Sunny Paws: The Adventures
Ch. 3 – Playroom Punch-Out
Aiden sat with Nessa and Mason at the snack table in the daycare's kitchen. All three of them were currently enjoying a nice helping of apple mush, yogurt, and some apple juice on the side. Lydia had explained to Aiden that the daycare's kitchen was magically enhanced so that the babies could have whatever they asked for, so long as it was permitted. It was convenient and a great way to keep the kids' eating habits in check.
Soon, their snacks were finished, and Sammy appeared before them, "All done with your num-nums, cuties?"
"Yes, Sammy." Nessa answered.
"Thank you for the snacks." Mason said.
"You're very welcome." Sammy said while ruffling their head fur. The kitchen's magic took care of the plates, whisking them off to be cleaned. "Now that you three are done with your snacks, you can have some playtime."
"I think we'll do just that." Aiden said while getting up.
"You guys think we can play stuffed animal parade?" Mason asked.
"Sure Mason, sounds like fun." Nessa said while smiling. Ever since Mason helped with the whole Boogieman incident, he's come out of his shell a little more. He grew a bit more outgoing and sociable towards the other babies. Lydia claimed that it was from Aiden spending time with him and being a good role model, although Aiden needed to give credit to Nessa as well.
"Alright, you cuties have fun." Sammy said before disappearing.
"Come on, let's head to the playroom." Aiden said, prompting his friends to nod in agreement. They encountered a surprising sight when they reached the door of the playroom. Nigel was tending to another one of the babies, Suki, a female red panda wearing black ninja shirt and a matching pullup with red trim.
She had a sad look on her face as sat on the floor while drinking a healing milk bottle. Nigel sat beside her while rubbing her back to comfort her. "What happened?" Mason asked.
The two babies looked at them, "Hey guys. If you're going to the playroom, you're better off not going." Nigel said.
"Why? Is there a scary monster in there?" Nessa asked.
Suki stopped drinking to answer, "Ivy. We were in the playroom, and she came in with a big plushy dragon."
"She told us to get out or else she would tell her dragon to beat us up. Suki tried fighting it and she got bopped pretty bad." Nigel continued.
"Now no one can go in anymore." Suki finished before going back to her bottle.
"Her again? I guess we'll have to teach her another lesson." Aiden said.
"You're gonna fight that dragon?" Suki asked.
"We've fought Ivy before. Having a big dragon by her side isn't going to help." Nessa said with confidence, sticking her head up in a cute manner.
"I don't know…" Suki asked, clearly nervous.
"It's okay. They're strong." Nigel reassured. Suki's expression softened before she nodded.
"We'll get the playroom back no problem." Aiden said with a smile. Nigel and Suki wished them good luck before they both went off to play outside. The three adventures steeled themselves before entering the playroom. Once inside, they found Ivy sitting on a throne made of building blocks. To her right was a large plush dragon made with green and yellow felt with big black button eyes. Compared to the other living plushies in the nursery, this one was huge, practically a head and a half taller than any of the babies. A prominent feature of the dragon as a large belt around its waist, featuring a buckle which had a large, purple gem in the center.
The bratty lizard sneered at them, "In case you haven't heard, this is my playroom now. Leave at once."
"This isn't your playroom, Ivy." Nessa said.
"You can't just bully everyone into not having playtime." Mason chimed in.
"Yes, I can. I have my brand-new pet here." Ivy said while stroking the back of the dragon.
Aiden stepped up, "How many times to we have to do this before you take the hint, you little brat?"
Ivy glared at him, "And how many times am I going to say that I don't care who you are? Peasant!" The two of them stared intensely at each other. It simply looked like two kids having a disagreement from the outside. From the inside, however, it was pure hatred and rage.
"I guess we're going to have to kick your padded butt once more." Aiden said.
"That's not gonna happen. Go and bop him good, my pet." Ivy ordered, resulting in the dragon going up to Aiden and raising its claws to attack.
"You can do this, Aiden!" Nessa cheered.
"Yeah, she's going down!" Mason cheered. Aiden readied his guitar and prepared to strike his plush foe down. The dragon roared and went to attack Aiden, who dodged in time. He tried to play a song with his guitar in order to make him stronger but did not feel any change.
"What the…" Aiden wondered.
"Dumb peasant. Silly tricks like that won't work on my dragon." Ivy mocked while sticking her tongue out.
"Look out, Aiden!" Nessa shouted as the dragon prepared to attack again. Aiden ducked out of the way in time and tried to play another song. Nothing happened once again as he was forced to retreat.
"Why isn't it working?" Aiden wondered as he kept dodging attacks. He was starting to get winded and frustrated. He wasn't going to be able to keep this up any longer, which proved to be true when one of the dragon's paws clipped his arm. It came to a head when an attack finally landed. Aiden tried to block the attack, but he was flung back and was hurt on impact.
Ivy used her mocking laughter, "Princess one. Peasants zero."
Aiden got back up and rubbed his head, prompting his friends to check on him, "Are you okay, Aiden?" Mason asked while hugging his plushie tight.
Aiden nodded as he was healed by Mason's power, "I couldn't use my music."
"But it always works." Nessa said.
"Not anymore. So, anyone else want their faces rearranged?" Ivy asked.
"I'll do it." Nessa said while stepping up to the dragon.
"Be careful, Nessa." Aiden warned, prompting his friend to smile and nod. The dragon roared as it took a swipe at the padded wolf, causing her to dodge and hold out her wand and say, "Fizzle fizze fwoosh!" She expected fire to come shooting out of her wand, but it never came, "Hey, my wand isn't working." she whined before she narrowly avoided a strike by the dragon.
"I told you; it won't work!" Ivy said.
Nessa avoided another strike before shouting, "Freezy freezy freeze!" This ice spell didn't work either, leading to Nessa getting struck by the dragon. She was sent tumbling across the floor, coming to a stop at a wall.
"Oooohhh, that looked like a boo boo." Ivy mocked.
"Nessa!" Mason shouted in worry. Nessa simply stumbled up with a sad look, rubbing her eyes to hold back tears. The attack did look like it hurt, even if it did come from a stuffed toy.
"Wanna give up?" Ivy asked.
"Never!" Nessa shouted before calling out another spell, "Cracka Cracka Zap!" The lightning she expected didn't come. The dragon stomped towards her as she cowered in fear, trembling as she backed up against the wall. Small tears formed in her eyes as the dragon raised its paw to attack. She couldn't take it anymore fell to the floor saying, "I give up!" before starting to cry.
Ivy gave a wicked laugh, "Wise choice peasant." She then turned to Mason, "You want a try?
Mason simply clutched his plushie and hid behind Aiden, "No…" Meanwhile, Nessa ran back to Aiden and hugged him tightly, tears still streaming down her face.
"Now leave. Never come back here again." Ivy demanded as her dragon returned to her side. Aiden gave her a glare before leaving with his friends. Once outside the playroom, Aiden comforted the still crying Nessa by sitting down with her and giving her a cuddle.
"Shh… its okay." he said softly while rubbing her back. Nessa's tears slowed down a little as he did this. This was followed by Mason joining in the embrace and letting Nessa hug his plushie.
Nessa calmed down significantly after this. She wiped her eyes and said, "Thank you."
At that moment, Sammy appeared before them, "I heard a little baby crying. Do they need a cuddle? A baba? A nappy nap?"
"It's okay, Sammy. I just got bopped by a monster and Aiden and Mason made me feel better." Nessa told him.
"Oh! Well, good job little ones." Sammy said while patting the two of them on the head.
"Um…" Nessa began, "I am a little… soggy though."
"Me too… I got scared…" Mason said while blushing hard.
"Well, let's get you babies changed then." Sammy cheered before leading the three friends to the nursery, checking Aiden just in case and finding that he was clean. Once there, the living plush got started with changing Nessa first. "So, what's this scary monster this bopped you. Sammy will give them a good bopping back."
"Ivy has this plush dragon with her, and she's taken over the playroom." Aiden explained.
"Hmm… that does sound like a problem. I did notice some strong energy coming from the door." Sammy mused as she powdered Nessa and taped up her new diaper.
"None of our magic worked on it." Nessa said as she was lowered to the floor and Mason was picked up next.
"I'm sorry to say this, sweeties, but I don't think I'll be able to help this time. I felt that energy was too strong for me." Sammy said while wiping down Mason.
"But there must be something we can do. Ivy can't have the playroom forever." Nessa said with a slight whine.
"If we can't fight it with magic, then we'll need to find someone strong enough to take that dragon down." Aiden suggested.
"Who can possibly be strong enough to fight that thing?" Nessa asked.
Mason had his change finished and was lowered to the floor by Sammy, "I think I might know someone. What about that big kid, Greyson?" Aiden knew who Mason was talking about. Greyson was a rhino child who was by far the biggest kid in the nursery. Despite that, he was very gentle and caring towards the babies, though he could be a little rough during playtime without even knowing it.
In his previous adult life, Greyson was part of small-time professional boxing circuit. His entire career spiraled down after an opponent he defeated faked a recording of Greyson apparently spouting off offensive language and comments, completely shattering his image as a kind person. No matter how much he tried to deny it, the public took it as fact and essentially bullied him into depression. This all came to a head when he decided to take his own life, which is when he met Lydia. "Yeah! Let's get him to fight the dragon!" Nessa said while bouncing a little.
"Yeah. It seems like our best bet." Aiden agreed.
"I think I saw the little one go into the tool shed outside earlier. Silly baby shouldn't really be in there." Sammy said.
"Then let's go get him." Aiden said, prompting his friends to follow him as they went outside. They found the shed right past the pond and playground; its door was slightly ajar. As they approached the structure, someone called out to them.
"What are you going in there for?" It was Suki, who came running after them.
"Hey Suki, is Greyson in there? We're gonna have him fight the dragon." Nessa explained.
"So, you couldn't fight it?" Suki asked.
"No. It bopped Aiden and Nessa good. I was too scared." Mason admitted while blushing.
"I think you're out of luck. Greyson has been hiding in there and attacking other babies for some reason. It's weird, he's usually so gentle and kind." Suki explained.
"That is weird. All the more reason for us to see him." Aiden said.
"Alright. Just don't get bopped too hard." Suki warned before walking off. The group turned their attention back to the shed and slowly opened the door. At the far end of the room, they found Greyson. He wore blue cloth diaper and a white tank top along with a pair of red mittens. He was currently sitting on the far end of the room, looking distressed.
"Greyson! There you are." Nessa said while toddling up to the rhino. Greyson turned around with a fearful look. "We just wanted to ask if- Whoa!" Nessa was caught off guard when Greyson swung a fist in her direction, dodging just in time.
"Stay back!" Greyson shouted, balling up his fists with a terrified look on his face.
"Greyson, it's us!" Mason said. Greyson didn't listen, instead he tried swinging again at the babies.
"What's going on?" Nessa asked.
"I don't know, but we need to calm him down." Aiden said while taking out his guitar. The other babies followed suit, readying their toys. Nessa started things off with a ice spell, firing it off when Greyson was charging at her. Aiden played a song that made the babies feel protected against the rhino's attacks before smacking him with his guitar. All the while, Mason was keeping them topped up with some plushie cuddles.
Greyson charged at the three of them with swinging fists, wildly trying to hit them with reckless abandon. As Aiden dodged another strike, he noticed something about Greyson's eyes. They didn't look normal, instead looking like purple swirls. That's when it came to him, "Guys! He's hypnotized!" Aiden shouted. Unfortunately, he was distracted for just long enough to get smacked by Greyson's fist, sending him flying across the room.
"Aiden!" Nessa shouted as she tried casting a thunder spell to stop Greyson in his tracks.
Mason waddled up to Aiden and healed him with his plushie, "Are you okay?" he asked.
Aiden got up a bit unsteadily, but nodded, "I'm fine. Thanks for that."
"So, you're saying he's hypnotized?" Mason asked.
"Yeah. It's no wonder he's acting out this way. He probably thinks everyone is a monster." Aiden deduced. He then noticed Greyson was closing in on Nessa, who was cowering in fear. "Nessa!" Aiden acted quickly and smacked Greyson away.
"Thanks Aiden." Nessa said. "We need to wake him up somehow."
Aiden tried thinking of a solution. He had to think of one fast since Greyson was charging their way. His eyes went towards the diaper bag, maybe they had an item that would help them out. He quickly rummaged through the bag, "Diapers. Revival Plushie. Milk Bottle." Aiden mumbled as he sifted through the items that he and his friends collected by fighting monsters.
"He's getting closer!" Nessa squealed as Greyson neared.
Aiden then found something, "Stand back!" he called out before flinging the item at Greyson. It was a small pillow that exploded into a shower of feathers on impact. The rhino stopped in his tracks and stood where he was with a tired look on his face. He gave a big yawn before falling flat on his back. His belly rose and fell as snores came from his mouth.
"That was our Super Soft Pillow." Nessa said.
"Yep. He'll be napping for a while. Hopefully he'll wake up back to normal." Aiden said.
As Greyson snored away, Sammy appeared in the room, "What's going on?" he asked before he saw Greyson. "Oh. I'm glad you didn't have to bop his poor little head."
"He was hypnotized. He thought everyone was a monster." Aiden told him.
Sammy gave the rhino a sad look, "Poor thing. I might as well put him in the crib until he wakes up." he said as he teleported himself and everyone back to the nursery.
Once there, Sammy put Greyson in the crib to finish up his little nap. Exhausted from the fight, Aiden and his friends decided to have a nap themselves on the nursery floor. They lay down and got comfortable falling into a peaceful rest. The babies woke up an hour later to the sound of soft whining and crinkling. Sammy was changing Greyson into a new diaper, the rhino himself being the one who was whining a little. "Don't be fussy, sweetie. Sammy's gonna make it all better." the plush said while giving Greyson a small belly rub.
Greyson settled down a bit and let Sammy finish the change. Once that was done, Greyson was lowered to the floor, still looking a bit groggy, "My head feels fuzzy…" he said. The babies waited until he woke up a little more before telling him what happened. In the meantime, he was given a bottle of warm milk and a back rub. Once that was done, the babies began to explain what happened. When they were done, Greyson had a sad look and hung his head, "I'm sorry…"
"It's not your fault, Greyson. You didn't know what you were doing." Aiden told him.
"You're a big sweetie. You just wouldn't hurt someone for no reason." Nessa said while giving him a hug.
Greyson smiled a little, "Thanks guys. You're my bestest friends."
"Do you remember anything from before you were hypnotized?" Mason asked.
"I think I remember Cody taking me to the shed to show me something. After that, nothing." Greyson said.
"I knew it had to be him." Aiden said while scowling.
"When I get my paws on him, I'll spank his little behind." Sammy said with a slight huff.
"Why would he do that? What did I do to him?" Greyson asked.
"He just likes to be mean to everyone. Just like Ivy." Nessa said.
"Speaking of which, she's taken over the playroom with a dragon plushie. We tried fighting it but had no luck. We were thinking you could help us." Aiden said.
"Sure! Anything to help my friends and bop a bully." Greyson said eagerly. "Good thing I'm pretty big."
"Which makes you perfect." Mason said.
"Well, you're all changed up and your tum tum's full. I'd say you're set." Sammy said while patting Greyson's belly.
"Yeah. Let's go kick her padded behind!" Greyson said.
"Hold on. Just a minute." Sammy said before flying towards Aiden, Nessa, and Mason. He checked each of their diapers, "Seems like you three had a little accident of your own while you were taking your nappy-bye. Let's get you all changed first."
"Sure, Sammy." Aiden said with a slight chuckle. Once everyone got new diapers and some pats from Sammy, they were ready to head to the playroom once more.
They opened the door to find Ivy still sitting on her block throne, her dragon still by her side. Although, it was seemingly asleep. The bratty lizard sneered at them, "You dumb babies just don't learn, do you?"
"Ivy, we're going to give you one last chance to give this playroom back to everyone, or else." Aiden said.
"Or else what? You'll get your diapers kicked by my draggie again?" Ivy said while snickering.
"You'll have to answer to Greyson." Nessa told her as the rhino stepped forward, pounding his mittens together.
"Oh, so you got the big, fat sissy to help you? I'm not scared." Ivy said with her usual confidence, but it was obvious to spot the uncertainty in her voice.
"I'm gonna make myself clear. Nobody messes with my friends. When I pound your draggie, I'm coming after you." Greyson said, causing Ivy to shrink back a little.
"Uh… Draggie! Fresh meat for you!" she said, causing the dragon to stir from its slumber and stand to full height. It still stood only a bit taller than Greyson.
"Stand back, everyone." Greyson said as the dragon stepped forward with its paws raised. Greyson raised his mittens in a childish boxing stance as he and dragon circled each other throughout the playroom. The dragon struck first, swinging a paw downward, only for Greyson to duck out of the way and throw a punch to the side. The dragon tried to hit Mason again, only for him to counter with two strong punches to the belly.
"Alright, Greyson!" Nessa cheered.
"Put him down for a nap!" Mason cheered. Greyson kept going, throwing punches at the dragon while the plush struggled to keep up. Ivy sneered and puffed up her cheeks with anger as she watched her plan unravel in front of her.
Greyson landed a solid punch that knocked the dragon down, causing the babies to cheer, "Feel like giving up now, Ivy?" he asked.
Ivy angrily stood up in her throne, "You babies aren't getting the best of me! Draggie, get up!" she shouted. Aiden noticed a strange glowing coming from the dragon as it got back up and gave a menacing look towards Greyson, looking a bit bigger. It gave a roar, intimidating Greyson a little. The battle was back on as both combatants began to wail on each other again. This time however, it was Greyson who was on the defense.
The dragon's strikes were getting stronger, causing Greyson to whimper a bit. "Don't give up, Greyson!" Nessa cheered. The rhino steeled himself and kept going. The dragon suddenly grabbed hold of Greyson and threw him to the floor before getting on top of him. Greyson held his guard as those big, stuffing-filled paws wailed on him. "Oh no! I can't watch!" Mason said as he covered his eyes with his plushie.
Aiden glared at Ivy, who in turn gave an evil smirk. "Don't you see now? I always get what I want." she said.
Aiden then noticed her hand. It was glowing with the same dark fire from the first time they fought. His eyes then went to the dragon's belt, which was glowing the same color. His eyes lit up in realization, "Greyson! Attack the belt!" he shouted.
Greyson nodded and reached behind the dragon to unhook the belt. The accessory fell uselessly to the side as the dragon's strength faded, allowing Greyson to push it off. Ivy's eyes widened in shock as Greyson pushed the dragon off. He proceeded to wail on the dragon, the living plush helpless to stop the attacks from coming. The babies cheered as the rhino delivered one final punch to the dragon's chin, making it crash to the ground. It lay there for a while, eyes turning into swirls before disappearing into smoke.
"That was awesome!" Aiden said.
"Woohoo! Go Greyson!" Nessa cheered.
"You're so cool!" Mason cheered. Greyson took these compliments with a smile and blush.
Ivy looked livid with anger. Her cheeks turned red as she started huffing out hot air. "No! It's not fair! You cheated!" she shouted as she hopped off her block throne and stomped her foot.
"Says the girl who gave their plushie pet a magical belt." Aiden said slyly.
This caused Ivy to grow angrier, "It's different when I do it! I get to cheat because I'm the princess! You're the peasants! There's no way that you're better than me!"
"We won because we trusted Greyson. You lost because you just wanted to be a selfish brat." Aiden said.
This comment pushed Ivy over the edge. Her whole face turned red with anger, her teeth gnashed together, and her hands balled into fists. She gave a big scream, causing the others to cover their ears while wincing. Ivy officially kicked off her tantrum by smashing her block throne apart, "This shouldn't be happening! I'm the one in control! I'm the better one! Not you mortals!" she screamed. At this point, in typical toddler fashion, she threw herself to the ground and started flailing her limbs around. "Lydia always has to win! Why does she get her way!? No one listens to me! Why does everyone like her better!? Why!? Why!? Why!?" Ivy said, a few tears were visible in her eyes.
Aiden noticed something during her tantrum. Just like what happened before when he scolded Cody, he could hear a more mature voice coming from Ivy. Sammy suddenly appeared in the room and stuck a pacifier into Ivy's mouth, "That's enough, little one." he said calmly. Ivy tried to pull out the pacifier in another fit of rage, but she couldn't. She was left to suckle on it until she calmed down, but not completely. She was still huffing with a few tears streaming down her face. Sammy gave a bright smile, "Good baby." he said while patting Ivy on the head.
"Thanks Sammy. Her crying was really loud." Nessa said.
"No problem at all, sweetie. Good job defeating the dragon." Sammy said.
"All thanks to Greyson." Mason said, causing the rhino to blush.
"Alright, you babies can have some fun in here. In the meantime, this little one needs a serious time out." Sammy said while picking up Ivy with his magic. He then noticed the discarded belt on the ground, "Might as well take this too." he said before picking it up and disappearing.
Aiden couldn't stop thinking about that voice that came from Ivy. He then remembered the fact that Lydia Sammy hadn't told him much about her. Who exactly what she? His thoughts were interrupted by a call from Nessa, "Come on, Aiden! Let's play!"
"Oh, coming!" Aiden said. He decided to ask Lydia about Ivy later. For now, he was just going to enjoy playing with his new friends.
Some time later, in the nursery…
Lydia stood in the middle of the nursery with the belt in her paw. She looked at the cracked jewel with a slight glare in her eyes, "Unbelievable." was all she had to say. In front of her sat Ivy, Cody, and a dragon child dressed in wizard clothes. Ivy still had the pacifier in her mouth as she glared at Lydia. Cody had his arms crossed while looking frustrated. The dragon child looked very nervous and scared, shifting around in his seat. Lydia turned to them all, "As if sending monsters to run rampant throughout my daycare was bad enough, you had to go and enhance one of them with cursed magic."
"It's not like it was that bad." Cody scoffed. He felt a sharp pain when he was whacked on the wrist by a ruler held by Sammy.
"No mouthing off, baby." he said.
"You stupid little- Ow!" Cody tried saying before he was whacked again in the same spot. He decided to be quiet for now.
"It is a bad thing. The children could've gotten seriously hurt. Suki told me how bad her injuries were. There is a reason why cursed magic is forbidden to practice back in our realm." Lydia explained. She then gave the belt to Sammy before walking right up to Cody, "But you wouldn't know that would you? Someone like you only wishes to cause chaos and break every rule imaginable. There's a reason why people like you are outcasts back home." she said. Cody simply scoffed at her and turned away.
Sammy waddled up to the dragon child with a sad look, "Mono. You don't have to help Ivy. Why do you stay with her?" he asked. The dragon child, known as Mono, simply gave a garbled response. It sounded a lot like typical gibberish coming from a baby. Still, Sammy could understand, "I can still help you. I know I can." Mono only whimpered in response to this and turned away.
Lydia gave the two a sad look before turning to Ivy with a scornful glare, "How could you do this? Abusing that poor creature and even depriving him of his ability to speak. Does your cruelty know no bounds?"
Ivy spoke to Lydia in her head, "He's my fairy. I can do whatever I want to him, and he must obey me. That's the rule."
"And you deal in cursed magic in the hopes of destroying all that I've built. Hanging around the likes of him." Lydia said while glancing towards Cody.
"To survive, you need power. Thanks to him, I have more power than you could ever have." Ivy said.
"Power that will corrupt you. Seems as though it already has. Why are you even doing this, Ivy? You could've left me be and accomplished your own feats. You could've even joined me. Why go down this path?" Lydia asked.
"Mortals don't deserve our magic. If they messed up their lives, that's their problem. Besides, if they don't like their lives that much, they can just perish." Ivy said, a slight wicked grin appearing from behind the pacifier.
Lydia was shocked at what she said. She truly felt bad for Ivy, even if she was trying to destroy her. She collected herself and gave her a hard stare, "You are not going to get away with this. Aiden will stop you. Mortal or not, he's a bigger person than you will ever be."
"Let's see him try." Ivy said.