The Adventures of Ozzie Astaroth

Chapter 10
Chapter 10

Chapter Description: Ozzie and Luna finally reach Jenn's home and have a chat with her.

It was getting late, and the excitement from earlier had worn off. Ozzie yawned and then frowned. He needed a diaper change again. “Umm, can we puww ovew for a sec?”

“For what?” Luna asked. Then her nose picked it up. “Oh, that. Well, we're almost there. Think it can wait? You did seem to enjoy the feeling back on the train.” She loved teasing him.

Ozzie blushed and wiggled. “I did na...” But he did, and he knew it. “I guess it can wait. It onwy a widdle messy.” It didn't feel like a little, but he could deal with it if she needed him to. He didn't want to waste any more time than need be. Soon it began to grow cold and uncomfortable though, and he kept fighting back the whines produced by his regressed emotions. At least the rain had let up.

“Look.” said Luna. “There it is!” She pointed to a small house in the distance that had smoke coming out of its chimney. It had a small front yard with pretty flowers growing, and a very large fenced-in back yard with several large trees and had a garden growing various vegetables and things.

“Oooh, good!” Ozzie said. “Dis diapee is feewin vewy icky.”

“I'll get you changed inside.” Luna said, stopping the cart and picking up her stinky baby. She carried him and the diaper bag up to the door and knocked.

The door slowly opened and an older-looking white haired human lady wearing a red gingham dress peeked out. “Hello Luna.” she said with a smile.

“Jenn!” shouted Luna. “Its been ages! How have you been?”

“Oh, not too bad.” said Jenn. “Please come inside.” She let them enter her small home. It was very cozy, with a rocking chair by the fire, a sofa for guests, and a rug shaped like a flower in the middle.

“Um, mind if we use your bathroom?” Luna asked. “I need to change this little one's diaper.”

“Oh my, isn't he cute?” said Jenn, getting a good look at him.

“Say hello Ozzie.” Luna said.

“H-hewwo.” said Ozzie shyly. He felt embarrassed. She probably thought he was just another baby who had loaded up his diaper.

“Such a sweet child.” she smiled. “But there's more to this little one than meets the eye. Isn't that right?” She gave a wink. “Please, get cleaned up in the bathroom. You may even use the bath tub if you wish. I'll make some tea.”

“Thanks Jenn.” said Luna. “I think we may just do that.” She entered her friend's bathroom and shut the door. “Hmm, not much room in here.” It was very cramped.

“Yah,” said Ozzie. “buh it wiww do.” He couldn't wait to get out of his cold soiled diaper.

Luna laid him on a towel on the counter top and unfastened his diaper. “Phew!” she teased. “Such a stinky baby!” She smiled and cleaned him up.

Ozzie winced. “Ow, dat huwts a bit.” he said with a wiggle.

“Uh oh,” said Luna, seeing the redness on his skin. “looks like you have a diaper rash. Don't worry, I have some cream for that.” She cleaned him up and filled the tub with warm water, then added some soothing baby soap. She gently lowered Ozzie into it.

Ozzie winced again when his rashy skin touched the warm water. “Ow...” he squeaked.

“Aww, sorry sweety.” said Luna. “I won't ever leave you in a dirty diaper that long again.” The kindly raccoon gently began washing him.

“Ish otay.” Ozzie said, relaxing. “I thawt it be otay to wait too.” He began splashing a bit in the water. Jenn's tub was smaller than theirs, but still did the job. "I fink she knows I not a weal baby."

"Her use of dark magic has given her special sight." said Luna as she cleaned Ozzie's face and chest. "Also your hair is kind of a give-away to someone like her. I'm sure you can tell that by using so much dark magic, it has aged her. She is actually my age.”

“Dats tewwible.” Ozzie said. He knew all too well about the fears of aging. Prematurely aging was a fear of his. He looked at his reflection in a long mirror. He still looked like an adorable baby boy, but his hair did kind of give indication of something off about him.

“Now lets get that pumpkin butt.” Luna teased, guiding Ozzie to stand up.

Ozzie blushed and stood up. He playfully poked his bottom out at her. “Wha kinda pumpkin is it?” he asked playfully.

“A BUTTernut!” she chuckled washed him all over.

Ozzie giggled and wiggled around as he was washed. He closed his eyes as she washed his hair. Then he was rinsed off and dried in a towel.

“There, all clean again.” Luna said, lying him down again on the towel and rubbing some diaper rash cream on his skin. “This should help with that rash.”

“I gwad you bwought it.” Ozzie said, wincing a bit.

“Mommies have to think of these things.” she giggled. She soon had him powdered and diapered, and brought him out to the living room in just his diaper. She sat on the couch with him in her lap.

“I see a clean baby boy.” Jenn said as she entered the room with tea. “I hope he likes tea!” She sat down across from them and set the tea on the table. She had some cooled just for him.

“Oh, he sure does!” Luna said, pouring some of it into a baby bottle and giving it to him.

Ozzie suckled on the bottle. “Ish good.” he said. “Fank you.” He liked his tea sweet, and was pleasantly surprised to see that she had added sugar to it.

“Of course dear.” Jenn said, pouring her own cup.

Luna poured a cup for herself and added a bit of sugar. “Your place is nice.” she said, looking around. “How long have you lived here?”

“Since a year after that day.” Jenn said after sipping some tea. “I'm sure you know what day I'm talking about.”

“Oh yes.” Luna frowned. “They were so mean to you. I'm sorry I couldn't do anything” She had only recently found out where she was. Jenn sent her letters at first, but eventually stopped.

“Its okay.” said Jenn. “I had to seclude myself and hide from the rest of the world. That's why I stopped writing. I was afraid they would target you for communicating with me.”

“I appreciate that.” said Luna, sipping on tea. “The witch hunters are a cruel group. A lot of witches deserve what they get, but not all of them are bad.”

“It is hard being one of the good ones.” said Jenn. “The temptation from the dark magic is very great. So far I've managed to get by without falling prey to it.”

Ozzie just watched the two women talk as he suckled on his bottle, every now and then making a slurping sound.

“I'm glad you haven't.” said Luna. “Its so good to see you again after all this time.”We have a lot to catch up on, but I'm afraid we don't have a lot of time.”

“I know.” said Jenn. “I could tell when you walked in. That baby of yours is no ordinary baby is he?”

“No, he's not.” Luna admitted. “Jenn, meet Ozzie Astaroth. The wizard hero of the kingdom.”

“He's the famous wizard Ozzie?” said Jenn in surprise. “Hm, I thought he would be taller.” She joked, making Ozzie blush.

“I was once.” Ozzie said, popping the bottle out of his mouth. “I was tuwned into a baby by the demon Azwael.”

“Azrael?” asked Jenn. “That name sounds familiar. Let me guess, you asked for youth and got more than you bargained for?”

“Um, yah.” Ozzie said, looking down at the floor. “I been a baby fow awmost a yeaw.”

“The demon bonded with him Jenn!” said Luna. “Have you ever heard of such a thing?”

“No I haven't.” said Jenn as she examined Ozzie. “Such a thing has never happened before. Demons are always bound to objects, usually gems and crystals.” She placed her hands on Ozzie's head and closed her eyes. She looked deep within him and saw the angry demon inside him. “Simply amazing. You poor thing. You've helped so many yet this is how you end up?”

“Ish not so bad.” Ozzie said with a blush. “Wuna has been taking cawe of me. She makes a good mommy.”

Luna smiled and chuckled a bit. “I admit, I know more about infant care than I ever thought I would now.” she said. She and Ozzie explained everything that had happened so far.

“So you are actually able to use his powers?” asked Jenn. “That's amazing. I'm surprised your infant body could contain all that magic.”

“Well, he is, or was, the strongest mage ever known.” Luna added. “He's pretty powerful now that he has had training in using that magic. He's the most powerful baby in the world!”

Ozzie blushed, but smiled. “Yah,” he said. “buh he wefuses to wet me gwow up untiw I can set him fwee.”

“And you can't do that until you defeat Devzla.” said Jenn. “You'll need that power not only to draw her out, but to fight her. She has become a most powerful dark witch. You will need all the power you have to defeat her.”

“What is she really after?” Luna asked. “It can't just be to steal babies forever.”

“As you can see,” Jenn said, gesturing to her face which looked old with a few wrinkles, even though she was the same age as Luna. “Using dark magic drains one's life force. Devzla, like most dark witches, wants immortality. They hate children for their youthful innocence. Children are born pure and untainted by the darkness, so they have to be tricked into giving up their souls. Sadly, she has taken the life of many innocent children just to extend her own. She has tapped into the vast darkness and is able to summon trolls and shadow monsters at will. Using such magic has warped and twisted her body. No doubt she is looking for a replacement. Youth alone will no longer save her. I'm sure if she had known that she could force the demon to bond with her, she would have tried.”

“She will not have me!” shouted Azrael from deep inside of Ozzie. No one but Ozzie could hear it though.

“He's not happy about dat.” said Ozzie.

“Oh?” said Jenn. “I take it Azrael is listening to us then?”

“Yah.” Ozzie said, looking down at himself as if he could see Azrael inside him. “He can heaw us.”

“In that case,” said Jenn. “you should know that Ozzie is your only chance. You should let him grow and mature so he can be more powerful against the witch.”

“Not until he frees me!” roared Azrael. He was not about to trust anyone.

“He says no.” Ozzie said defeated. “Not tiww we can fwee him.”

“Then it will be a challenge.” said Jenn. “But since no one has ever actively controlled demon magic, maybe you will stand a chance. You should use any light magic you have. If you don't know any, I can teach you some.”

”I can make wight.” Ozzie said, making a sphere of light in his hand.

“That's good,” said Jenn. “but I mean as in holy magic. Light as opposed to darkenss.”

“I know some of that.” said Luna. “I specialize in healing magic, which is mostly holy or light.”

“Good.” said Jenn. “Teach what you can to Ozzie, and I will help you learn some new spells.”

“Thank you so much.” said Luna. “I owe you.”

“Think nothing of it.” said Jenn. “We will all be better off without Devzla around. For now, I think it would be best if you both get some rest. Its late, and there's not much we can do right now anyway. I must prepare my magic first.”

“Sounds good.” Luna said. “I could use a bath and I'm sure Ozzie could use some sleep. We had a bit of an encounter on the road and Ozzie had to use his magic to deal with it.”

“Yah,” said Ozzie. “some dumb bandits twied to wob us.”

“The roads can be dangerous in the evening and at night.” said Jenn. “Evil exists in many forms.”

Luna nodded. “We will deal with it as it comes.” she said. “Will you please watch Ozzie while I take a bath?”

“I'd be happy to.” said Jenn. “I bet he doesn't need much looking after though, considering all he can do.”

“He can be a handful.” Luna said. “Sometimes his mind becomes more babyish. You can't be too careful.”

“Oh, I see.” said Jenn, picking up Ozzie. “Such a cute little guy can't be too much trouble.”

Ozzie blushed and had finished off his tea. “No.” he said. “I a good boy.”

Jenn smiled and bounced Ozzie on her knee while Luna took a bath. “Do you like horsey rides?” she asked.

Ozzie giggled and blushed. He did enjoy it. “Y-yush.” he said with his bouncy baby voice.

Jenn smiled. She had sometimes looked after children in her new life. No one nearby knew she was a witch, and just thought of her as a nice old lady. She had never taken care of a regressed adult before though, and she wasn't sure what would be appropriate. She held his little hands as she bounced him gently. “A lot of babies enjoy this.” she said. “Do you...like being treated like a baby?”

Ozzie blushed and looked away. “S-sometimes...” he said quietly. “Wuna tweats me wike a baby sometimes. She so kind n sweet n gentwe. I stawt to wike it and it jus feews good. I nevah had dis kind of tweatment in my weal chiwdhood. My pawents was awways busy wif magic counciw meetings.”

“So you're getting a taste of what a typical childhood is like.” said Jenn. “I can understand that. I had a typical childhood, but I chose the wrong path. I've paid for that, as you can see, but I refuse to take life in order to restore my own.”

“You awe a good woman.” Ozzie said. “If I finds a way to hewp you, I wiww.”

“Aww, I appreciate that.” Jenn said. “But I won't hold my breath. Even if you have a dirty diaper” She decided to tease him a bit.

Ozzie blushed. “Sowwy about dat.” he said sheepishly.

“Its fine.” said Jenn. “I've changed plenty of diapers in my day. You must be used to them by now.”

“Yeah.” said Ozzie shyly. “I okay wif dem. I jus dun wike it if it gets cowd or too smewwy.”

“Remember that youthful innocence thing I talked about?” she asked him.

“Yah, I do.” Ozzie answered.

“That is likely the reason for your mental regressions.” Jenn said. “Your body and soul have been rejuvenated while your mind remained intact. This is a good thing. Embrace it, but only at the right times. Your light will help you not only in defeating Devzla, but in life. Even if you do grow up again, don't lose that light.”

Ozzie listened and took it all in. “Fank you.” he said. “I won't wose it. I pwomice.”

“Good.” said Jenn. She then held Ozzie in her arms and rocked in her rocking chair. “Good baby.” She patted his diaper bottom and made sure he was comfortable.

Ozzie enjoyed the rocking and soon began sucking his thumb. His eyes grew heavy and he soon fell asleep.

“The fate of this world may just lie with you dear child.” Jenn whispered, so as not to wake him. “Such an unassuming form for a powerful wizard.” She continued to rock him until Luna entered the room.

“Aww, you got him to fall asleep.” said Luna quietly. “He really is adorable.”

“Yes.” said Jenn. “He sure is. He has a great ordeal ahead of him, as do you.”

“I know.” Luna nodded. “But you know more don't you? You were able to see his future.”

“I tried.” said Jenn. “His future is cloudy, unlike most. I see visions of something terrible happening, and things I don't understand. Things that don't exist in this world.”

“I suppose its because of bonding with that demon.” said Luna. “The rules have changed. We have no idea what sort of effects that will have on him and those around him.” Her tail was swaying back and forth as she thought about their situation.

“Indeed.” said Jenn as she looked down at the sleeping baby. “I see mostly happiness though. Ozzie will spread his light to others, and they will spread it to others. I see the darkness being driven back, and peaceful times ahead.”

“Well, that's good.” Luna said. “He helped so many people in his adult life, yet never really had a happy childhood. He and I have talked about it. I agreed to give him the love and attention he never got before. I have to admit, I really do feel like his mommy now.”

“That's good.” said Jenn. “Help keep that light within you both going. Make it as bright as you can. You both will need it.” She handed Ozzie over to Jenn. “I have a crib that I have used when babysitting. He can use that. I put it in the guest bedroom by the bed.”

“Thank you.” said Luna. She cradled little Ozzie in her arms as he slept. “Good night, and see you in the morning.”

“Good night.” said Jenn, and they all slept through the night.