Aged Out

Chapter 1
Complete Story

It was another lonely night at the orphanage, and Buddy, a golden retriever boy, had recently turned eighteen-years-old. He sat on his bed in his blue and white pajamas and sighed, looking around the room, getting ready for bed for what was the last night he would be spending there. It was what had been his room, but he also shared it with a few others who were younger than him, but they were currently out getting a bath. Buddy sighed and looked at a photo of himself as a toddler, playing on the floor with some toys, and missed the old days when he had nothing to worry about. It always hurt whenever a potential adopter would interview him, only to end up picking someone else. There was a knock at the door, and he looked up to see the social worker he had come to know over the years. She was a tall human woman with long brunette hair, fair skin, and wore glasses. She had on the blue and white uniform skirt of the orphanage, and had been getting Buddy's paperwork done.

“Hey there Buddy.” said the social worker, sincere voice. “Well, it's your last night here. I'm sure going to miss you.”

“Yeah, I'm going to miss you too.” said Buddy. He sighed and laid back on his bed looking up at the ceiling. Over the years, many kids had stuck things to it, like glow-in-the-dark stickers.

“Aww, don't be so down.” said the woman, sitting next to him and petting his head. “Things will be fine, I'm sure. You'll make new friends, I know you will.”

“It's just not fair.” he said. “People only want babies or little kids. I was little once, but they never picked me. Why? I wasn't ugly or whiny.” He picked up a framed picture of himself as a young tot flying a kite.

“I'm so sorry you never got adopted.” said the social worker. “It's actually more common than you think. You're far from alone on this.”

“I know, but still.” said Buddy. “It sucks. I don't feel grown up. Why do I have to be forced to be one?”

“Aww, Buddy, come here.” said the social worker. She pulled the golden retriever into a hug and patted him on the back. “You have made me so proud here. I'm glad that I was able to see you grow up, but I also know what it's so disappointing for you. Just know that even though you'll be gone, I'll always remember you just how you used to be.”

“Really?” asked Buddy.

“Yes, I remember all of my little ones.” said the woman. “You were just so cute as a pup.” She smiled and pinched Buddy's cheek.

Buddy pulled back and rubbed his cheek. “W-well, thanks I guess.” he said. “I still don't think I'm ready though.”

“Well, you'll still have some time to say goodbye to everyone in the morning.” said the social worker. She stood and patted him on the head. “Best get some sleep. There's a lot to get done tomorrow.”

“Oh, right.” said Buddy. He laid back down and got under his blankets.

The woman smiled and slid his sheets over him one more time, patting them down lovingly as she used to do many years ago. “Sleep tight Buddy.” she said, giving him a kiss on the forehead.

“Thank you...” said Buddy. “for everything. Good night.” He watched as she left and turned out the light, leaving a night light on for the kids who would soon return from their baths. Buddy tried his best to get some sleep, but his mind kept wondering back to old times. Eventually though, the sand man caught up with him, and he fell asleep.

After a long, peaceful sleep, Buddy awoke and yawned, stretching out. Something felt off, but he couldn't place it at first. He rubbed his eyes and blinked, not wanting to believe what he was seeing. He was surrounded by white bars, and his bedding was very soft and pastel blue. He was no longer wearing his pajamas, but instead a baby blue t-shirt with a cute paw print on the front. He wore nothing below except...“P-p-pull ups?” he gulped. He reached down and felt of the disposable garment, blushing horribly. He looked around and saw that the rest of the room was some kind of colorful nursery. There were three other cribs in the room, but he couldn't tell who was in them. The light was dim, but there was a night light on. There were no windows, but the walls were painted like a magical forest with trees, rainbows, and cartoonish creatures all smiling down. The first thing he did was grip the bars and pull himself up. He shook them, trying to get out. Suddenly they came down, and so did he, right onto the soft, foam floor. It didn't hurt at all, but he did feel silly. The dim light suddenly became a little brighter, and he could see better. On the floor around him were various chunky toddler toys, and wooden alphabet blocks. He stood on the soft foam floor and looked around in confusion. The room was huge and had a plastic table and chairs in the middle, a few wooden rocking horses, and a large play area with a complete toy kitchen set. He decided to pinch himself to see if he was dreaming, but felt pain, and knew it was no dream.

“Huh?” came a voice from one of the cribs. “What's going on? Who are you?”

Buddy looked up to see a striped tiger boy, dressed in a red shirt with dinosaurs on it and a blue and white pullup. He looked to be around Buddy's age as well, and stood in his own crib looking around. “Uh, I'm B-Buddy.” said Buddy. “Who are you?”

“Buddy?” asked the boy. His tail flicked a little as he fiddled with the bars. “The name's Raj. How do I get out of this thing?”

“I dunno.” said Buddy. “I just kind of pulled on mine and the side came down.

Raj pulled on his bars, and shook them in frustration. Soon the side came down and he nearly fell, but caught himself. “Whoa!” he yelled.

“What the heck?!” came a female voice from one of the other cribs. It was a pig girl, and she stood in her crib wearing a green shirt with floral print as well as a pink pullup. “Who are you? Why are we wearing pullups? Why are we in a nursery?!” She squealed and tugged on the bars, causing them to open. She hopped down onto the soft foam floor to look around. She appeared to also be the same age as Buddy.

“Uh, hi.” said Buddy. “I'm Buddy.”

“I'm Raj.” said the tiger boy.

“I'm Petunia.” said the pig girl. “Why are we here?”

“I don't know.” said Raj. “I just woke up here.”

“Same.” said Buddy.

“Uh, who's in the last crib?” asked Raj. He climbed up the side of the crib and looked down.

An Asian American human female was in the bed asleep, but had begun to wake up. She wore a navy blue shirt with stars and a space shuttle on it, as well as a pink pullup. Her eyes fluttered open and she jolted upright. “What are you doing in my room?!” she asked. “Wait, this isn't my room. This isn't my bed. Am I wearing a...” She blushed brightly and tugged her shirt down, trying to cover her pullup.

“We don't know.” said Buddy.

“Yeah, we all woke up like this.” said Petunia. “This must be some kind of joke. I was just about to move out of the orphanage and go to college.”

“Same here.” said Buddy. “I aged out...”

“Me too.” said Raj.

“Yeah, me too.” said the Asian American girl. She stood in her crib and looked around.

“Oh yeah, my name is Buddy.” said Buddy.

“I'm Raj.” said Raj, still holding onto the side of the crib.

“Petunia.” said the pig girl.

“Uh, my name is Miko.” said the Asian American girl. “Nice to meet you, but is this some kind of dream?”

“No, I already tried pinching myself.” said Buddy.

“I heard you all talking.” said Miko. “I guess we were all about to age out of the orphanage.”

“I guess someone had different ideas.” said Petunia. “Well, I don't like this place. Let's find a way out.”

“Yeah, it's so weird.” said Raj.

“Why a baby room?” asked Buddy. “We're all adults.”

“Well, barely.” said Miko.

“Yeah, but even so...” said Buddy. “We're not little kids anymore. We're supposed to go college, not daycare.”

“Not that college sounded very fun.” said Raj, climbing back down. He looked around the room with the others. “Man, this place is crazy! There are no doors or windows.”

“That can't be right.” said Petunia. “How did we get in here?”

“I don't see any doors or windows either.” said Buddy. “Just a bunch of baby toys.”

Just then, a hidden door within the wall opened and all of them turned to look. Four mechanical chairs came sliding into the room. Each had cartoonish robot arms that reached out and grabbed them.

“Hey!” shouted Miko. “Let go!” The chairs each picked up one of them and forced them to sit, strapping them in so they couldn't move or resist.

“What the h-” shouted Petunia, but her mouth was suddenly occupied by a nipple that began pumping warm, creamy milk into her mouth. Unable to release it, she was forced to swallow. The others followed suit, and were being force fed baby bottles. Each of them mumbled and grumbled, trying to resist, but were unable. The chairs were simply pumping them full of more and more delicious milk. As their stomachs filled more and more, they began to feel drowsy.

Benny began to wonder if the milk had some kind of drug in it, but before he could think on it too long, he had fallen asleep again. Each of them fell asleep while drinking the milk and were placed back into their cribs. The light dimmed and soft nursery music began to play.

The next thing they knew, they were all waking up again in the same room, in the same outfits. Benny sat up and rubbed his head. His fur was all matted from drooling in his sleep. Milk was on his breath, and then he remembered what had happened. He stood in his crib and looked at the others, who were slowly waking up. “Did that really happen?” he asked.

“I guess so.” said Raj, rubbing the back of his head.

“What is going on here?” asked Petunia.

“This place is like some kind of baby prison.” said Miko. She shook the bars of her crib until they finally opened again. This time, everyone's cribs opened up, and they slowly made their way out of them.

“Everyone be careful.” said Buddy. “We may have triggered a trap or something last time.”

“I don't know what's going on, but this place is really creepy.” said Raj. He reached down and felt of his pullup, then swayed his tail, making it rustle. “I didn't even know they made pullups this big.”

“They're so embarrassing.” said Petunia. She went to take her pullup off, but thought better of it when she remembered she wasn't wearing anything underneath it. “Ugh, this is just stupid.” She kicked a baby toy and it jingled across the room.

“I guess we just need to keep trying to find a way out.” said Buddy. “Remember where those chairs came out of?”

“Yeah, it was over here.” said Miko. She went over to the wall where the mechanical chairs had come out of before and felt around. She squatted down, making her padded tush stick out even more. “I can sort of see the outline of a door, but no opening.”

“That's a real tease.” said Raj, trying to work his claws in between the cracks of the wall. “Man, not even my claws will fit in there. It's sealed tight.”

“There has to be a way in.” said Petunia. She walked over to the panel and gave it a nice swift kick. It simply thudded like the sound of metal being hit, and hurt her foot. “Ow!” She held her foot and hopped around, eventually landing in a soft pile of plush toys.

“It's a good thing things are so soft here.” said Buddy.

“Yeah, a padded room like an insane asylum.” Petunia snorted, getting up from the pile. “Maybe there's something in here that we can use. One of the toys.”

Raj looked through a toy box and found a plastic screw driver and hammer. “Kind of what we need.” he said. “But too soft.”

“Just like everything else around here.” said Buddy. “Hmm, maybe if we-” Suddenly the panels in the wall opened again and the mechanical chairs came out, scooping them up and strapping them down.

“H-hey!” shouted Miko. “Not again!”

The mechanical hands brought bottles up to their mouths, but they tried to resist. That's when something came out of the bottom of the chairs to tickle their feet.

“N-no way!” shouted Buddy, trying to resist. “N-not gonna...”

“S-seriouslyyyyaaaahh hahahaha!” said Petunia. In went the bottle as soon as her mouth opened. Once all of them were laughing, bottles were shoved into their mouths as well, and the milk began to flow. They tried not to swallow, but the flow was too strong, and they found themselves swallowing it anyway.

“Ugh, no...” said Buddy, feeling drowsy already.

“So...sleepy.” said Raj, yawning. They soon all fell asleep yet again and were put back into their cribs. The lights dimmed and the tinkling music began to play, soothing them all through a long sleep.

Once awake again, they all bolted up from their cribs and out onto the floor.

“Okay, I'm tired of this.” said Petunia. She banged on the walls and kicked them, making noise. “Let us out of here! Right now!”

“Petunia, don't!” shouted Miko. But it was too late, and in came the chairs. They tried running and hiding, but the arms could reach anywhere, and pulled them out, then strapped them into the chairs. Once again they were all force fed warm, creamy milk, and then they fell asleep.

“Ugh...” Buddy woke up again in the same room.

“I've got the strangest feeling of deja vu.” said Raj, getting out of his crib.

“Okay, lets remember not to tick off the robots.” said Miko.

“Fine, fine.” said Petunia. “That milk is starting to actually taste kind of good though.”

“It does have a kind of...familiar taste to it.” said Buddy. “But we need to get out of here.”

“How long have we been in here anyway?” asked Petunia. “I can't tell if it's night or day. The light comes on when we wake up, but goes out when we sleep.”

“Yeah, if this keeps up will be elderly babies.” said Raj. “That's not my idea of retirement.”

“Maybe there are cameras somewhere.” said Buddy, looking up along the top of the walls.

“Yeah, if they can tell what we're doing, there must be cameras.” said Miko, joining the search.

“So perverted.” said Petunia. “I hope you sickos are getting off to this!” She flipped off the ceiling as if a camera were pointed at her.

“Petunia, what did we say about pissing them off?” asked Miko.

“Right, right.” said Petunia. “But they're getting a nice, fat lawsuit when we get out of here.”

They continued to search when Buddy tripped over a toy train and fell. “Ow...” he said, rubbing his bottom, but that only reminded him of his padded state. He picked up the toy train and started to throw it, but then something about it seemed interesting. It was bright red with blue wheels, made entirely out of soft plastic. He suddenly had the thought in the back of his head to put it in his mouth, but put it down on the floor instead.

“You know, with the amount of milk they've given us, I'm surprised we haven't used these yet.” said Raj, poking at his pullup.

“Don't be gross Raj.” said Miko.

“He has a point though.” said Buddy. “Do any of you remember going to the bathroom since we got here?” Everyone shook their head no. “Interesting. Well, we have to have by now. I think.”

“You mean...you think we used these and those robot hands changed us?” asked Petunia. “Eww...” She looked down at her pullup and tried to tell if she had used it previously. It looked mostly the same as the first time she saw it.

“Hmm, looks like there is a changing table here.” said Buddy, looking around. “Lots of pullups too. A package has been opened.”

“Ugh, okay.” said Petunia. “You don't have to spell it out for us. We get it.”

“Just saying.” said Buddy.

Raj walked over to the toy train from before and picked it up. He looked it over in case it had any batteries or anything, but it wasn't electronic. He put it down and then nudged it with his foot, making it roll. “What if we kind of play into it?” he asked.

“What do you mean?” asked Buddy.

“I mean if we play along and act like babies.” said Raj. “Maybe they'll let us out.”

“No way am I acting like a dumb baby.” said Petunia.

“Besides, who is to say they would ever let us out now?” asked Miko. “They've got us in here for a reason, and I don't think it's to get us to play baby.”

“Well, they certainly treat us like it.” said Buddy. He felt along the floor to see if he could find any air vents, and looked up along the walls. He spotted a vent, but it was too high up. “Hey, give me a boost up there.”

“Oh yeah, sure!” said Raj. He and the others came over to boost him up to the vent.

“Oof, hurry up.” said Petunia. “You're heavy.”

“Stop wiggling.” said Buddy, wobbling around on top. Before he could attempt anything, the panels opened and the chairs came in.

“Uh oh!” said Miko, shaking and shivering a bit.

“Miko whoa!” said Buddy. “D-don't...” It was too late, her sudden movement caused an imbalance and they all came tumbling down to the padded floor. The chairs easily picked them up and strapped them in, then force fed them milk until they passed out again.

The next time they woke up, everyone was feeling a little sluggish.

“Ugh, man, I think we've been asleep too long.” said Buddy. “My legs feel kind of weak.”

“We should use them then.” said Raj. “How about we race to see who can get to the other side of the room and back first?”

“Well, there's nothing else to do.” said Miko.

“Yeah, may as well.” said Petunia. Each of them got in line and then readied themselves.

“On your mark, get set, go!” said Buddy. They were off! Their pullups rustled slightly as they moved, but otherwise didn't inhibit their movement. Raj got to the wall first, then turned and ran back. Miko was next, followed by Buddy and Petunia. It felt like a short jog, but it was better than lying in the cribs.

“I won!” shouted Raj, raising his arms.

“Whew, that was more exhausting than it should have been.” said Petunia.

“Well, we've been sleeping most of the time.” said Buddy.

“I just wish we had some idea of how long we've actually been here.” said Miko. “As far as we know, we've been here maybe three or four days, just going by how many times we've been made to sleep.”

“That's not entirely accurate.” said Buddy. “We don't know how long we have slept every time, so we could have just slept for a couple of hours each time.”

“Yeah, I mean babies do sleep a lot.” said Raj. “They take a lot of naps during just one day.”

“We're not babies Raj.” said Petunia.

“I know, but they're trying to make us into babies.” said Raj.

“What would they do that for?” asked Miko.

“No idea.” said Buddy. “I think it may have something to do with our aging out of the system.”

“They want us here instead of college or working a job?” asked Petunia.

“Apparently.” said Buddy. He looked up and down the walls, again searching for any opening or hidden switches.

“That's so stupid.” Petunia snorted. “This is just so stupid. I don't even...” Suddenly, she spotted a particular plush in the corner of the room. It was a familiar plush doll of a little girl with a white face, blue eyes, red hair, and a big smile. It had on a blue and white dress and little black shoes. “It can't be.” She walked over to it and picked it up.

“What do you mean?” asked Miko. “It's just a doll.”

“It's not just any doll.” said Petunia. “It's the one I had when I was a piglet.” She turned it over in her hands and saw some familiar stitching on it. “It even has the stitches from when I accidentally ripped it open.”

“Did you keep it in your room or something?” asked Buddy.

“N-no, I gave it up so that other kids could play with it once I got older.” said Petunia. She suddenly hugged it to her chest. “I didn't want to, but...”

“Right, and now it's here.” said Raj. “How? Why?”

“Good questions.” said Buddy. “Is there anything else here from our childhoods?”

“Well, that kitchen set is like the one that used to be in the daycare room.” said Miko. “I know because I used to pretend I had a restaurant.”

“It's not the same one though is it?” asked Buddy.

“No, it looks kind of new.” said Miko, examining it. Flashes of memories of her playing with it went through her head. “It's so...small.”

“Yeah, a lot of the stuff here is.” said Raj. “Why would they put it here if we're too big to use it?”

“Not that we want to.” said Buddy.

“Right, but I'm still working my theory that if we act how they want, they'll let us out.” said Raj. “Meaning if we play like kids, they'll think their work is done and we've given in.”

“I...would really rather not.” said Petunia. She dropped the doll on the floor and stepped over it. “I'm not a baby, I'm me! I'm an adult!”

“So are we.” said Buddy. “Now we need to use our adult minds to figure out a way out of here.”

“That's what we've been doing.” said Raj.

“Well, we need to keep at it.” said Petunia. She began poking and prying at the areas in the walls where the chairs come out, trying to get it open. Suddenly it opened by itself, and she went tumbling to her padded bottom. Before the chair could grab her, she was able to look inside the wall for a moment. She knew she had to try and remember what she saw before falling asleep.

“No way!” shouted Raj as he was grabbed by the chair again. “I'm tired of-” A bottle was shoved into his mouth and began pumping milk into it again. Everyone tried to escape, but there was nowhere to go, and they were eventually caught, force fed milk until their stomachs bulged, then rocked gently until they fell asleep.

Buddy awoke again with frustration. The first thing he did was open his crib and hop out. Strangely, it felt as though it were a bit higher of a jump this time, but he shrugged it off. Everything still looked the same, and the same people were still there with him, all waking up, wiping the sleep from their eyes, and joining him on the soft foam floor.

“Ugh, I can't keep doing this.” said Miko. “I'm going to go crazy!”

“YOU'RE going to go crazy?!” asked Raj. “Ugh, this is bananas!”

“Well, at least this time I saw something.” said Petunia. “When the chairs came out, I saw behind the panels.”

“Yeah?” asked Buddy. “What did you see?”

“Mostly a bunch of gears and pipes, but there was also a weird red light.” said Petunia. “Like the kind you see on cameras.”

“Hmm...” said Miko. “Is that all?”

“Well, it's not nothing.” said Petunia. “Maybe we can be ready next time and cram something in there to jam it up.”

“We could try that.” said Buddy. “But what do we have here that is big enough? If we just throw a toy in there, it's only going to get swallowed up. We still have to evade the chairs if we manage to jam the opening.”

“Yeah, you're right.” said Petunia. “Hmmm, I guess we can't hide since they know where we are.”

“I mean, we could try it.” said Miko. She went over to the small cooking station and pulled out a toy frying pan. “Maybe this?”

“That could work.” said Raj.

“Let's just throw all kinds of stuff in there.” said Petunia, grabbing an arm load of toys. She walked over and kicked the wall. “Come on out you stupid chairs! We know you're in there!”

“Something tells me this isn't going to work.” said Buddy. Everyone braced for the chairs to come out, but they weren't.

“What's the problem?” Petunia squealed. “Don't want to feed us now?” She kicked the wall again and began trying to pry it open with a plastic screw driver. Sure enough, the panels opened and knocked her back.

“Now!” shouted Miko. They began throwing toys into the openings, trying to jam them. Some toys just sailed right inside while others landed near the door. In the end they were once again chased down and strapped in. The toys seemed to either be crushed by the panels as they closed or were just inside it now.

“Crap!” shouted Raj. “Errrr...let go!” He growled and tried to bite at the mechanical hands that were coming out, but ended up getting a nipple shoved into his mouth. All of them were once again pumped full of delicious milk and tucked into their cribs.

Buddy began to dream of being an adult, driving a car, going to college. The things a normal adult would be doing. Suddenly, in the dream he was wearing a thick diaper with a blue baby bonnet on his head. The students in class began to point and laugh as he was suddenly standing in front of them. A faint hissing sound could be heard, and he turned to try and run from the humiliation. It felt like he was running in slow motion or on a slippery track, as he couldn't get away from it. He woke up from the nightmare and sat up quickly. His eyes darted around the room, then looked down. It was just a dream, but reality seemed worse.

“Okay, that does it!” shouted Petunia from her crib. She stood and opened it, then hopped down. “I demand to know what is going on here!” She looked around for any sort of speaker or microphone. “Do you hear me?! I know you can!”

“Petunia, maybe not so fast.” said Miko. “We only just got up.”

“Like it matters.” said Petunia. “We only have a few minutes of being awake at a time before the chairs come out anyway.”

“Ugh, something feels off this time.” said Raj, hopping down from his crib. He looked a bit softer and rounder, and his mane was a bit thinner as well.

“Hmm, yeah, I feel off too.” said Buddy, also appearing a bit softer in his head fur.

“Now that you mention it.” said Petunia, rubbing her belly. “Are we gaining weight?”

“Better not be.” said Miko. “I worked hard to keep in shape.” She stood with her ample frame, posing, but she too noticed a distinct lack of size in her chest. “This can't be right.”

“None of this is right.” said Buddy.

“Is that milk doing something to us?” asked Raj.

“You mean besides making us sleep?” Petunia snorted.

“Yeah, besides that.” said Raj. “I think it's making us fat.”

“Of course it is.” said Miko. “Milk is fattening....but it tastes so good. It reminds me of...something.” She had memories of drinking milk from a bottle at an age where she really should have been drinking from a cup.

“There is something pleasant about it.” said Buddy. “It's almost as if they made it so we can't resist.”

“Well, I tried to resist.” said Raj. “But it pumps it in and forces you to swallow.”

“Does it?” asked Petunia. “I guess it does, but it kind of seemed like the taste made me swallow.”

“Really?” asked Buddy. “I think we all resisted, but I feel like it was more the taste than the flow.”

“Me too.” said Miko. “Something about the taste is so...familiar.”

“Yeah, but why?” said Petunia, looking down at the doll on the floor. “They're giving us familiar things from our childhoods. Maybe the milk is what we were given as infants.”

“That's possible.” said Buddy. He looked down at his bulging tummy and how the shirt stretched over it a bit. It reminded of when he was little and chubby.

Raj was feeling nostalgic as well, after he played with the familiar toy train. “These are toys we had when we were little.” he said, picking it up. He spun the wheels on it and pressed a button, making it toot. The fun sound it made echoed in his ears, stimulating a long dormant section in his brain. Before he knew it, he had pressed it again, then again.

“Okay Raj, enough with the train.” said Miko. She couldn't help but notice that the others seemed distant and in some sort of deep thought. “Hello? Guys?”

“Huh?” asked Buddy. “Oh, sorry. I was just looking at...my tummy. It's so round.” He poked at his stomach curiously.

“It is kind of pudgy.” said Raj, poking at Buddy's tummy too.

“So is yours.” said Buddy, poking Raj back.

“Haha, we all have big tummies.” said Raj.

“Speak for yourself.” Petunia snorted. “I'm as fit as a fiddle.” She turned her nose up at the others and sucked in her gut a little.

“If you say so.” said Miko, rubbing her own tummy curiously. “When did they get so...big?”

Before anyone could answer, the panels opened and the chairs came out yet again. They quickly scooped up the group and began feeding them the creamy milk again. Knowing they couldn't resist, they drank from it willingly and soon had all fallen asleep.

Buddy awoke in his crib yet again. He yawned and stretched, then looked down. He noticed his feet didn't reach quite as far down as they did at first. He wiggled his toes and saw them stir under his blanket, then pulled the blanket away, revealing what had become his usual attire in this place. “Huh...” he said, then noticed his voice sounded different too. After getting out of his crib, he looked around at the others as they all seemed confused too.

“You look different.” said Raj. “Whoa, I sound different.”

“You look different too.” said Buddy.

“So do you.” said Petunia.

“And you.” said Miko.

“We all do.” said Buddy. “We look...younger. Did something happen? I feel shorter.” He began comparing his height to things in the room to try and see if he could tell if there was a difference.

“H-how would they do that?” asked Petunia.

“They can't...right?” asked Miko.

“No way.” said Raj. “That's not possible.”

“Something is going on.” said Buddy. “They're doing something to us, but what and why?”

“I don't know.” said Miko. “But I don't like it. We really need to get out of here.”

“We've tried!” shouted Petunia. “We've tried and tried and tried, and we always end up getting fed milk and put to bed.”

“There has to be something.” said Buddy. “Maybe something they overlooked. I'm going to check every square inch of the room, no matter how many times they catch me.”

“Me too.” said Raj. “I bet there's a crack or a hole somewhere that leads to the outside.”

“This is like some kind of horror movie.” said Miko.

“Not a very good one.” said Petunia. “The only scary thing is when the chairs first came out.”

“Maybe it's some kind of puzzle room.” said Buddy.

“You mean like one of those escape rooms?” asked Raj.

“Yeah, except dumber.” Petunia snorted.

“Hmm, maybe...” said Miko. She began twisting knobs and pushing buttons on the play kitchen.

“What are you doing?” asked Petunia.

“I'm seeing if any of these actually do anything.” said Miko.

“Of course they don't.” said Petunia. “It's just a toy.”

“Well, it could be some silly puzzle.” said Miko.

“Like some strange Resident Evil-type puzzle?” asked Raj.

“You play those games?” asked Miko.

“Haha, yeah, they're fun!” said Raj. “Come on, lets try stuff.” He began going around the room looking for anything suspicious and anything with buttons on it, then began pressing them randomly.

Buddy joined in, pushing buttons on a busy box and trying different combinations.

Petunia shrugged and began pushing buttons on one of the toy toddler phones in the room. To any outside observer, it would look as though they were playing with the toys. After a while of this, they began to feel pleasure from playing with the toys, and wanted to play with more. They barely noticed when the robotic chairs rolled in again and grabbed them.

“Whoa, hey!” shouted Buddy. “Oh no!” His muzzle was soon penetrated by a baby bottle nipple and once again his belly began to fill with milk. The others simply rolled their eyes as they drank and became drowsy, once again falling into a peaceful sleep.

Time seemed to pass both slowly and quickly as this continued. The four would wake up, try to find a way out, only to be shoved back into seats and then dumped into their cribs over and over. Without a way to tell the time, they had lost track of it altogether, and it was beginning to effect them mentally. However, the physical changes were soon too apparent to ignore.

Buddy awoke again, as he usually did, in his crib, yawning and stretching. He sat up and pushed against the side rails, causing them to open. Climbing down seemed a bit more difficult than before, as did the distance of the floor. He watched as the others slowly got out of their cribs, and he couldn't help but notice they seemed more babyish than before.

“What's up Buddy?” asked Raj in a squeaky voice. It was suddenly higher today than it had ever been. “Whoa, whats up with my voice?”

“What's up with...MY voice?” said Buddy, sounding more childish. His fur was lighter and softer, and his face was more rounded. He could no longer ignore how pudgy he had gotten, but he noticed the others looked similarly.

“We...” said Petunia, squeaking out a little. “We look like...kids.”

“She's right.” said Miko. “We sound like kids too.” She looked down at her hands and then at her tummy and legs. Looking around, it was obvious things looked larger now.

“We're...shrinking.” said Buddy.

“No, we're getting younger.” said Raj, looking at his reflection in a mirror. He noticed his mane had shortened and thinned, appearing how it did just before puberty hit him hard.

“Where did that mirror come from?” asked Buddy, walking up to it. It was a large, floor length mirror that was rounded at the top with a wooden frame that looked like a happy cat. The pup in the mirror was familiar, yet foreign to him. He moved his paws up and down, watching his reflection do the same.

“I don't know but...” said Petunia, walking over to it. “I don't remember it ever being there.” Her snout was shorter and her chest was practically flat now.

“It's getting hard to remember how long we've been here.” said Miko, looking at her preteen reflection. She touched her face to feel how soft it had become. “No way...”

“D-do I really look like that?” asked Petunia. She looked at her chubby tummy and flat chest in disbelief. “Please tell me it's a fake.”

“It's not.” said Buddy. “We all look like kids.”

“We are kids.” said Raj. “This place is making us younger.”

“That would explain the décor.” said Buddy. “They've been turning us into babies this whole time.”

“So does that mean...they're going to turn us back into babies...for real?” asked Miko.

“Oh man, that's messed up.” said Raj. “Hey, we have lives you know!” He shouted once again to anyone listening outside of the room. “You can't do this to us!”

“We have rights!” shouted Buddy. “You can't just take out lives away!”

“Give us back our adulthoods!” shouted Petunia.

“Yeah, give it back!” Miko repeated. As if on queue, the chairs burst into the room again.

“Noooo!” Petunia squealed as one grabbed her by her curly tail. She was strapped into a chair and force fed milk, as were the others, and though they struggled and cried, they soon fell asleep yet again.

Buddy had a strange dream of being lifted by his feet and feeling something cool and wet on his furry bottom. He was unable to move, and everything seemed so blurry and muted that he couldn't quite make out what was going on. He whimpered a little, sounding like a little puppy, and soon the dream faded into darkness.

Upon waking up, the four looked at each other again and the in the mirror. They could tell that their features had shrunken and regressed even more as they slept.

“Guys, it has to be the milk.” said Buddy.

“But we can't avoid drinking it.” said Petunia.

“I thought the milk only made us sleep.” said Raj. “What if it's something else in here?”

“Like what?” asked Buddy. “Some kind of ray or magic?”

“I wouldn't rule out magic.” said Miko. “I once read about someone casting a magic spell to turn someone into a baby.”

“Really?” asked Petunia. “Where did you read it?”

“I...don't know.” said Miko. “Maybe a book or something?”

“When though?” asked Buddy.

“When I was...” Miko started. “I can't remember. Guys, how old were we when we got here?” The group began looking at each other in confusion.

“That's weird.” said Buddy. “I know we were bigger and older, but how old?”

“I remember having a bigger mane.” said Raj, tugging at his head fur that was now mostly just atop his head.

“I remember having a big...chest.” said Petunia with a blush.

“Me too.” said Miko, looking down at herself.

“That's not good.” said Buddy. “We're forgetting stuff.”

“Is it important stuff?” asked Raj.

“I think so.” said Buddy. “But at least we still remember being older and bigger.”

“Yeah, this place is making us younger.” said Petunia. “I don't want to be a smelly little baby.” She was cuddling her dolly closely as she spoke, unaware of how she looked.

“Me neither.” said Miko. “But what can we do?”

“We can try our best to remember.” said Buddy. “Try not to forget things we still know.”

“Can we write stuff down?” asked Raj.

“Yeah, there's an arts and crafts table over there.” said Miko.

“Has that always been there?” asked Buddy.

“I think so.” said Miko.

“What difference does it make?” asked Petunia. “It's here, so lets use it.” She went over to the small table and sat down. It was a bit too small for her, but she could still use it by leaning over. She grabbed a piece of paper and began writing on it.

“What should we write?” asked Raj, sitting down at the table.

“Just who we are, how old we are, how big we are, and that we used to be older.” said Buddy. “Things like that.” He began writing all of his information on a piece of paper.

Soon everyone was writing down their information on papers. It began to feel more like an activity to them, and they were feeling bored. Some began to doodle on the paper and even grabbing some crayons to color with. Before they could finish, the chairs came out and grabbed them all. Again, they resisted, but only a little, and soon they were fed and fast asleep.

Buddy woke up and stretched, then got out of his crib. He and the others were growing used to it now as a usual routine. When he landed on the floor his stomach jiggled a little. Looking down, he could see it bulging under his baby blue shirt and began to pat it. The others soon awoke as well and began examining themselves.

“We're getting fat.” said Petunia with a frown.

“Why would they do that?” asked Raj.

“Because babies are fat?” Miko suggested. “They want us to be plump little babies.”

“Oooh, I don't like it.” said Petunia. “Fat just doesn't look good on me.” She turned and looked at her back in the mirror, noticing how her hips stuck out and her pullup bulged. “I'm so tired of wearing the same thing every day.”

“Yeah, do we even need these?” asked Buddy, snapping the waist band of his pullup. “We've never used them.”

“Not that we know of.” said Raj.

“I had a weird dream that someone or something was changing my pullup.” said Miko.

“Me too.” said Buddy.

“Come to think of it, that does sound familiar.” said Petunia.

“Maybe we are using them in our sleep.” said Raj.

“And those mechanical hands change us?” asked Buddy. I guess they would have to change our shirts too, since they always fit. If we're getting younger, then we're getting smaller, which means we need smaller clothes.”

“You'd think that would wake us up.” said Petunia.

“We're in such a deep sleep that we never realize it is even happening.” said Buddy.

“Why would they do that though?” asked Miko.

“They're taking care of us.” said Raj. “Just like if we were really little.”

“If they're taking care of us, they could at least give us real caregivers.” Petunia snorted. “Those machine hands are so...cold.”

“Yeah, there's no feeling behind it.” said Buddy.

“What were we going to do today?” asked Raj.

“Write down some more stuff so we don't forget.” said Buddy.

“But we wrote down everything yesterday.” said Miko. “Look, the papers are on the table.”

They all walked over to the table to look at the papers. Each of them read what they had written, but noticed that near the end the writing turned to sloppy scribbles and pictures.

“Uh, I guess we got distracted.” said Buddy.

“Heh, yeah.” said Petunia. “I drew some pretty flowers.”

“I drew a super hero lion.” said Raj.

“Okay, we need to focus here.” said Buddy, rubbing his tummy idly. “We need to get serious and write down everything we can. No distractions.”

“Right.” said Miko. “Come on, let's try.” The four sat down at the table again and tried to concentrate, but just then, a panel in the upper section of the wall opened up and revealed a wide screen TV. It began playing fun, educational shows meant for toddlers.

“What the...” said Buddy. “Where did that TV come from?”

“Okay, it definitely wasn't there before.” said Raj, flicking his tail back and forth. The colorful cartoons and happy sounds were having an internal effect on his mind.

Everyone stood and walked over to the TV, looking up at it. They tried to reach it, but it was too high.

“Dang it, if only we were still big.” said Petunia.

“No fair!” said Miko.

“Ugh, it's playing stupid baby shows.” said Petunia.

“Come on guys, lets get back to writing.” said Buddy. He walked back to the table and began writing, but soon noticed the others weren't doing the same. He stopped and looked back to see them all staring at the images on TV. “Guys?”

Raj was curiously watching the cartoon while holding his tail, which is something he used to do in kindergarten.

Petunia was watching while holding her dolly close, and Miko was watching while rubbing her belly. It seemed like the children in the show all had a bit of a big belly and were pleasantly plump.

Buddy walked over and tried to shake them out of it, but when he glanced at the TV, he noticed how colorful and fun it seemed. It began to unlock memories in his brain of when he would sit and watch TV with his pals after school. Before he knew it, he was rocking a little on his feet and wagging his tail. Eventually they all sat down and watched, and time seemed to pass very quickly. When the show finally went off, they all looked at each other and blushed.

“What happened?” asked Petunia. “I thought we were going to the art table to make something.”

“Yeah, why didn't we?” asked Raj, scratching his head.

“I don't know.” said Miko. “The TV came on, and-” Before she could finish, the chairs came out again, scooping them all up. They felt much bigger and stronger now, and they knew they had no chance of resisting. Instead, they accepted the milk and tried to remember what they were doing, but all ended up falling asleep instead. As they slept, the TV played soothing subliminal music that would make their transition smoother. It would reinforce and normalize their childish behavior, and make them forget all about their past selves.

Raj awoke first, standing up in his crib. He shook out his fur and yawned, then got out. His pullup crinkled a little as he walked by the mirror. When he looked at himself, he saw the young cub from long ago. His fur was all matted around his face from when he was sleeping, and his mane was totally gone, leaving him with only the scruff of red hair atop his head. He looked down at his pullup and huffed.

Petunia got out of her crib and walked over to Raj, tugging on his tail. “Hi Raj.” she said. “How do we all look today?” She looked in the mirror and saw the pudgy little pig she had become.

“Small and fat.” said Raj.

“Hey!” shouted Petunia. “I'm not fat. Pigs are naturally a bit plump.”

“What's with all the noise?” asked Buddy, getting out of his crib to meet the others. He rubbed his eyes and yawned, then looked at the little kids in front of the mirror. “Guess we keep getting younger.”

Miko tried getting out of her crib, but snagged her foot on the sheets and tumbled down onto her back. She laid there for a moment, then began to sniffle and cry.

“Miko?” asked Buddy, rushing over to her. “You okay?” He helped her up and tried to see if there were any injuries, but he saw none.

Miko sniffled and cried for a bit, but then settled down. “I-I-I f-f-fell.” she sniffled.

“I know.” said Buddy.

“Yeah we saw.” said Petunia. “You gotta be more careful.”

“At least the floor is soft.” said Raj, jumping up and down.

Buddy was concerned, but he wasn't sure why. He knew that Miko wouldn't ordinarily cry like that, but she was crying like a kindergartner who fell on the playground. He smiled and hugged her, patting her back. “It's okay.” he said. “Come on now, remember what we were doing?”

“Uh, sorta.” said Miko. “We were gonna...make pictures?”

“Weren't we gonna write stuff?” asked Raj.

“Writing stuff sounds boring.” said Petunia. “Let's color!”

“Coloring sounds fun.” said Buddy. “Maybe that's what we were supposed to do.” They walked over to the papers they had scribbled on before. “Oh yeah, we were writing important stuff down. We used to be big.”

“How big were we?” asked Miko.

“I dunno.” said Buddy. “Big as adults?”

“That's pretty big.” said Raj. “Are you sure?”

“No, not really.” said Buddy.

“I dunno if I wanna be big.” said Petunia. “Being little is a lot more fun. I heard an adult say they wished they could be a kid one time. I asked them why and they said that being an adult is a lot of work.”

“Is it?” asked Raj. “Man, I don't wanna do a lot of boring work.”

“Yeah, lets just color or something.” said Petunia. She sat down with her doll and grabbed a box of crayons. She began to color a pretty picture on a piece of blank paper.

Raj sat down and began to color in a coloring book. His tail swayed, making his pullup rustle slightly.

Miko began to draw a picture of a flower with multiple color petals.

Buddy tried to write down how he felt, but all he felt was confusion. Eventually he began to doodle again, drawing a brave knight, but for some reason the knight was pudgy and wearing a diaper.

“Hehe, why'd you draw a knight in a diaper?” asked Raj, peeking at Buddy's art.

“Huh?” asked Buddy. “I dunno. I guess because we wear pullups all the time.”

“Oh yeah.” said Raj. “We do.” He looked down at his own pullup and poked at it curiously. “But why? We're big kids. We can use the potty.”

“I dunno.” said Miko. “Where is the potty?”

Everyone looked around in confusion as to where the potty was. Old school memories came back, and they knew how and when to use it, but didn't see any doors or ways out.

“Oh yeah, this room has no doors or windows.” said Buddy.

“That's dumb.” said Petunia. “Whoever made this room is dumb.”

“I agree.” said Raj. “I wanna see outside! Oh well, at least we have toys to play with.”

“Yeah, I want to go play cook.” said Miko. “Does anyone wanna play with me?”

“I'll play!” said Raj, hopping up from his seat.

“Great!” said Miko. The two went over to the little toy kitchen, which was still a bit small for them, but they didn't care. They played with the fake pots and pans, pretending to cook fake food.

“Aw, that's a bunch of kid's stuff.” said Buddy. He continued to draw castles and dragons on a piece of paper, wishing he was a big, brave, strong knight. Then he spied some familiar canisters on the table. They were cans of colorful Play Doh all lined up in a row. He grabbed one and opened it, then reached in and pulled out a handful of it. The childhood scent of fresh Play Doh filled his nostrils and brought back fond memories of being young and carefree. He rolled some in his hands until it became a ball, then he rolled it into a bit of a log and shaped it into part of a figure. He pulled out some more and began kneading it, then added to his creation, eventually making his own knight.

Petunia smiled and picked up a can of her favorite color, purple, and opened it. The scent also took her back, and she began to play with it, rolling it and smashing it on the table.

“Oooh, good idea!” said Raj. He picked up a can of brown dough and took some out, then formed some into small burger patties.

“Wow, nice!” said Miko, pretending to cook them.

Petunia stood and took her doll over to the toy kitchen area. “Can you make food for my baby?” she asked, showing them the doll.

“Sure we can!” said Miko. She began banging a spoon in a bowl as Raj turned on the electric lights on the stove.

“Coming right up!” said Raj, pretending to cook. He used some of the pink Play Doh and put it into a small plastic cup. “Here is some baby food.”

“Oooh, thank you!” said Petunia. She pretended to feed her doll while the others played and forgot all about their descent toward babyhood. The TV came on while they were playing and began to play another cute toddler featuring mostly talking puppies.

“Being a dog sure seems fun.” said Miko, watching the show.

“Huh?” asked Buddy. He looked up at the show and nodded. “Oh yeah, I used to watch that show when...I was... Umm....”

“You mean you like to watch this show.” Petunia corrected him.

“Um, right.” said Buddy, feeling confused. “I guess.” He could remember being smaller, but also being bigger. His mind felt conflicted about what was going on, and it felt frustrating. “What are we doing? Shouldn't we be trying to get out?”

“Yeah, I wanna go outside!” said Raj, swaying his tail.

“Oooh, yeah, outside!” said Miko.

“No, I mean leave this place.” said Buddy. “It's making us...littler. Remember?”

“I...forgot.” said Petunia. She looked down at her doll and her pullups and knew something had been taken from her, but she wasn't sure what. “We were big.”

“We're not big now?” asked Raj. “We can use the potty, draw, and color. We're not babies.”

“Not yet...” said Buddy.

“You mean...we're going to turn into little babies?” asked Miko. “I don't...know if I want that.”

“My dolly is a baby.” said Petunia, rocking her doll in her arms. “Not me.”

“I wanna stay a big kid.” said Raj. “We won't get smaller, we're going to get bigger!”

“Yeah!” everyone cheered. “Bigger! Bigger! Bigger!” All of a sudden, the chairs came out and grabbed each of them, feeding them milk as they sat and watched the fun cartoon. The room grew silent except for the TV and muted sounds of suckling. They were drinking the milk willingly, no longer thinking of it as a bad thing, but something to expect every so often. Their eye lids drooped lower and lower until they closed, and soon they were all sleeping peacefully in their cribs. Like before, the TV began playing quiet, soothing music along with subliminal messages that would be picked up by the innermost parts of their brains.

The four awoke again in the same room. All of the mess they made from playing before had been cleaned up, and they too felt clean and refreshed. Their bodies were all plump and their features were even more soft and round and innocent.

“Oh boy, it's pway time!” said Buddy, now having a toddler's lisp. He waddled over to the toy box with his stubby, chubby little legs. The others were much the same, and they appeared in the mirror as portly toddlers all playing in their pullups. None of them seemed to mind though, as all they wanted to do now was play.

“Hehe, you gotta big tummy!” said Raj, pointing at Buddy.

“So do you!” said Buddy, giggling a little. He bounced his belly into Raj's and rubbed them together.

“Bewwies are fun!” said Raj.

“Boys are siwwy.” said Petunia. “Come on Miko, wets haf a tea pawty!” She made her way over to a small, round, plastic table and sat down with her dolly. She had to scoot the little plastic chair back a bit to make room for her round tummy.

Miko giggled and joined her, also having to scoot her chair back. She pretended to pour a cup for her. “Mowe tea Miss Petunia?” she asked.

“Oh, yes pwease.” said Petunia. She held her doll as she pretended to sip on tea.

Buddy had laid down on the floor with his belly up while Raj was racing cars up and down his tummy.

“Beep beep!” said Raj, pushing a toy car up Buddy's big tummy.

Buddy giggled and sucked in his gut, then stuck it back out again, making the car go flying. “Wheee!” he shouted, wagging his tail.

“Oooh, I wanna twy dat!” said Raj. He giggled and laid down while Buddy picked up the car and put it on his tummy. He did like Buddy and sucked it in, then pushed it out, making the car go flying and land on the girls' tea table.

“Hey!” shouted Petunia. “Watch whacha doin!”

“Hehe, it does wook kinda fun.” said Miko. She giggled and began sucking in her belly and then sticking it out again, pushing the table a bit.

“Oh, I can give my dolly a wide on my tummy!” said Petunia. She leaned back and sat the doll on her protruding belly, then began bouncing it. “Hehe, she wikes it!”

Buddy and Raj had begun building a tall tower out of blocks, then when it was done, they stood near it and ran into it using their bellies.

“Bewwies awe da bestest!” said Buddy, wagging his tail happily.

The TV came on again, and some very portly little piggies began playing and singing. Everyone stopped what they were doing to watch, and they all smiled, singing along. They watched as the little piggies bounced on their bellies and even painted them, which gave them an idea.

“Oh, dat wooks fun!” said Petunia. “Wets do dat too!”

“Yeah!” shouted the others. They all went over to the craft table and got out several jars of finger paint. They were easy for little fingers to open, and soon they had dipped their fingers in to paint.

Buddy lifted his shirt and smiled as Miko painted a smiling face on his fluffy puppy tummy. Petunia lifted her shirt and let Raj paint a cute flower image on it. Next, Buddy painted a colorful rainbow on Miko's large round tummy while Petunia painted a smiling sun on Raj's fluffy tummy.

“Fuwwy tummies is hawd to paint on.” said Miko.

“Yah, kinda.” said Petunia. “Mine is jus a widdle fwuffy, buh dere's ish vewy fwuffy.”

Buddy giggled, feeling tickles from the painting. “Hehehe, it tickwes!” he said, wagging his tail fast.

“Hehe, it does?” asked Miko. She began purposely tickling him as she painted his tummy, enjoying making him laugh.

Buddy giggled more and more, not even noticing the warm feeling growing in his pullup.

“Hehe, uh oh, you wet.” said Miko.

“Oooh, Buddy went potty.” said Raj.

“Hehe, Buddy is a baby!” said Petunia.

“Nu uh!” said Buddy. “Ya aww weawin puwwups too!”

“Yah buh we not use em.” Petunia giggled.

“Yus ya do!” said Buddy. He giggled and chased Petunia around, then pounced and began tickling her belly, making her squeal and giggle. Soon she too had wet pullups. “Hehe, see?”

“No faiw!” shouted Petunia, wiping tears from her face. She wasn't sad or angry that she had used her pullup, but the tickles had made her laugh so much that she began to tear up. “Hehe, yer jus a dumb boy!”

“Yer a siwwy giwl.” said Buddy, giggling and wagging his tail.

“Oooh, I getting kinda hungwy.” said Raj, rubbing his belly.

“Mmm, me too.” said Miko, also rubbing her belly. As if on queue, the chairs came out, but this time the four all eagerly ran towards them and hopped in.

“Yay!” shouted Petunia. “Miwky time!” She was rewarded with a bottle of rich, creamy milk, in her mouth.

“Yummy miwk!” said Buddy, happily accepting his own bottle. The four were soon suckling on their own bottles as they watched cartoons and smiled. Their tummies filled more and more, and soon the bottles were empty.

“Mowe miwky!” shouted Miko.

“Yah, mowe miwky!” shouted Petunia. They were rewarded with fresh bottles of milk, and soon they began to feel very very sleepy. They were rocked gently while still in their chairs until they had all fallen asleep. Then, one by one, they were placed into their cribs to sleep peacefully.

As they slept and regressed even further, they were all cleaned and redressed, this time in diapers. Their shirts were traded for onesies that covered their diapers with small snap buttons. Even though their clothing had changed, the patterns and colors of them remained the same as before.

Buddy awoke and sat up, instantly feeling the thick diaper under his rear. He looked down and saw his protruding tummy sticking out. “Huh, a diapuh?” he asked. The side of his crib unlocked and folded down, making a ramp that he could slide down. He curiously explored it with his pudgy little paws, then crawled onto it and slid down on his fat tummy. He landed on the soft foam floor and giggled. “Yay!”

The others awoke much the same way, and all looked at each other curiously.

“You a baby!” said Petunia, pointing to Miko.

“Nu uh, yoo awe!” said Miko.

“We awe babies now?” asked Raj, rubbing his tummy and poking his crinkling diaper.

“We got diapuhs on.” said Buddy. He waddled on weak little legs. “Ish hawd ta wawk.”

Raj tried to walk as well, holding his little arms out for balance. He soon fell forward on all fours and began to crawl. “Dis easiew.” he said.

“Hehe dat make ya wook mowe wike baby.” said Petunia. “Ya gotta big diapee butt.” She giggled and patted Raj's diapered rear, making it crinkle.

“Hehe, so do you.” said Raj, rolling over onto his back and exposing his tummy.

Buddy crawled over and began rubbing Raj's big, soft tummy, making him purr cutely. He smiled and nuzzled his tummy, then laid his head on it. “Ooh, tummy comfy.” he said.

“Hehe, tum tum.” said Raj, rubbing Buddy's tummy in response.

Petunia and Miko both giggled and sat with the boys, cuddling together warmly and cutely. The TV came on, and they all watched as they cuddled on the floor in their thick diapers. This time the show was about babies playing and having adventures with their imaginations. They all wore diapers as well, and sang about how wonderful and comfy diapers are. Soon the four were singing along and patting their tummies to the music happily.

As the day went on, they played with some stacking rings, blocks, and small, chunky, plastic baby toys. There were noisy busy boxes, soft plush toys, and simple wooden puzzles for them to play with. The toy kitchen was now a bit too big for them to play in, but they tried anyway, standing on their toes to pretend to cook food. Miko tried to eat some of the fake, rubbery food and made a face.

“Yuck.” said Miko. “Dis not food.”

“Yah, me hungee.” said Raj, drooling a little.

“Me toos.” said Buddy. “Whewe da miwk?”

“It in da waww.” said Petunia, crawling over to the wall and banging on it with her tiny, pudgy fist.

The chairs came out and the babies all smiled and cooed as they were picked up and held and fed. They hungrily suckled down the creamy, milky baby formula, filling their big, adorable bellies even more. However, instead of going to sleep, they were able to keep playing, though now they were much slower with full bellies. They giggled, rolling around on the floor and bumping their tummies into each other and their toys. They smiled, knocking over stacks of toys with their tummies and bouncing against each other.

“Oooh, me sweepy.” said Buddy, rubbing his eyes. He began to suck his thumb and curled up on the soft floor.

“Mmm, me toos.” said Raj, curling up next to him while sucking on the tip of his tail.

Petunia yawned, causing Miko to yawn. They both crawled over and joined the cuddle puddle on the floor, all cuddled up comfy and cozy with their big, soft bellies.

Buddy awoke to a light appearing above. He blinked and squirmed, feeling something soft and rubbery in his mouth. He chewed on it a little and began to suckle, thinking it was a bottle nipple. He felt all warm and cozy in his nice, safe crib, but before he could start his day, he saw three big people all standing around him. He could only recognize one of them, who was his former social worker. The other was a smiling, plump St. Bernard woman and a human man standing next to her with his arm around her.

“Here he is.” said the social worker. “Your new baby.”

Buddy blinked, wondering if she was talking about him. “Mmbah buh?” he babbled. He was a bit surprised that he couldn't talk, but for some reason it didn't bother him much.

“Aww, so cute!” said the St. Bernard woman. She picked him up and began licking him about his face and tummy.

Buddy couldn't help but giggle babyishly and coo at the affection from his new mommy.

“Hi there Buddy!” said the St. Bernard woman. “I'm your new mommy.”

“I'm your new daddy.” said the man, smiling down at him and wiping away a tear. “We love you.”

Buddy blushed a little and cooed softly, sucking on his pacifier. “M-mah gah?” he babbled. “Dah bah?” He always wanted a mommy and daddy of his very own, but didn't know why he felt as though he had been waiting forever. His little tail began to wag happily, making his diaper crinkle.

“Aww, he's trying to say mama and dada.” said his new mommy. She began showering him with kisses and licks again.

“He's perfect.” said the man, petting Buddy's head. “We've been trying for so long to adopt.”

“I'm glad you finally got approved.” said the social worker. “He loves drawing, painting, and playing with his tummy.”

“Well, now we know what to get him when he gets older.” said his new mommy. “Ready to go home Buddy?” She smiled and rubbed his chubby tummy and licked his cute little face.

Buddy gurgled and babbled a response behind his pacifier, wagging his little tail fast.

“I'll take that as a yes.” said his new mommy. He was then taken out of the room he had been in for a very long time, unaware of the fate of his former room mates. He saw them in their cribs awaiting their new mommies and daddies, and smiled, knowing somewhere deep down that they would be okay.

Some years later, Buddy is having his first day at daycare. Now back up to toddler age, he waddles around looking for something fun to play with. Something about the daycare seems familiar, with many of the same toys and things to play with. His new pair of overalls bulge with his chubby tummy and thick pullups, making him look even more pleasantly plump and round.

“Buh...Buhdee?” came a familiar voice behind him.

Buddy turned to see a familiar little lion cub wearing pullups and a red shirt with a train on it. He wasn't sure how he knew him, but he did. “Waj?” he asked. His little tail began to wag enthusiastically, and the two embraced in a hug. They had not seen each other in such a long time.

“Uh huh!” said Raj. “Come wook!” He grabbed Buddy's little paw and led him over to a craft table where a familiar little pig girl and human Asian girl sat, using finger paints on blank pieces of paper. They both looked up and smiled.

“Buddy!” they shouted, then got up to hug him. They all hugged and cooed softly, getting finger paint all over him. Buddy didn't care about that, he was too happy to see his friends again. They were friends he had grown down with, and now would grow up with.

“I so happy ta see you!” said Buddy. “I gotta new mommy n daddy!”

“We did too!” said Raj.

“Yah, me n Miko gots adopted togefer!” said Petunia. “We sissies now!” She smiled and pulled Miko in for a hug.

“Yay!” shouted Buddy. “Wets haf some fun!”

“Yah, den we can has miwkies!” said Miko. The four little ones giggled and played together again for the first time in a long time, on their second first day of daycare.

The End