the technology awareness to get you out of the hole you’re in, rampant crime, and broken infrastructures are just a few of the many problems you all face.”

There were about 50 problems on the list from what I could see and to my disappointment, there were some even I didn’t know about. It all now seemed so hopeless for this planet, but as if he could read my thoughts, President Haythem spoke up. “You’ve demonstrated your technological abilities, but I don’t think even you can help us with all our problems.”

President Doukas only shook her head and clicked forward in the holographic program to reveal some kind of new device that I had never seen before. Wires protruded out of five sides and there almost looked to be vents of some kind on top and each of the sides.

The world leaders pressed in to see the new device before them displayed so prominently. Finally, the Canadian Prime Minister asked what was clearly on everyone’s minds. “So… what is it?”

President Doukas clicked forward once more, and several diagrams and little bits of schematics appeared before everyone. “Well, I am not the technical expert to explain everything to you all, but to put it simply, this is an air filtration device. Even just breathing in the air in here, I can tell that you all desperately need it. As such, my society will be giving you this device when we leave today with all the plans and technical specifications on it. If built correctly and implemented globally, your air quality should be completely clean in about five years.”

Everyone quickly seemed in awe, but President Haythem still seemed to have his doubts. “So… you’re just giving this to us for free? You didn’t mention a price… so what’s the catch?”

To my utter surprise, President Doukas then gestured to us. “As I said before, we have opened portals to your world for decades. Since then, after we recognized the desperation found here, we began to explore our options. Seeing the single and lonely, we used our ground agents to take them to our world and to give them a better life. We still took them without your permission though, and we deeply apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.”

The world leaders didn’t seem to know what to say at that moment, but for me, everything began to click. I had tried to research the pattern of abductions on Earth going back years prior to the start of my investigation, but I never seemed to be able to crack it. Now, I knew that the Bigs had targeted those who were alone in their lives. I had thought about the notion at one point even, but I felt there was always too much of a margin for error for their tastes and need for perfection, but now that I knew they had spies over here on Earth… sorry, observers, it all made perfect sense.

“Uh… how many?” the Australian Prime Minster asked. “How many did you take?”

President Doukas sighed deeply. “It’s hard to know for certain, but at least purposefully, we estimate about 6,700 have come to our world since your year of 2006.”

Gasps and murmurs quickly started back up amongst the world leaders, and I could tell that President Doukas still wanted to maintain control. “This deal,” she started off loudly, “is the kind that we are offering you. For every batch of you all that come to us permanently, we will give you something else… something needed.”

President Haythem quickly spoke back up. “Air filtration is nice and all, but what other trades can we expect from you all?”

President Doukas smiled instantly. She knew she was rapidly hooking the world leaders into the Bigs ultimate plan bit by bit. “Well, for starters, we actually believe that from our research, many of your destitute and those wanting the… lifestyle we offer will be able to cover you right from the beginning. If our estimates are even somewhat accurate, we believe that you all will be able to choose from a variety of new technologies within the first year. These include items like new energy sources, better food production, and better communications that could be at your doorstep within days of that particular trade.”

I could already see the gears spinning around in everyone’s heads. A few of the world leaders seemed put off by the whole notion and some looked at us Littles on this side with suspicion, but most seemed thrilled by now. To be honest, I couldn’t blame them, at least from a strict numbers game alone. Our world was dying and there were many in it that were searching for a better life, criminally or otherwise. With this new trade, for the unaffected world leaders at least, all their problems could be solved in just one simple agreement.

At the same time all this was going on, I then noticed a grave look overtake President Doukas’ face. I didn’t like it at all and finally she cleared her throat and many of the leaders instantly looked over at their new potential savior. “Just one more thing and then I will allow you all to ruminate amongst yourselves for another moment.” She sighed and I could quickly tell that it might be one more sticking point with her in this whole trade deal. “As part of this arrangement, there is one more thing I would ask of you all, but I also believe that it would be in your best interests as well. Due to the nature of this proposed agreement between our two dimensions, we believe that secrecy will be of the utmost importance.”

The world leaders had about as many expressions afterward as there were countries being represented. Finally, though, the Australian Prime Minister spoke up. “And just why would that be a good thing for us?” Several other leaders nodded their heads, and I could see that President Doukas saw them as well.

“Well, this trade, as I’m sure you know personally, could be viewed as problematic by some on your planet. Despite the tremendous benefits of this deal, I would imagine that some would be… less than enthusiastic about it themselves.” Many of the world leaders realized the truth in her words and nodded along. “Yes, but more importantly, where you all are concerned, I doubt that many would support your regimes for long if they knew the true price of the agreement. If our deal and the details of our society are kept mostly a secret, you all would only be the heroes in this story.” Almost instantly, I could see a few of the leaders almost puff out their chests in triumph. I could almost picture their imaginations running wild with the notion that she just planted there.

“That being said, she continued, “I doubt they would view you all as heroes for much longer if they found out.” Now, almost just as quickly as they had formed, many of the world leaders’ smiles vanished.

After that, the world leaders huddled together and debated for a few good minutes amongst themselves. I couldn’t make out much, but no one seemed to be making any headway. Finally, President Haythem stepped out of the crowd. “Would it be possible to take some time to think about what you have proposed here? You noted that we don’t have much of a choice, but the details still seem to be up in the air. Can we discuss this more beyond today?”

President Doukas smiled her same slick and crafty way. “Of course, you can. In fact, I would encourage you all to think on it and come back to us within a year at the latest with what you may want out of this arrangement.” Many of the leaders quickly looked relieved. “Until then, I will leave you all this disk.” She then held out her still impressively large hand to offer the holographic device to someone in the crowd. Somewhat hesitantly, President Haythem volunteered and went and retrieved the disk. Right then, while President Haythem was above average height and President Doukas had shrunk a little, I noticed just how much she still stood over him. We never stood a chance…

“Thank you… Madame President.” He shook the device as if to confirm he was actually holding this virtual gold mine of technology and hope, and then backed up very slowly toward his fellow world leaders.

President Doukas nodded. “You’re very welcome, but its best we be off now. We look forward to hearing your decision within the year. Stay safe and try not to delay too long. Your people need what we’re offering.”

The world leaders nodded, and everyone began to file back over from our side of the portal, the poor security guard, Günther, still lying on the floor as we passed him by. Unfortunately, yet somehow also comfortingly, those going back over through the portal included me as well. I was literally standing on my home planet, inches away from freedom and away from all this madness, but it didn’t seem to matter. As if to confirm my helplessness, Mrs. Harrington moved each of us Littles along and I could see ‘Crimson’ still sticking out from its position on the back of her belt.

So, once back on the other side of the portal, Dr. Simmons, Dr. Talbott, and President Doukas all waved goodbye before Dr. Simmons once again handled the lever. In seconds the portal burped, sloshed against the pointing metal shards, and then fizzled into nothingness. Just like that, the time I had spent undercover for over a year had boiled down into less than an hour and had basically been a failure.

As Mrs. Harrington guided us Littles back to the rest of the daycare group still with Mrs. Louder, I looked over and gave a small wave over to Jenn. I swore I could see a few tears in her eyes, but I mostly just saw relief. To be honest, in all that mess, I had forgotten about the notion that I had basically just been a hostage to get the ABI to stand down. Now though, one question still lingered in my mind; ‘What was next?’

Dr. Talbott and Dr. Simmons scrambled about on the top platform and seemed to be reading several instruments and dials. President Doukas noticed. “Is everything okay? Is it back to normal now, doctors?”

Dr. Talbott nodded. “Yes, ma’am. Dimensional stability has returned. From the readings we were able to take from the other side and the ones from this side, we should have enough now to have a working portal up and running by the end of the week that will be permanently stable enough for decades to come. If our luck holds and no one else messes with portals like that, at most, the damages from the breaches we created should naturally heal within two years.”

President Doukas smiled and nodded. “Good. Very good. I’m glad my faith in you all has not been wasted.” Dr. Simmons and Dr. Talbott both nodded in thanks as President Doukas turned around and faced the rest of the people in front of her. “I just want to thank you all for your hard work and making this dream a reality. Today is a great day for our society, thanks to you. Your efforts here have been a true turning point for our dimension and many will forever remember what you did here. You all will soon be the foremost and most celebrated company in our long history for something… truly remarkable. I pray that we all shall never forget the name of Diamond Technologies!”

Everyone cheered loudly, and much to my dismay, even my fellow Littles and some of the ABI agents. Though, however all this was to turn out, I was beginning to doubt that I would like it. President Doukas then quieted the crowd with her hands. “Yes, yes. I’m sure we will find a way to… compensate you all very highly. After all, there is still much work to be done for our vision to truly come to fruition. For now, though, celebrate this day with your friends and family. You all have truly earned it, and once again, I thank you all!”

As the crowd erupted into thunderous applause once more, I could see Amy and Jenn quickly eyeing the still armed security guards that surrounded them on almost every side still. The ones that had come to the portal to show a sign of force had now returned to their original positions. I then could also see Dr. Talbott and President Doukas eyeing the ABI agents for a moment. It wasn’t long before they then got down off the platform above and met them head on.

“What to do with you all…” President Doukas mused once they were all face to face.

“I have a few ideas, ma’am,” Dr. Talbott piped up from behind her. The way she ended that offer with her tone of voice and her sickly smile made my skin want to crawl.

For a moment, despite the commotion around us, I was far too distracted by what was going on in front of me. Finally, though, President Doukas spoke. “Hmmm… your ideas could be useful perhaps, doctor… but perhaps not,” she then stepped closer and confronted Amy and Jenn directly. “You all showed some real guts and promise in your investigation. It truly is remarkable how you were able to piece all this together and make it this far, considering the obstacles you all had to overcome. In the beginning, I truly felt your investigation was necessary, but when I saw the potential outcome here… well, it was just too tempting to say ‘no’ to.”

I could instantly see the crestfallen faces of both Jenn and Amy. I wasn’t sure if they knew about the support of the president in the beginning, but now it very much seemed that she had changed her mind. It clearly wasn’t a good sign.

President Doukas then sighed heavily. “For such good agents in our government, it would be a shame to shunt you all away or punish you, but this matter needs to be resolved. Of course, as a president and not a dictator, I can’t stop your investigation or shut your agency down, but I also can’t have you arresting the heroes of our nation anymore either. So… what to do, huh?”

No one spoke after that, and I could feel the tension from both sides. Amy and Jenn seemed as fierce as ever, the president seemed as deep in thought as ever, and Dr. Talbott looked as much of a schemer as ever. Knowing my luck though, regardless of how it turned out for the others, as a Little, I felt certain that I knew my future in all this mess. Next stop: a reform academy where whatever is left in my head will be quickly flushed away… the only flushing that would regrettably still happen with my body now as I could easily feel the squish between my legs.

So, I really didn’t like where any of this was at, but I still had two consolations in all this, especially since Buster was still back at the daycare… I was really cursing myself for that one right now. Regardless though, the first was that all of us opposing the portal weren’t just immediately hauled away. It wasn’t much, but it was still something I could cling onto. Then second, I felt certain that no matter what would happen to me, Jenn would likely still be there right alongside with me.

It was an odd feeling and one that I hadn’t had in a while. For the first time in years, I felt like I had someone I cared about and who cared about me. While I was on the other side of the portal, I had many revelations about my life, but the one that mattered now was that I had suddenly realized that Jenn had become nearly my whole life. She hadn’t changed, but I had. It was an odd sort of warmth that had settled over my heart afterward, and normally I wouldn’t ascribe much to that, but as I looked on between the two sides and all the chaos around us now, I held onto that pleasant feeling for as long as I could. Something told me that after today, nothing would ever be the same again for any of us and that feeling would be very valuable indeed.

[Emily Ruby Rose]

I can't wait for the next chapter my heart is racing and I really want it bad.

[Guilend]

At first I thought she'd be stuck back in her dimension, at least till a more stable portal was available. I did not see this coming. I did have my doubts as to how much the part of the government that supported the facility knew about the investigation and how much they told the company about. 

I don't see Jenn or Amy getting any permanent punishment as far as mental regression. But I can see their president might see that they need to be punished to motivate them to be good girls from now on. Which could range from a simple spanking to spending time enrolled in the daycare, just without the Hypnosis. Who knows, I might get lucky and Jenn ends up wearing diapers for a while or they decide to make Amy wear diapers from now on, as a reminder it could get worse. It would be easier for Amy to be made to wear diapers secretly since most of her job is behind a desk.

[CDfm]

Two fantastic chapters.  With work, I had a hard time finding time to read and comment.  As a result I didn’t get to comment on the first one.
I was actually quite shocked to see Megan get pushed into the portal.  But then as the scene unfolded I felt that she and Jenn would still end up together.  I actually thought Jenn might break away from the group and jump in herself so she could be with Megan.  
We still don’t know for sure what is going to happen but I think they will end up together.  That is unless Doctor Talbots gets her way. 

I am not really all that concerned about Amy but then she didn’t have a part that fostered much care or concern. 
I know the story is winding down and that still makes me sad but I am wanting that next chapter just as much. 
You have truly done a wonderful job with this story. 

[LostBBoyBear]

8 minutes ago, CDfm said:

Two fantastic chapters.  With work, I had a hard time finding time to read and comment.  As a result I didn’t get to comment on the first one.
I was actually quite shocked to see Megan get pushed into the portal.  But then as the scene unfolded I felt that she and Jenn would still end up together.  I actually thought Jenn might break away from the group and jump in herself so she could be with Megan.  
We still don’t know for sure what is going to happen but I think they will end up together.  That is unless Doctor Talbots gets her way. 

I am not really all that concerned about Amy but then she didn’t have a part that fostered much care or concern. 
I know the story is winding down and that still makes me sad but I am wanting that next chapter just as much. 
You have truly done a wonderful job with this story. 

Thank you very much! I realized that when I made a few other changes, I reduced Amy's role significantly, but I'm pretty sure that most will enjoy how she and everyone else all ends up. 

I was going to post the next chapter tonight, but I got pulled away on something else and I don't want to rush. The next chapter should be up tomorrow.  

[Kat5]

8 hours ago, LostBBoyBear said:

I don't want to rush.

It takes as long as it takes. We will wait until it's done (Although on the edge of our collective seats.)

I've enjoyed every bit of this story, and thank you for sharing it with us!

[LostBBoyBear]

Greetings everyone and welcome to the end! Sorry about the delay, but a work thing came up that I just couldn’t get out of, and by the time I was able to work on this last bit here, I just wasn’t confident in my ability to edit it. As this chapter will also serve to talk about my future plans for this year, however, in case anyone was interested, I’m going to list my little introduction here a bit differently. Otherwise, if you just want to read the story, skip to the section titled ‘This Story.’

Up Next

Moving into the next month here, as I stated before, I will first edit a few bits of this story. Most of it, besides chapter 2, is just polishing up some of the language or correcting errors I found later as I continued to write this story. Also, I already know what I want for chapter 2, and it basically just boils down to a different sequence of events where President Haythem from the last chapter makes some of the announcements rather than a few questions by John. Looking back now, I know I was going for more of that isolated kid from the rest of the world schtick and it made sense in my own experience, but I think this way will serve the plot much better for future readers.

Beyond that, I will also (and I truly promise this time) to update the DD Reference Guide with the new bits of information from my past three stories. I am really sorry I haven’t but it’s honestly a bit of a pain and I don’t think anyone can blame me for wanting to write one of these stories than to update those bits there. Still, the last update of July is almost half a year ago by now. In fact, now, one of my New Years Resolutions is to keep updating that pretty regularly.  

This Year

Starting after those bits, I will then start to begin my year of sequels to the stories I wrote last year. First up, will be the sequel to the CONvention story with a third and final part coming sometime later this year. My only unknown with this right now is that I have a trip at the end of January. It should be a lot of fun, but I will be unable to write or post during that time. As such, I might write some of the story beforehand and leave it on a cliffhanger, or just start it when I come back. I’m not sure yet, but at minimum, you all will get at least a start to another story this month.

After, I will continue this trend of sequels and write those for A Stuffy’s Tale, Tell Me More, How an Elephant Saved Their Little, Project Nurture, and A Walk into the Unknown. As I will be skipping a sequel to the Waters of Change Story and some of these projects may go faster since I already know their plots, I might write another story in there as well, such as the third part to Tell Me More or the ones I talk about next.

Possible Projects

For a long time, in this whole community, I was obsessed with the age regression virus story genre. Lately, I haven’t seen as much traction with this story type, but I do have one in mind that I think could be really interesting and that a lot of you may enjoy.

I also have been writing two other DD stories on the side for a long time now. The main one was originally going to be my first story on here, but it bloomed into something much larger. For perspective, I still have about 15 chapters still to write for it and it’s already over 280 pages (for perspective, this one is less than 230). Due to all the sequels, I probably won’t post this story for a while, and even then, I might have to break it up into three separate pieces.

Next, I’ve also been writing another story that I think you all would also enjoy that deals with a changed society where males must prove their maturity at a school where if they fail, their adult privileges will slowly be revoked. It’s based on a post I saw from years ago on a site that no longer exists, but I just couldn’t get it out of my head. Again, the story is at least 30 chapters long, so I might just have to save it for another year.

Finally, I do have a slight inkling to continue to write the Dark Cliff Prison story. From your all’s comments, I know that some of you would enjoy that story to no end, but it also serves as a final installment of some of the other stories that I have been writing, such as those dealing with the company, Juventas. If anything does happen with it, I would likely hold off on writing it until next December at the earliest.

This Story

All I can say is thank you so much for joining me on this journey during the holidays. A lot happened throughout all this that definitely made me question my ability as a writer, but I just want to massively thank you all for your support in this story. I know it’s not as popular as A Walk into the Unknown, but I’m still pretty happy with how it turned out.

In fact, it was originally supposed to take a much different turn and you would have been introduced to Jenn’s family, but when I was editing everything and reviewing the plot about a month ago, I realized that it no longer made sense for what I was doing. Also, this was supposed to be the sole origin story for the DD stories (of at least the ones I have written), but then I realized that the plot didn’t make sense unless Earth was the ones to introduce Littles to their society. By the time I actually started this story, that was no longer going to work, so there’s actually another DD origin story that will cover some of the things that were mentioned here, including the Height War. These things happen, but again, I’m still happy where this story ended up.

Now, without further ado, please enjoy the final chapter of this story!

Chapter 26: A Beginning from An Ending

Despite the way I grew up and the hatred that type of lifestyle can bring to a person, I always had a simple faith in the spirit of any living being. To be honest, I think the reason I became a cop in the first place, beyond my need for vengeance and justice in a world that seemed to make none of its own anymore, was to preserve that spark of life in the souls of others. I felt successful in doing that for many years and I had even countenanced myself in my mission with the ABI that I could do that on a global scale in this dimension. It may have been naïve to expect more from others in all this, but not long after my failure to stop all this that day, which came to be known as ‘Opening Day,’ the dominoes began to fall rapidly in place, most another pang in my body over my utter mission failure.

At first, everyone in the lab cheered the success of the newly christened Diamond Technologies. I thought it was a gaudy name, but by the evening news, after everyone had been shuffled out of the building later, it seemed to be the talk of the entire world. Diamond Technologies was being hailed as the savior of this dimension and Dr. Talbott and President Doukas were featured prominently as they made the rounds on the various new programs that night. It was clear that they wanted everyone to know what they had accomplished for Big society.

Now, since the ending of it all, I had been curious what exactly had happened after the tense standoff between Amy and the president. They seemed to almost sneer at each other for a few good minutes, but then the two walked off, and when they returned, some sort of compromise must have been met and we were all free to go. We didn’t find out until we were called into Dr. Talbott’s enormous office the following day today. Shockingly, Dr. Talbott, Dr. Simmons, President Doukas, Amy, and even a few security guards were there when Jenn and I cautiously entered.

“Ma’am?” Jenn quickly directed toward Amy. “What’s going on here?”

Amy sighed. “Take a seat, please. We need to talk about… our next steps.” I really didn’t like where this was going but Jenn and I quickly took our seats before the crowd of people before us. To say that I was intimidated would have been a massive understatement.

President Doukas then stepped forward. “As I’m sure you remember, yesterday, I noted that you all presented a challenge to what has been accomplished here. This being a democracy, I just can’t stop the ABI in what they’re investigating. There’s too much paperwork at this point and with the transparency this government has these days, the taxpayers will one day want to know that everything wasn’t just a colossal waste of both time and resources.”

Jenn nodded. “Yes, ma’am. We just wanted to know the truth and prevent a potential dimensional collapse.” I nodded along, but I just remained silent. Something told me that with so many Bigs around, saying nothing would likely be the wisest course of action for me. My inner brain was still screaming that my next stop in all this process would be some reform center for Littles.

“Right,” President Doukas continued, “and that’s very commendable and even sensible of you all, but you see, the whole country… the world even now, knows about the success that has been achieved here. I’m sure you are keenly aware of our society’s low fertility rate since the Height War ended, correct?” To my shock, Jenn just nodded. To be honest, it was something I had always noted with the lack of Big children around, but as it didn’t seem to pertain to the mission, once again, I just remained silent about it.

“Yes, well, therein lies the dilemma.” President Doukas sighed. “I can’t persecute Diamond Technologies at this point with their near hero status to the world here, but I also can’t punish you all. It would send a bad precedent, as you all were only doing your jobs to the best of your ability.”

“So,” Amy then interjected from her corner of the room, “we reached a compromise.” Oddly enough, I quickly noticed a funny look come over Dr. Simmons’ face as if he wasn’t aware of what she was now referring to. I didn’t really have time though to question his demeanor at that moment.  

“Yes,” President Doukas hopped back on, “and while I’m not the biggest fan of the compromise in some regards, it seemed to satisfy all informed parties at least pretty equally.” She then nodded to Dr. Talbott.

Dr. Talbott then sighed wearily and turned to her right and to Dr. Simmons. “I’m sorry…” She then nodded behind the doctor.

Dr. Simmons quickly looked confused right then and just as he turned around to see who Dr. Talbott was nodding to, he was quickly taken by surprise. “Wha…? Ah!”

One of the security guards had crept quietly into place behind the good doctor and quickly zapped Dr. Simmons in the back. In a matter of seconds, Dr. Simmons collapsed onto the ground and was nearly convulsing. Sighing, the guard bent down and injected something into his arm.  

Still being a protector of others, Jenn bolted up from her chair to stop what was happening but one of the president’s security team quickly leaped into place and held her back. From her expression and my own feelings, I knew that both Jenn and I were very confused over what was happening. “What’s going on, Amy?” Jenn angrily asked her superior.

Amy sighed and got up. She guided the president’s guard away and looked directly into Jenn’s eyes. “This was the only way forward, Jenn. Please just accept this as a win for us. We all get to go home because of what was promised yesterday.”

Jenn looked over at the drooling lump on the floor that was Dr. Simmons and then back up to Amy. “I… I don’t understand. Not that I can’t accept an order, ma’am, but how exactly is this an acceptable compromise for everyone here? How is this going to satisfy all parties?”

Dr. Talbott then stepped forward. “I can answer that, Jenn.” Jenn looked at Amy hesitantly and after a quick nod from her, giving her permission to speak on her behalf, Dr. Talbott proceeded. “You see… I knew of an investigation of some kind at least from the ABI since about last July. There were too many oddities to simply ignore, but it was right after New Years that I truly suspected you and Meggy here. As such, a few days later, just in case you all did manage to find something, I went in and redid much of the paperwork dealing with Project Open Sesame, the foundation of what happened yesterday. Dr. Simmons never suspected a thing, but his name was on all the paperwork, and he pulled the lever. So, compromise.”

“Oh…” was about all Jenn managed to say after that, particularly once the previously brilliant Dr. Simmons was hauled out of the room after he began to wet himself. It was truly a horrific sight to see in person, but knowing that could have been us, Jenn and I quickly agreed to drop any further investigations of Diamond Technologies. So, after over a year of work, we were finished with it all because of a single patsy taking the fall for the malfeasance that we had reported on.

After that, Jenn and I were in a bit of a daze and pondered our futures. As part of the compromise, Diamond Technologies still offered us a place here for our assistance in pulling off their miracle or a generous severance package, but I think we were both just too numb to really do anything about the deal right then. As such, we both found ourselves just heading home early for the day. Once we got there though, I saw a familiar blue SUV parked out front; it was Paul.

As soon as we pulled up, he was right on top of us, seemingly panic-stricken and worried for our well-being. ‘Did he know more than what a typical cop from new Eboracum City would know?’ Regardless, after a flurry of hugs heaped upon Jenn and a little hair rustle to me, he allowed us both to get inside and settle for a moment. As soon as he saw that we were no longer carrying the burdens of our day with us, he began to unleash his clearly pent-up questions at us. “Are you all okay? Did they do anything to you? Is Amy going to back a plan to blow this place to smithereens? Do they even know you all were undercover? Are we in danger? Is my co…?” Jenn quickly then sprang up and even placed her hand over his mouth.

From the way she looked at him throughout it all though, I knew there was no ill will in her gesture. “Easy there, Paul. Just sit down and let me explain. To be honest, we have a few decisions to make now… All of us.” Jenn then regaled Paul with all that had just happened back up at the research facility with the compromise that Amy had made. He took it all surprisingly well.

“Wow… that’s… Dr. Simmons as a patsy, huh?” Jenn nodded and Pual looked both overwhelmed yet also half-expecting that this was coming. ‘Just who was this guy?’ I just had to know more, but as a Little in a room of two strong Bigs, I just remained on the couch next to Jenn and watched the scene unfold before me. After a year here, while I know it sounds bad, I knew my place in this society.

“It’s a lot to take in at once… believe me, but we all have to make a decision together with Diamond Technologies’ offer to stay on or not.” Jenn sighed. “I’m not sure either way myself.”

Paul tenderly stroked her shoulder. “You all just barely got out of this from what I can tell. When I saw you all exposed there yesterday in the main portal lab, I thought I was never going to see you again. And then after…” he palmed the detective’s badge on his belt as almost a protective reflex. “Our captain was on full alert last night. He thinks there might be some increased attention to all the Littles out there. Suddenly, it almost seems like you portal Littles will be the hottest new commodity out there in this world. It’s almost… freaky even. I’ve never seen such a strong reaction to Littles before.”

I couldn’t believe what was happening before me. A week ago, portal Littles were being hunted down and jailed or immediately placed on a van to Diamond Technologies here or to one of those freaky reform centers. Now, according to Paul at least, we were almost celebrities as we seemed to herald the dawning of a new age. It was almost fascinating to behold, but I also couldn’t shake the odd feeling I was having about Paul.

After everything he and Jenn had told each other, I was so confused with all that had been laid in front of me, so I tried to slowly piece it all together in my mind. I just hoped that somehow, I could make sense of it all better. ‘How can he just be a cop? He has the badge and the mannerisms of law enforcement, but he knows too much. And… how in the world could Pual have even been there yesterday? The only people there in the portal lab were the scientists, the world leaders, us Littles, and…’ Suddenly, something shifted in the back of my mind and the little bit I had been so foolishly missing then clicked. The connection between Jenn and Paul, his secretive nature, the yet-to-be-named contact in the police station that got all this started last year… it all made so much sense now that I was actually piecing it together. “Wait, Paul… are you an ABI agent?” I asked loudly while Jenn and Paul were still talking to each other. Both quickly looked at me in shock.

“What are you talking about, sweetie? Paul’s just my boyfriend and all. He’s not…” she then paused, and I saw that Paul was looking intently at both of us and was also shaking his head.

“She needs to know, Jenn. She deserves that much by now at least. All this is almost over… they can’t harm us that way anymore…” Jenn looked very hesitant but then ultimately nodded. Paul stroked her cheek tenderly as if to reassure her that everything would be okay, and then turned to me.

“To answer your question, Megan, yes, I am an undercover agent. In fact, I’m part of the same division in the ABI as Jenn. We actually met at the academy, but I was assigned to the main police station in New Eboracum City. The ABI knew about the portals opening mainly there for a long time, so they sent me to the city as a cop in hopes of intercepting any Littles that entered there and weren’t immediately snatched up by this place or one of those reform schools.”

I guess with the portals activated and everything wrapping up on the mission, it was only natural for everything to begin to click into place at the end now. Stil though, I wanted… needed to know more. “So, that night… you were…?”

Paul nodded. “I called in Jenn, who then brought in Amy the night you were captured last year. There was just too much about you that didn’t line up with what you were telling me. Blausky thought you were a spy or a rebel. To me though, you were honestly almost a perfect match for the search criteria I was looking out for. I guess my instincts were right on the money, huh?”

“I’d say,” Jenn interjected. “I doubt we’d have gotten this far without you, Meggy. Paul was right about you and your ability to see all this through from the very beginning. Honestly, I really think you’re one of the main reasons I think that President Doukas made the deal she did. I think your actions as a Little really impressed her. Even made her see Littles as something more than just the babies that most Bigs do.”

Her words made my heart soar in triumph, but I still needed to focus on Paul. I almost knew every aspect of Jenn by now, but Paul was a different story. At this point, he now almost felt like a piñata that I was whacking open to discover all these secrets. I needed to know more. “So, speaking of which… last year… you talked about Blausky… you know, I saw him, right? After, you know… his new look?”

To my surprise, Paul nodded. “I did actually. To be frank, I hated how he treated you that night, and it just added to my dislike of the man. So, I gathered all the evidence against him and turned him over to the ABI and their new punishment system. Since then, they’ve been keeping me informed of his progress.”

“So that blonde woman with him?” I asked as more things began to click into place. “Even she’s part of the ABI then?”

Paul smirked. “She is. A bit of a contractor we use for those types of situations, but yes.” He then looked a bit distant. “I only wish there was something more out there that could help you Littles out beyond punishing the already offending Bigs. I think that things are only going to get worse, and I don’t see most Bigs slowing down in their horrible ways to you all anytime soon…”

Wanting to cheer him up a bit and to thank him personally in my own little way for all that he had done for me and Jenn, I quickly hopped off the couch and hugged his planted legs within my reach still as much as I could. In my current ability, it wasn’t much, but he needed to know how much he meant to me. Both Jenn and Paul had a laugh over my tiny hug, but I was soon scooped up into a much larger one between the three of us. After everything we had gone through, it was a nice moment shared between all of us.

Over the following days and weeks, many things began sliding into place. With their forced guaranteed deal with Earth, regardless of how they felt about it, the Bigs quickly went to work, namely Diamond Technologies. Soon, they went public and were the toast of the entire world. Hotels and portal facilities with the necessary quarantine equipment for now were set up in every country, with at least five new facilities set up within Libertalia alone.

It didn’t take long, however, for others to begin setting up their own locations as well. They were less funded and many actually contracted with Diamond Technologies as travel agency subcontractors, but they continued to do what they could to get a piece of the new action. Everyone knew that soon, they would have plenty of new clients to stay here, temporarily or otherwise.

Unfortunately, it didn’t take long either for Earth to become almost viewed as a sanctuary by the Littles already living here. Reform schools were on the rise and new hypnotic programs, such as my bane, Naomi and Oliver, were soon sending thousands of Littles into a spiral of hopeless regression. In fact, in an effort to escape this new madness, some even acquired the technology illegally from Diamond Technologies and created their own portal facility. News reports were sketchy at best, but one night over dinner, Paul revealed that the attempting Littles had been vaporized trying to get the other side and what they perceived as ‘safe’ without the quarantine procedures or pills that I had first used on Opening Day. Needless to say, after that, President Doukas heavily regulated portal travel and increased the security at every portal to Earth in order to ‘save the lives of countless Littles.’

So, the friends I had made at daycare were all still there. President Doukas offered a pass for any who wanted to go back home to be with their families, if they had any, but from what I had seen, none had accepted the offer so far. Although, if rumors are true, a few escaped and tried to join the Littles resistance movement, though, no one could ever truly confirm it.

As such, most of my friends just spent their days in the newly refurbished and larger nursery section of the nursery. Due to the ending of the portal experiments, it quickly became a place where already regressed Littles went to just have fun. The rest of the daycare remained for testing, but my friends were allowed to drool and mess themselves to their hearts desire in the relative peace of the other room.

Thankfully, I had found even more friends since Opening Day outside the facility and became official best friends with Wendy and her crew in Centerton. She was still slightly older than me mentally, even after I went off my medication, but that was perfectly fine with me. Of Wendy, Jamie, and Harriet, I was still the second oldest, so for a Little in this dimension, that wasn’t too bad at all.

Sitting in the living room of our new house, I couldn’t help but reflect on my new family’s fates. As Jenn’s cover had been compromised, and despite being offered her old position still, she turned them down flat and had accepted the severance package for both of us. She and Paul were heading up some new security or protection company or something like that, but I was kind of just kept in the dark about that stuff these days. Settling into our new lake home just outside of Centerton, I wasn’t ashamed to say that I didn’t mind too much.

As for me, as I’m sure is obvious by now, but I didn’t take the offer to go home. Despite all the new and exciting changes coming to my old home, I knew quickly that it just wasn’t that anymore. I had few friends and no family waiting there for me. The old world had claimed their lives for the most part there, but not here.

Here, I had friends and family a plenty, but also the people in my life to support me in my new abilities, or lack thereof. Unfortunately, between the hypnosis, medication, and just sheer amount of time undercover as a Little, in another time, I would have likely just been placed on a permanent disability list somewhere. With my mind still a jumble, my emotions in flux, and not even to mention what was going on in my diaper multiple times a day now, I just felt the safest and most welcome staying here now.

Now, that might have seemed like a concession to some, but to me, I found my place of safety and even happiness. I had done my job and tried to help this dimension as much as I could have. I know however, that in part at least, my mission was a failure. The portals did open and the Bigs did have control over them and my old world, but at the same time, I also knew from Paul and Jenn, that our efforts had worked their way into the mind of President Doukas. While Littles were still babified and oppressed every day, if it hadn’t been for our mission, things would have likely just been much worse. So, in a dimension like this one, I knew I had to take my blessings when and where I could.

Looking at the time now though, I leaned back on the couch and turned on the TV to watch history unfold before me. “Good evening, everyone here and even other dimensions, if I believe what I’ve been told by my producer. Today is a wondrous day for our country and even all of Earth!” the announcer spoke with enthusiasm. To my somewhat surprise, New York City, my old home, was as clear as day behind him. “I’m standing just out of the newly revitalized United Nations building in New York City. The Bigs grand offer has apparently united most people on this planet in way that they haven’t been for decades and as you can see behind me, this once great city is slowly rebuilding itself. As a resident here myself, I can honestly say that I never thought I’d see the day.”

From behind him, I could see my old neighborhood, but even more so now, I could see that it was no longer my home. It was the place where I had grown up, but the skies no longer even looked the same. No doubt because of the air filtration unit that the Bigs had given them, and it was all the cleaner for it, but it still just wasn’t the same. It was odd to say or even think out loud still, but I began to truly view this odd dimension as my home my home now.

Then, several planes zoomed overhead, the first batch I had seen on Earth in at least ten years. “Look at that, ladies and gentlemen! Their old jet liners are soaring overhead once more. We are truly witnessing something miraculous here. After decades of being a sheltered and hopeless people, due to the Big’s innovations and our trade agreement with them, the old wounds of the past are finally healing. We are a changing people on the edge of something great and I can’t wait to witness what is next for us.’

I quickly groaned at the prospect at the sentiment I was watching from my old dimension. The praise of the Bigs was already happening there. Since Opening Day had happened, I was starting to feel more strongly now that Earth didn’t stand a chance against the Bigs. The beginning stages of all this would have been the time for the most protest, but from this broadcaster’s report at least, it seemed that my fellow Litt… humans were just seeing this as the dawn of a new age.

I knew he was right of course, but where he saw the garden of Eden perhaps, I saw the cuddling of the lambs before the slaughter. We were a broken people after all and the Bigs were handing us the keys to the kingdom and a medicine to wipe all our worries away. I should have cared more, but as I said, it just wasn’t my home anymore. I was one of the ones who started all this mess, and I had done what I could, but one could drive themselves crazy with that type of guilt. So, like so many other things since I came here, I just had to sigh and hope that one day, it would get better. I just wish that I could have done something more from over here to help the ones that were about to arrive.

Paul ‘tsked’ as he then entered the room. “We have breaking news. Apparently, the president of what they call Libertalia will now be speaking directly to us from the United Nations building and the assembled world leaders there. What a treat! Keep watch…” The TV then turned off and I quickly saw that Paul had the remote.

“Hey! I was watching that!” I complained.

“Easy, missy or no desert tonight, and I promise you… it’s something you won’t want to miss,” he bargained. Paul had gotten good at all that by now, having lived here for a few months with Jenn and me. I still wondered if he was ever going to propose to her, but it seemed the two had just been consumed with their new job lately. ‘Bigs, am I right?’

I sighed heavily and hopped off the couch, standing slightly bowlegged from my already wet diaper. It was annoying but I didn’t pay any mind to it anymore. Jenn, or now even Paul, would change me in a little bit. I then grabbed Buster and headed over to the waiting Paul. “So, what is it that you want to show me?”

“Me?” he feigned asking in surprise. “Whatever could you mean by all that?”

I sighed again. “Yes, Paul. I know your tricks by now. Whenever you turn off the TV like that, it’s because you want to show me something. It’s not another one of your souffles is it? That last one had just a bit too many eggs, I think. Please tell me it’s not that again.”

Paul rolled his eyes. “No, it’s not that, but I’m also going to remember you said that when I finally get it right. Jenn and I can just enjoy them without you.” I huffed a bit and Paul just chuckled. Our banter was usually like this these days. “But no, it’s not that. Come on.” He then held out his hand and I took it with the one not still holding onto Buster.

After a short walk down the hallway, we soon came to the three-car garage where I knew they were using one of the bays to set up their new company or venture or whatever. It was Big stuff, so I rarely cared about that nonsense these days anyways. “What are we doing here?” I then asked impatiently.

“Just wait a second and you’ll see,” Paul noted before deliberately knocking one short, one long, and then two long times. The door then opened, and Paul gently pushed me inside. My mouth opened wide in surprise.

Before me, were most of my still-coherent friends, including Wendy, as well as Amy, Mrs. Louder, Miss Ginny, Jenn, and even some I recognized from the research facility security team and a few agents from the ABI. Amy stepped up and spoke first. “Hello, Meggy. Hope you’re feeling well.” In my shock, I could only nod. Most of the people in the room just chuckled.

Jenn then stepped forward. “I know this might be a lot, sweetie, but we want you involved in something new… something I think you could help us a great deal with.”

It took a second, but I finally managed to find my voice again. “W… what is it? Is it a new mission?”

To my dismay, Jenn only grimaced a bit. Mrs. Louder took notice and asserted herself. “No, honey, but we all still want to help a lot of Littles. All of us,” she then gestured to crowd gathered, “have seen firsthand just how cruel some Bigs can be. With all the portals opening now, we want to do something more.”

“That’s right,” Paul said stepping around me and into the room now. “I know we’re Bigs and all, and some may not trust us at first, but we think we’ve found a solution that can help. You see, we want to form a new agency of sorts.”

“Which is where I come in,” Amy said, reinserting herself into the conversation. “I’ve spoken with President Doukas, and while she fully agrees with the portals and the new batches of Littles inevitably coming here, she also knows what’s in the hearts of the Bigs of this world. So, as of this morning, she has authorized me to head up a single agency for the protection of Littles… one that will be divided into two branches.”

I was nearly speechless and looked around. I wasn’t even sure how these sorts of things got started but I knew that the protection of Littles would be critical in the coming times. I likely would have a million questions by tonight, but I could only sputter out the first that came to my mind just then. “Uh, why two branches?”

Jenn stepped forward and gave me a tablet which showed an official government website already, titled ‘LPA and LPS.’ Jenn then pointed to the screen. “See here? The first branch will be the Littles Protection Agency, or the LPA, which will monitor the governmental side of policies and to try and keep them fair and equal. The second branch will be the Littles Protection Services, or LPS, which will help more in the day-to-day lives of each of the Littles in this country. Together, we believe even they may not be enough to stem the tide of what’s coming, but they can at least keep an eye on all the new Littles coming here.” She then took the tablet back from me and stood back and everyone stared at me in silence.

Finally, Wendy piped up. “So… whadyya think, Meggy?”

It was so much to take in all at once, but in that moment, I only felt one thing: relief. I was relieved that at least someone was taking notice. I was relieved that I wasn’t the only who saw the coming problems. I was relieved that someone was doing something about it.

After everything I had faced, I thought I alone would be safe from the ravages of the Bigs, and I had felt like such a failure that I couldn’t help others. My natural instincts to help everyone were failing me and all the Littles of this world were going to suffer for it. Now, however slim, I felt there was a chance that all of us combined could do some real good in this dimension. So, without hesitation, I ran into and hugged Jenn with all my might.

Everyone chuckled again, and Jenn smiled warmly while she stroked my hair. “I take it that you approve of all this then, sweetie?”

I slowly backed up and wiped a tear away with my hand not still holding onto Buster tightly. “Absolutely.” I then tried to clear my throat. “So, where do we begin?”

Amy, Paul, and Jenn smiled and then guided me up to a stool they had clearly set out for me. “Right this way,” Jenn noted as she helped me up onto the stool, my bulging shortalls only slightly getting in the way of the moment.

Amy then leaned forward with everyone else around the large table in the center of the garage. “Alright. Let’s start.” Everyone nodded and for the first time in my soul, I felt I had hope. The portals had opened, and I would likely forever feel the guilt in my heart for the part I had played in all of it. I had tried, but I had also failed, and I tried not to think about the scores of my people that were about to be duped into coming to a land that they thought was paradise.

Instead, I could only concentrate on what lay ahead of me. I could only hope that one day, there would be more Bigs and Littles like us striving to make the world a better place for all, regardless of their height. Then, just maybe, this place would truly become the paradise that all hoped it to be. For now, though, I could only smile as I saw my friends and new family all working together to build our own future, whatever it may turn out to be.

[Guilend]

That's a great ending. And I love how you were able to incorporate the beginning of LPS. I honestly can't wait to see what you have next. 

[Kat5]

Oh wow! That ending left me with tears!

Absolutely worth every bit of the reading, and thank you so very kindly for sharing this wonderful story with us!

[LostBBoyBear]

Hey everyone! Hope you all are having a good January and a nice start to 2024.

I just wanted to let you all know that Chapter 1 and 2 have now been edited for this story. The originals were fine, but some of the comments made with them made me realize that my original approach wasn't the best for certain elements. So, with my edits, these chapters should now be good to go.

On another note, I have also updated my DD timeline. The reference guide should be edited by tomorrow, and if everything goes how I want it to, I will be able to start posting the first chapter of the sequel to The CONvention sometime this week.