Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"TODAY'S ADVENTURE IS..." Caine announced loudly. In front of him, alphabet block appeared spelling the title of today's adventure. 'Family'.

Everyone stared for a minute, unsure of what Caine wanted to do. Ragatha blinked. "What?"

Jax scoffed, "oh ew, is this gonna be some kind of babysitting adventure?"

Zooble made no attempt to hide that they hated the idea. "F@#k no, count me out of that!"

"NOT QUITE, JAX!" Caine yelled cheerfully, before switching to a slightly calmer tone. "It has come to my attention that there has been a bit of.... tension... in the circus, WHICH WON'T DO AT ALL! For today's adventure, I'll assign you all a family role, based on age, and your goal will be to spend a day close together as a family!"

*Collective groans filled the room*

Pomni raised her hand. "Is there no way to opt out of this... adventure?"

"NO OPTING OUT!" Caine yelled. "Now, as the two oldest. Kinger and Ragatha will be the two UNIDENTIFIED PARENTAL FIGURES.

Ragatha sighed. "Well could be worse I suppose"

"I haven't looked after a kid in years..." Kinger said gently.

Pomni looked at him, confused. "You had a kid?"

Kinger blinked. "Huh? A baby goat?"

"ANYWAY." Caine yelled. "Next oldest, Gangle, will be the tween daughter!"

With a click of Caine's fingers Gangle shrunk a little in height. Light pink blush appeared underneath her eyes on her mask and a big red bow appeared behind her head. Overall making her look more childish. Pomni looked horrified. "W-wait! You're changing our BODIES too?!"

Zooble looked uncomfortable, Gangle didn't seem to mind her new appearance very much.

Jax chuckled. "I'll be real with ya, Ribbons, I honestly didn't think it was possible for you to look more ridiculous!"

Gangle pouted, "Hey!"

Caine clapped his hands together. "Moving on, next youngest, Pomni. You'll be the eight year old daughter!"

Pomni shrunk to be a couple feet shorter than Gangle, and looked incredibly unhappy about the fact. She clutched her hair. "Oh god! I have pigtails! Caine!"

Jax laughed even harder. "Oh this is the funniest thing to happen in months!"

Pomni looked at him, outraged, "Wha-HEY!"

Caine chuckled and clapped his hands again. "Next! Zooble can be the ADORABLE little four year old!"

Zooble looked furious. "HEY! YOU CAN'T JUST-" Zooble shrank to be only as tall as Ragatha's knees.

Jax doubled over laughing. "HA! This is just priceless!"

Zooble scowled. "Shut. Up."

Ragatha sighed. "Come on, it's not funny"

Jax calmed down enough to speak. "Pffftttt, oh yes it is! Look at them!"

Caine carried on, despite the commotion. "And lastly, Jax will be the baby!"

Jax's look of cocky, overconfident superiority fell away. His ears dropping and his skin would go pale if it could. "Excuse me?!!"

Pomni burst out laughing. "HA! Yeah, that's fair!"

Zooble smirked. "Yeah, it IS fair"

Even Ragatha was giggling.

Jax looked at Caine, betrayed. "Hold on I'm NOT-"

But before he could speak another word, his height dropped to about a foot and a half tall. Or he would be if he could stand up properly.

The rest of the group started laughing. Zooble nearly fell down.

Jax tried to yell out in retaliation. "Bah!"
He covered his mouth in embarrassment at the noise he made.

"OH YEAH! I forgot to mention, the baby can't talk." Caine said, all too casually.

Pomni burst out laughing, nearly falling down herself.

Ragatha covered her mouth as she tried not to laugh.

Zooble clutched their stomach.

Kinger looked quite satisfied.

Jax was completely humiliated. Sitting on the floor, his ears pinned back, he made a noise of defiance.

"Okay, okay. Settle down, everyone" Caine chuckled.

It took a few seconds for the other to calm down, Pomni was still chuckling as she tried to speak. "Ahaha-okay so... W-what's the plan now?"

Caine smiled. "Simple. You act like a family! Spend time together, have fun, you know family stuff. I'm teleporting you all to the house now, okay, BYE!"

"Huh? AAAAAAAHHHH."

Chapter Text

Ragatha woke up in an unfamiliar bed. She first realised that she was wearing a nightie instead of her regular clothes. She looked across the room to see another bed, where Kinger was laying. This must be the parents room then. "Kinger? You up?"

"AAH! Oh, Ragatha, you caught me off guard."

"Oh, sorry." Ragatha felt kind of awkward. "So, um, as the, heh, 'parents' we should probably make breakfast and wake up the 'kids', right?"

Kinger looked lost in his own mind. "Yeah... the kids..."

Ragatha walked over to where Kinger was sat up in his bed. "Look, Kinger, I noticed you got a bit... weird... about looking after kids earlier. If you want, I'll go wake them and you can just make breakfast, does that sound okay?"

Kinger blinked. "Weird about what?"

She sighed. "Just go make breakfast."

"Okay!" And with that, Kinger trotted downstairs.

Ragatha sighed. Mentally preparing herself to face the others. If she felt weird, she couldn't imagine how awkward they must feel being put in the rolls of children. A small part of her felt bad for Jax, honestly.

She walked out her room and to the end of the hall where there were two rooms opposite eachother. One labeled Gangle and Pomni and the other labeled Zooble and Jax. She decided on waking the older two first and walked into Gangle and Pomni's bedroom.

Pomni was sitting on the bed, clearly not happy about her predicament. Her pigtails looked a little messy . She was wearing a shirt covered in cats playing with yarn, and a matching pair of bottoms.

Gangle was sat on her bed, fidgeting with the large pink bow behind her head. Her mask showed confusion, but was silent.

They both turned to look at Ragatha as she walked in. Pomni's face was still a mix of anger and embarrassment, Gangle's was unreadable.

Ragatha looked the two of them up and down before speaking. "Good. You're both awake."

Pomni huffed. "Of course we're awake. This is uncomfortable and embarrassing."

Gangle didn't say anything, just silently looked between the two as they spoke.

Ragatha walked over sit next to Pomni. "You think I don't know that? I'm not having fun either, but I've been placed as one of the adults of this disaster, so I have to do my best, you know."

Pomni scowled. "Yeah well, that's easy for you! You're still looking like an adult! I think that's unfair."

She looked down at her top. "I mean look at this! A ridiculous top with cats on it and... PIGTAILS. I look like a child even more than I did before! I'M 25!"

Ragatha looked slightly frustrated. "Pomni. I'm trying my best, here."

Pomni sighed and buried her head in her hands. "I know, I'm sorry, I'm just... UGH!"

Ragatha patted her back and looked at Gangle. "Gangle, are you okay?"

Gangle finally spoke up, her voice had a slightly childish whimper in it. "Yeah, I suppose so..."

Pomni sighed, looking as if she was going to say something else when her stomach began to make a low gurgling noise. She looked embarrassed and held onto her stomach.

Ragatha chuckled gently. "Look, how about you two run down to Kinger while I-"

There was a young sounding screaming sound coming from the younger ones room. Less of a baby crying out for comfort, more of a 'I'm going to be really loud and annoying now' kind of yell. Gangle whimpered and hugged herself. Ragatha rolled her eyes. "Ugh, that must be Jax. You two go downstairs while I rescue poor Zooble."

Pomni and Gangle headed out the room and down the stairs, leaving Ragatha alone to deal with the two younger 'kids'. With another sigh, she walked out towards Zooble and Jax's room. She heard Zooble knocking on the door desperately. "Ragatha, is that you? Open the door! He won't stop f@*king screaming!"

Ragatha quickly opened the door. There she was greeted by little Zooble dressed in animal print pyjamas. Ragatha couldn't help but coo. "Awwww!"

Zooble looked unimpressed.

"He, sorry." Ragatha said awkwardly. The two were then greeted by another screech from the crib in the corner of the room.

Zooble groaned. "Jax! Will you shut up?! This is worse than when you COULD talk."

A small giggle came from the crib. Ragatha and Zooble rolled their eyes. Ragatha patted Zooble on the head. "Go join the others downstairs. I'll take care of him."

Zooble mumbled some type of insult to Jax and left. Ragatha looked over at the crib and walked over.

She looked inside to see Jax. The, now, tiny purple rabbit was tightly swaddled in a periwinkle blanket in the middle of the padded cot, he was frowning up at her. He did not look happy with his current situation at all. Jax kicked the blankets and made a frustrated noise.

Ragatha chuckled gently, despite herself. "Hey, it's okay. Come on, let's get you untangled from this mess."

Ragatha leant into the crib and picked him up gently. Holding him to her chest.

Jax squirmed and squirmed, the blanket being wrapped around him like a constrictor snake.

Ragatha frowned gently, but held on tight, not wanting to drop him. "Hey, hey, hey! I can't unswaddle you if you squirm like that."

Unfortunately he squirmed even more. Ragatha tried to hold him tight but she was worried about hurting him. So she eventually gave up and put him back on the bed.

"Stop. Moving." She said firmly.

Jax seemed surprised at her tone and stopped, staring up at her wide eyed.

Ragatha raised an eyebrow and looked him up and down. "Huh," she began. "Well would you look at that. A firm tone works on you."

Jax went to say something back, then remembered he couldn't talk and gave a frustrated huff.

"Ah, that's right. Can't talk, can you? Probably better that way, to be honest."

She leaned over him and started to unswaddle the blanket from his body. He was wearing just a simple light pink onesie, with a yellow pacifier and clip attached to it. How embarrassing.

Jax, of course, made an upset groaning noise as he was freed. He managed to sit up, and then just kicked his feet in annoyance.

Ragatha held back another chuckle. "Now, settle down, Jax. You don't want to behave like a baby, do you?"

Jax looked at her in utter offence, he had never experienced anyone being so, patronising towards him before. He stuck his tongue out at her.

This time, Ragatha actually laughed. "Oh wow, so mature"

Jax pouted and looked away.

Ragatha bent down and picked him up. "Okay, let's go down to the others."

Jax squirmed again as she pulled him closer. He looked incredibly offended. She didn't seem to pay his reaction any mind as she left the room.

Chapter Text

Hi!

I've been wanting to update this fic for a while but I've kind of been struggling to think of ideas. Quite recently a member of my family has become very ill so it's been difficult.

I'd also like to add that this isn't supposed to be a fetish thing. It's just age regression and I'm not going to be doing anything weird with it. Caine's idea for this adventure was to place them in a family dynamic to push them closer together, I put their ages based on their canonical age range from oldest to youngest.

Anyway, it would be nice if anyone could suggest one-shots or plot points for this fic. You can ask for any kind of angst or comfort but please no sexual stuff!

Thank you.

Chapter Text

Ragatha carried the still squirming Jax downstairs to the kitchen. Kinger was just finishing up setting plates from breakfast on the table. Gangle and Pomni were sat next to each other, talking quietly about something.

Kinger looked up at the arrival of Jax and Ragatha. "Ah, good morning Jax! Good morning Ragatha!"

Ragatha tried to smile, "morning Kinger, I hope breakfast is fine?"

Ragatha felt someone tug on her dress, she looked down. "Oh, hey Zooble! What's up?"

Zooble looked extremely embarrassed, they awkwardly rubbed the back of their head. "Uh, yeah. Can you help me into my chair?"

Zooble pointed to a chair with a blue booster seat. Jax snickered.

"Ohhh, sure Zooble."

Jax continued to snicker from Ragatha's arms. Zooble looked up at him with a scowl. "Oh wow, look at you, so mature and funny aren't you?"

Ragatha placed Jax in Kinger's arms without warning. "Can you hold him while I help Zooble?"

Kinger caught Jax by reflex before he landed on the floor. He looked down at Jax and smiled with his eyes... which Jax obviously returned by sticking his tongue out.

Ragatha picked Zooble up and placed them the booster seat. "There we go, all comfy?"

Zooble wriggled in the seat slightly. "Uh, yeah. Thanks."

Ragatha clipped up the belt on the seat so Zooble wouldn't fall out.

"Alright! That's everyone accounted for!" Kinger called cheerfully. He swung around and plonked Jax in the baby highchair.

Jax tried to climb out of the chair, but Kinger easily pinned him with one hand. He was clearly taking to parenthood with more grace than Ragatha was.

Ragatha began sharing around bowls, it looked like it was oatmeal all around this morning. She sat down next to Kinger and opposite Pomni. She smiled awkwardly at her, which Pomni returned, equally as awkward. Ragatha looked around. "Soooo, I was looking at the calendar and it seems like you three are starting school today."

Silence.

"WHAT?" Pomni, Ragatha and Zooble yelled in unison.

Kinger blinked. "Oh, did we forget to mention that?"

"HOW DO YOU FORGET TO MENTION THAT?" Yelled Zooble.

Jax clapped his hands together happily, he seemed to be the only one not upset about this revelation.

"Ah it won't be too bad." Kinger spoke cheerfully. "You'll just go in and do some lessons, come home again in time for dinner. It's as simple as can be!"

Gangle whimpered and started to cry. Ragatha immediately got up from her place at the table to get around to her. She spoke softly. "Gangle, what's wrong?"

"I don't wanna go back to middle school!" She wailed.

Ragatha quickly wrapped her arms around Gangle, patting her on the back. "Hey, hey, it's okay. It's not real, remember? This is just some simulation made by Caine, it probably won't even be accurate!"

"But what if it is accurate?!" Gangle continued to cry. Ragatha hugged her as tight as she could, making soft shushing noises.

Zooble leaned out of their booster seat and towards Gangle. They hugged her side and gently rubbed a hand on her back. "Come on, it's gonna be okay."

Gangle calmed down and wiped back her tears. She hugged Zooble and nodded.

Ragatha turned to look at the clock. "Darn it! School starts in 10 minutes and none of you are dressed!"

The others all frantically left the table, going back to their rooms. Ragatha turned to look at Kinger. "So, how are you so good with kids?"

Kinger looked surprised. "Well, I was thinking the same thing about you! You're a natural!"

Ragatha shook her head. "What? No! No, no, no, no, no. Kinger, I'm not a natural. This is just scary to me."

Kinger looked confused. "Why would it be scary?"

Ragatha held her head in her hands. "How do you not get it? This whole situation is weird, we've been turned into parents, and our friends are the kids, it feels horrible!"

There was some loud commotion coming from upstairs, Kinger stood up. "I'll have a look."

Ragatha nodded as he went upstairs. She then looked over at Jax, who had somehow managed to get oatmeal everywhere but his mouth.

"JAX!"

---------------------------------

Within 5 minutes, Gangle, Pomni and Zooble were dressed. Zooble and Pomni seemed to have tried to pick out the least childish outfit possible in their wardrobe, both looking quite plain. Gangle was wear a cute pink dress, using a pretty outfit to calm herself down from the situation.

Kinger took one look at the oatmeal drenched Jax and said, "uh, I think I'll take them to school now."

"Probably a good idea." Ragatha took Jax out of the highchair and held him at arms length, as to not get any of the oatmeal on her dress.

Kinger hurried out of the front door with the others in tow, leaving Ragatha and Jax alone.

Ragatha looked at Jax, then around at the sticky mess before her. "Jeez. I gotta clean all this up..."

Chapter Text

This adventure is post episode 4 btw.
It's going to last until Caine decides their acting as an adequate family.

Kinger
- Appearance hasn't changed much other than clothing
- Still about 48 years old
- Still kind of 'crazy' but not as much since seeing the other members as kids makes him feel sort of parental, which confuses him.
- Stays home with Jax (and Zooble when they're back from preschool) while Ragatha is at work.
- Feels the need to look after Ragatha a lot during this adventure.
-Everyone sees him as a dad-figure in this, even Jax (he'd never admit it.)

Ragatha
- Appearance hasn't changed much other than clothing.
- Still 30 years old.
- Feels a little uncomfortable with the other members as kids at first but quickly gets used to it.
- Enjoys taking care of or being able to chill/ hang out with the girls and Zooble.
- Works as a hotel receptionist in the adventure. Loolilalu and Martha Mildenhall are both cleaners at the hotel, they quickly become friends.
- Sometimes enjoys spending time with Jax in this adventure since he can't talk as much, and calms down a fair bit as time goes on.
- Accidentally babies the others all of time since they look like kids now, they're just so cute she can't help it!
- She gets pretty close with Kinger in this.

Gangle
- She's about a foot shorter, usually wearing dresses for skirts and has bows on the back of her mask. I imagine her to be very girly.
- Mentally (most of the time) 26, but physically about 11.
- In 5th grade and starting her first day of middle school. (Sorry if this is wrong, I'm not American)
- If she was emotional before she's very emotional and now, she hates it.
- When she's not at school, is drawing manga in her and Pomni's room.
- Closest with Zooble, but gets a lot closer with Pomni especially their sharing a room and what happened in episode 4.
- The three of them are kind of like a friend group, sometimes + Ragatha
- Enjoys the slightly calmer atmosphere with no adventures

Pomni
- About a foot shorter, usually wearing baggy trousers and t-shirts and stuff like that- trying to look the least childish possible.
- Mentally (most of the time) 25, but physically 8.
- it's her first day of 3rd grade.
- Gummygoo, Max and Chad are all in her class. Caine shrunk a few of his NPC's to be in classes and stuff
- Treated like a kid a lot anyway, hates that she kind of has too be now. Relax's a bit towards it since it's kind of relaxing compared to her usual day at the circus.
- Tried to take out her pigtails every morning but they just keep popping back in.

Zooble
- About a quarter of their usual height. Like Pomni, tries to dress in the least childish way possible. Harder since they're younger.
- Mentally (most of the time) 22, but physically 4
- First day of preschool
- Spends most of the time at preschool hiding from the gloinks or the other kids
- Spends a half day at preschool, goes home after lunch.
- Unfortunately for them, it means they spend most of the day with Jax.
- (unless napping) The two are usually arguing, Zooble wins since Jax can't exactly talk.
- They mostly look forward for the girls to come home.
- Aren't used to all the help they now need, also aren't used to how easily they get tired. Naps are often needed.

Jax
- baby sized (you know what I mean)
- Slightly fluffier, usually wearing overalls or baby grows ( not like he's picking them out)
- Mentally (most of the time) 22, but physically 11 months (turning 1 soon)
- Spends the day at home with Kinger or Ragatha when she's not at work.
- absolutely despises how vulnerable he feels now that he's baby.
- his hand-eye coordination his a lot worse now
-Needs bottles but refuses to accept them, takes ages to get him to drink.
-Can walk, but not very well
- Super mischievous, will pick up anything dangerous he can get his hands on and if there's an option to make a mess he will take it.

I will add more as the story goes on.

Chapter Text

On the walk, Kinger was chatting to the 'kids'

"So, which subjects are you excited to learn about the most?"

Pomni was walking next to Kinger. She raised an eyebrow. "Um, no offence, but I'm not excited about learning any subjects in Elementary school. I'm 25 years old, I already went through this."

Gangle shrugged her shoulders. "I'm looking forward to art."

Zooble grunted. "At least you guys aren't in PRESCHOOL."

Kinger laughed, "aw, come on. It won't be that bad!"

They quickly arrived at the school, a tall, brick building, the sign out front simply read 'MIDDLE SCHOOL'.

Gangle seemed to tense up. Kinger ushered her forward, sitting Pomni and Zooble on the bench so he could take her inside.

The school didn't look much different from the outside. There were rows and rows of dull green lockers lining the walls. Gangle looked around nervously. "So, where do I go?"

Kinger pointed off down a hallway towards the office where the principle was stood. "You get your schedule from the office over there."

Gangle took a deep breath. "O...okay! I can do this!"

Kinger patted her shoulder. "Yep! You've got this, Gangle!"

Gangle smiled meekly and walked down the hall towards the office.

She saw the faces of sneering classmates, judgmental girls and tall teenage boys. Gangle felt her mask begin to crack.

"What's wrong with her?"

It shattered completely. She ran straight back to Kinger.

"I CAN'T DO IT!"

Kinger hugged her immediately. He looked slightly alarmed, but kept his voice even. "Gangle, it will be okay. It's not real! None of it!"

Gangle cried into Kinger's chest. "It all feels too real! The looks! The stares! All of it!"

Kinger patted her head, "Shhh, shhh, it's okay. I'll go with you. How about that?"

Gangle looked up and nodded, tears still running down her face. Kinger gently held her hand and together they walked towards the office.

The main thing Kinger noticed was the fact that Gangle was definitely NOT acting like an adult right now. Could their younger bodies lead to them.. regressing? That wasn't important right now. What was, was that Gangle was comfortable.

They arrived at the office. Gangle's anxiety and general discomfort was almost palpable, so Kinger held her hand tightly.

Kinger nodded at the principal, who stood outside of the door. The principal looked at Gangle and smiled. "Here for the schedule?"

Gangle nodded wordlessly, looking like a deer in headlights. Kinger continued to comfort her. The principal noticed this, "is everything okay here?"

Kinger stepped forward slightly. "Everything is fine! Gangles just a little nervous."

The principle bent down to Gangle's level. "Alright, well, why don't we take some deep breaths. Just in and out."

Gangle slowly mimicked the principle, taking deep breaths. The principle continued. "There you go! Good job Gangle!"

The principal patted Gangles' head. "Now, let's get you that schedule!"

Gangle blinked, she felt comforted. Like she was being talked to as a kid. She didn't mind. In fact, she liked it. It felt nice.

The principal handed her a piece of sheet paper and waved her goodbye. "Have a wonderful day!"

Kinger gave him a firm nod and began the walk with Gangle into the hallway. A bell rang, meaning that class was about to begin. Gangle looked terrified of her peers. Kinger spoke softly. "Hey, you'll be okay. Just look at your schedule, and go to your class. I'll be back to pick you up at four."

Kinger knelt down to her. "Look at me, Gangle."

She opened her eyes and looked at him.

"If anyone is mean to you or says anything bad, don't listen to them. I'll be there to pick you up in a few hours. Do you understand?"

Gangle nodded and wiped her tears away. "Okay. I understand."

Kinger smiled and patted her shoulder. "Wonderful! Now, let's get you to class on time!"

He ushered her down the halls, until they found Gangles' first class, which was maths, and waved her goodbye as she entered the class.

Kinger walked out to Zooble and Pomni, still chilling on the bench.

-----------

Zooble looked like they were half asleep.

"Finally! You took forever!" They paused. "Is Gangle okay?"

Kinger sat down with a sigh. "She's having some uh... emotional problems with going to school. She'll be fine, just a bit shaken."

Zooble nodded. "Poor Gangle." They paused. "I don't know how much longer I'll be able to stay awake. This body feels so much more tiring."

Kinger didn't seem to hear as he began walking towards the Elementary school.

The Elementary was smaller than the Middle school and looked more colourful and childish. Children we're running in and out and playing on the play equipment.

Kinger walked onto the campus and up to a small door with 'Class 3B!' printed on the front. "Okay Pomni, I think this is your class!"

Pomni looked nervous. "A-alright. Here we go."

With one last nervous look at Kinger, she knocked on the door. A teacher poked his head out. "Ah, you must be Pomni."

She bent down to Pomni. "Nice to meet you sweetie! I'll help you find your seat, okay?"

Pomni nodded numbly, feeling too embarrassed to speak. The teacher took her hand and led her inside the classroom.

It was chaotic. So loud and filled with screaming children. Children ran around, threw toys, laughed and talked. Pomni felt dizzy just looking at it. The Teacher walked her up to a table with a yellow and green gummy crocodile he was... wait, Gummigoo?

"Gummigoo?" The teacher caught his attention. "Pomni's new here, can you look after her and be her buddy for the day?"

Gummigoo grinned wide. "Absolutely!"

The teacher smiled. "Perfect. You two have fun!"

She walked away. Pomni realised Caine must be re-using and shrinking NPC's for this adventure, there WERE a few familiar mannequins in the background. But she couldn't be happier, and somehow she felt a lot younger. She understood that Gummigoo probably wouldn't recognise her, but if she was gonna be in this adventure long enough she may as well try! She enveloped a surprised Gummigoo in a tight hug. "Gummigoo!"

Gummigoo was extremely shocked, "Um, okay then!" He awkwardly wrapped his arms around her in a loose embrace.

As Pomni held onto him, another strange thing happened. Her anxieties faded, all of her fear washed away. In its place was a childlike innocence. She began to hum softly, and pulled away. "Let's go play!"

Gummigoo just grinned wider. "Alright! Follow me!"

He took Pomni's hand and dragged her away to the corner of the room to play.

------------

Outside the door, Kinger was walking Zooble to the Preschool room.

"Kinger do I seriously have to do this? I'm 22 f*@king years old."

Kinger patted Zooble in an almost fatherly manner. "Don't be like that Zooble. You'll have fun with the other children."

Zooble sighed dramatically and walked inside the classroom.

It was a nightmare. It was a dimly lit room, children with snotty faces sat in their highchairs, crying and yelling. A teacher tried desperately to calm a babydoll throwing a tantrum, and several children were covered in paint.

Zooble sighed again. "You've got to be kidding me."

Kinger looked in and winced from all the noise. "Look Zooble. Just go sit down and play with a child or something. It'll be over before you know it."

Zooble gave him a deadpan look. "Oh yeah. I'll have a great time playing with this two year old who's shoving sand down his own throat."

One of the teachers approached Kinger and Zooble.

"Oh, so this is Zooble!" She bent down to Zooble. "Hi there Zooble. My name is Miss Sally. I'll be your teacher!"
Zooble looked less than impressed. "And?"

Miss Sally, unphased, gently took Zoobles hand and lead her inside. "Let's go have some fun, okay Zooble?"

Zooble sighed and looked at Kinger, who had already begun walking off. "Bye Kinger, I guess."

The teacher sat Zooble down at a tiny wooden table in the corner of the room. There were two blue plastic chairs. The teacher sat in one of them, and handed Zooble some paper and crayons.

"Here's some paper Zooble, just draw whatever you like!"

Zooble blinked. "Why? I'm not a toddler, I don't want to draw."

Miss Sally smiled. "Come on Zooble, don't be silly. It'll be fun!"

Zooble begrudgingly grabbed a crayon and began drawing half heartedly, while keeping their eye on Miss Sally.

A character Zooble recognised slithered into the room. Miss Sally approached the huge creature with a grin.

"Hello ma'am, I don't believe we've met, who are you here to drop off?"

"I'M HERE TO DROP OFF MY BEEEEAAAAUUTIFUL GLOINKS."

Ah, sh*t.

-------------

Ragatha looked at Jax, then around at the sticky mess before her. "Jeez. I gotta clean all this up..."

Jax looked up at her with his signature creepy grin.

She sighed. "Oh you little monster. Let's get you cleaned up."

Jax screamed in protest. Ragatha would've covered her ears if she could do so without dropping him. Ragatha imagined giving an adult Jax in a baby body a bath, all she saw was water everywhere. That could never end well. Ragatha growled and placed Jax back on the floor.

"You know what? Fine! You're still an adult! Go do whatever the heck you want!" Ragatha stormed off.

-------

Stupid dollface, Jax thought, he wasn't a d*mn baby. Sure he may be shorter and really, really weak... but he was still the same ol' prankster Jax! And he'd prove it, oh, he'd prove it.

He pulled himself up on the kitchen door frame and toddled down the hall to the bathroom. He looked through the gap of the bathroom door and saw an open medicine cabinet. Bingo.

He grinned and toddled inside, the cabinet was a perfect height for him to nab from. He grabbed a bottle of some kind of orange pills in a glass bottle.

Now, Jax's original plan was to toss the bottle upwards and into the toilet, then flush it and create a big mess. Unfortunately, Jax underestimated how bad his pewny baby hands were at clutching things properly. He ended up dropping the bottle and glass shattered across the floor.

Well, f*#k.

To add injury to insult, Jax's stupid baby legs were too short to step over the glass, so he ended up stepping right into it.

Blood spilled out of Jax's bare, chubby paws. He stood there, suddenly feeling ever so little.

Jax didn't get what was happening, why did he feel so, so weak. He then began to cry, big fat tears began to stream down his face. He sat down, sobbing, suddenly not caring about his ego anymore. He was a baby again.

Suddenly Ragatha walked in, ready to mop.

-------------

Her eyes grew wide at the sight of Jax. "Jax!? What happened!?"

Jax sniffed and sniffed, then pointed miserably down at his feet.

Ragatha rushed over, tossing the mop, and knelt down looking around the scene. What shocked her more than anything was that Jax was crying, wailing, more like. Didn't he still have his adult mind?

Ragatha gently picked up Jax and walked back over to the kitchen table, putting him down on it. His weepy face looked so innocent as his tears rolled down his chubby cheeks.

Ragatha had never been so relieved in her digital life before she heard the door open. She didn't even bother turning around to check. She screamed, "KINGER!"

Kinger rushed in from the hallway, and was immediately met by the crying Jax. Kinger was taken aback slightly at the sight of his friend (?) sobbing like an infant.

"Oh dear, what happened?"

Ragatha hurriedly wiped Jax's tears away. "He dropped a glass bottle and cut his foot on the glass! He won't stop crying!"

Kinger stepped closer to Jax and peered at his feet. "Oh dear..."

Kinger picked Jax up and held him over one shoulder. "It's okay Jax, it's okay."

But Jax only continued to wail, his blood dripping into Kinger's robes. Kinger hurried over to the medicine cabinet for a band-aid and some tweezers. As he rooted through the cabinet, Ragatha stood next to him.

"Why is he crying like this? He has his adult mind, right?"

Kinger took the tweezers and picked the glass shards out of Jax's feet gently. "I- I'm not sure! Gangle did something like this too. She started acting the same age she looked when she got scared!"

Ragatha frowned. "So he's just... acting the actual age of his body?"

Kinger nodded. "I think so."

As he plucked out the last fragments of glass, Jax's sobs seemed to die down.

Kinger put Jax down next to Ragatha, who wrapped a band-aid around Jax's foot.

The crying had stopped, but Jax's bottom lip still quivered. He hiccupped quietly.

Ragatha picked him up and held him in her arms. She gently rocked him, and he slipped his thumb into his mouth.

"Sshh, there, there, it's okay. There, there..."

She turned to Kinger. "This is really weird."

Kinger scratched the back of his head. "Agree with you there."

Ragatha pulled Jax slightly away from her when she realised he was still sticky from oatmeal. "You know what? I should probably bathe him while he's docile like this."

Ragatha's plan was interrupted by the calendar flashing read. She spun around to read it. 'Ragatha- hotel reception shift starts at 10:30.'

"Gah! Who was gonna tell me I had a job in this simulation?! Okay, okay, um, Kinger!"

Ragatha plonked Jax into Kingers hands. "You can bathe and dress him. I need to go. Remember to pick up Zooble at 12:30 and the others at 4!"

Ragatha zoomed off, taking a shortcut through the window.

Kinger shifted Jax in his arms. "Uh, alright then. Where's a bath tub?"