Alyssa, the Padded Angel (Chapter 2)

Dawn. The light was slowly slipping away as the hours of the day passed by. The sun, which affected this paradise as if any other mortal location, casted a glowing shade through the wispy clouds of the sky. The transition of day to night was drawing near.

Although the humans down below were preparing to end their days, the angels were continuing their work in the high-rising buildings of the Angels Assembly. At all points in time, humanity was in desperate need of these invisible guardians.

There were many different things in which the angels did besides tending to their work at the main embassy. Many of the parents, or "guardian" angels, watched over their children when their services were not needed. Most of them found ways for their children to be active and safe at the same time, with their small minds and bodies free to explore and play to their hearts content.

At a certain playground nearby the looming pillars of the AA's headquarters, several parents were seated on park benches which surrounded the small play area. Their eyes were glued to their young children and focused on every movement they made. The concern of these parents were centered on the semi-destructive nature of their toddling bundles of joy and what they were capable of doing with this curious nature. However, there was one person who felt much different than the others, someone who could watch on and feel no bit of concern over the safety of her own "child".

The headmaster of the AA herself had been here for a good 30 minutes. After the initial punishment process was completed, Grace felt that she needed to have Alyssa exposed to the public eye. She knew very well that simply doing this in privacy would not act as a full punishment. Exposure was the most important factor of this treatment, and the little girl could not be any more exposed.

Little Alyssa was sitting in a sandbox, her padded behind rubbing against the dry, coarse sand. She was basically forced into this position by the woman who was sitting on the park bench nearby. Words could not begin to describe how extremely embarrassed she was. Not only was it humiliating to be in public in basically only a diaper on her legs, but the pacifier had failed to lose the fusion between them! She was the complete idea of a big baby, in the flesh and open for all eyes to see.

She sat in one corner of the sandbox, away from all of the other children. All of the other little tykes were doing activities that stretched as far away from the girl as possible. The only person beside her left in the huge sandbox was an oblivious little boy, about the age of 3 from his outward appearance.

Some of these little children had the audacity to walk up to the girl and point fingers, giggling and calling her names which wouldn't be the least bit insulting to any other person. Unfortunately, everything which they said really hurt her feelings because she knew deep down that none of it was true. However, the appearance clearly justified the very mean remarks thrown her way.

Currently, she was tracing lines through the sand, which eventually came to be the shape of the very thing in which got her into this position in the first place: the heart. It was the heart which caused all of this to become of her. She didn't think that anything else was associated with it but this one, specific imprint which appeared at every failed task of hers. It made her think deeply about her grievances and bad times had before in the past. Was the heart really a symbol of peace and love… or was it a permanent stigma of her distain?

Alyssa clenched her eyes and lowered her eyebrows in anger. Without any regard for anyone else, she slapped away the marking of the heart she had just made. The shape of the heart was ridded once the girl had tossed away the sand which it was located on.

Although the heart was gone, the sand was not. The sand was simply flung into the air and into the direction of the little boy. The sand came up and smacked him right across the face and head, the rough substance now distributed into his clothes and on his hairy head.

The worst of this came once the boy released a blood-curtailing scream; some of the sand landed directly into his eyes and caused him to stop every single thing he was doing. With the sand burning his eyeballs, the boy started to cry loudly and scrape his sockets with his fists.

Quickly realizing what she had just done, Alyssa jolted to the other side of the sandbox. She was paralyzed with her own guilt and unable to move from where she now currently was. She could only watch on to see another mistake which the dreaded heart had made.

Soon enough, a young woman rushed towards the boy's side, sporting the same blonde hair as one another. As the boy cried his eyes out, the woman lifted him into her arms and began cradling him gently, seeing the problem and attempting to rub the sand from his eyes. "There there, sweetheart. Mommy is here now." The woman stated, nurturing her young son in her arms and all the while thinking of the little menace that caused this to begin with.

It was just another strike for Alyssa.  However, what was to happen if she continuously misbehaved after every wrong thing she did now?

As Alyssa turned back to try and answer this question to herself, she noticed that Grace was now gone from the park bench where she was earlier. Before she could wonder where she was, she turned back around to the mother and noticed that she was now talking to Grace, who managed to slip (or in their case, fly) right by her.

From the looks of it, the high angel was not pleased. She appeared to be more ticked off than anything. After hearing the culprit of this incident from the mother, the woman turned back over to where Alyssa was seated, now walking closer to her to get an understanding of what happened. The other woman followed behind, still tenderizing her toddler.

Alyssa panicked when she saw that Grace was heading her way. She saw the mark of irritation etched on her face, and knew that what would happen to her sooner or later would be from the emotion shown from her face. Alyssa had enough sense not to run. Every single angel her age and above could fly faster than her. Even a few of the younglings were faster than her. She knew that even if she were bold enough to make a run for it, she would only be recaptured and dealt an even harsher blow. She just couldn't take that risk.

When Grace stepped her large, white heels into the sandbox, she took off the glasses which helped for her to read and look more sophisticated. To talk to Alyssa, however, she wouldn't need them.

"Well, do you think I didn't take witness to that whole outburst? That was completely uncalled for and it shows your disobedience. Now do you have anything to say for yourself, young lady?"  The woman asked, hoping the girl would respond in any way.

Alyssa simply sat in her own personal pile of sand, the pacifier still locked to her lips, blushing and looking away from the woman's direct gaze. She was too embarrassed to look up to Grace because the tone she was speaking to her in was so demeaning. Not to mention that it complimented the very babyish attire she was thrown into by her to begin with.

Grace was slightly agitated that the girl would not respond openly to her. It showed that even when she was ready to do something wrong, she would not accept responsibility for her own mistakes and try to avoid them at all costs. Instead of trying to force an answer out of her by herself, Grace knew an easier way to show the girl the error of her ways: a direct example.

Grace turned back to the woman carrying the child. After a short discussion, the woman placed her son back into the surface of the sandbox, and soon after the boy's little hand was grasped into one of Grace's. The head angel led the little boy to where Alyssa was sitting, much to his displeasure as he showed a few signs of wanting to retreat from the bully.

Alyssa soon looked up, her shameful, avoiding gaze being replaced with something different. She was astonished to find that the boy she had accidentally harmed was once again in front of her. She could easily take note of his pain; he was still slightly whimpering, his eyes were red and glossy from the amount of tears shed, and there still remained some of the small fragments of sand which she had personally launched his way. He was still sad and she bared witness to it more than anyone else.

Grace once again bent over and met at eye level with the padded angel. With relative ease, she grabbed the boy by his hips and placed him so that he was directly facing the girl. "Now, if you can't say it to me, then why don't you just go ahead and apologize to this little boy? You hurt his feelings." Grace stated, trying to play the pity card for the sake of the boy.

Alyssa felt truly terrible for the boy, as she did not mean at all for him to get sprayed with the mound of sand. She needed a way to express her anger, and he so happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. Although she knew deep down she was sorry, she could not come out to say it. It wasn't the fact that she was too afraid to speak out to the boy, or that she was nervous of the reaction either he or Grace would have at the apology. She literally lacked the ability to open her lips to say anything. The pacifier bonded itself together like glue to Alyssa's lips. Even the most forceful tugs would do absolutely nothing to repel the binky. Underneath the plastic pacifier could by the mumbles heard by the girl. The mumbles were fairly soft and scratchy and couldn't even be picked up by Grace, who sat literally inches away from Alyssa's face.

Grace was not going to accept the girl's insubordination. She'd have to make another example of her. "Well, you made this choice for yourself, Alyssa. Just know that now." The woman informed the little girl, turning back around and walking back to the waiting woman. After giving the mother her son back and allowing them both to depart, Grace quickly scooped the girl into her arms, without giving her any sort of warning.

Alyssa squeaked under the muffling effects of the pacifier. She didn't expect the woman to make such a sudden advance, even during the stages of punishment she had to endure. She thought she could easily predict the things which would happen to her, but because of this one, swift action, she started to question what would become of her in the near future.

Grace placed the girl onto the emptied park bench. Her first action was to rip off the tapes of the fresh, disposable diaper she was wearing. Sliding it away from her and placing it next to her, the woman now took the girl's small frame and flipped it over, revealing her white, exposed bottom.

Alyssa could only think one thing: was the woman going to do what she was now expecting? Would there be anything in this world more humiliating than to be whipped out in public?

"I'm sorry, Alyssa, but you have been asking for this for a long time. It's for your own good that I now do this." Grace gave her only send-off, and brought her right hand high above its rested position. In a brief instant, the woman brought her palm down hard onto the girl's right cheek. The slapping noise echoed through the open ranges of the AA as the noise captivated the attention of the people around the park.

From the very first slap, Alyssa was in extreme pain. It felt like a hot iron had pressed against the outer edge of her butt, a very sensitive area. What made this worse was the fact that she could not manage to strip herself of the pacifier sealed to her lips. If she had a wide-enough gap for it, she'd be screaming out in sheer pain already. However, her muffled cries could now be heard from under the pacifier, as she started to express her pain by closing her eyes and crying.

Grace knew this was not enough. She repeated the process again. And again. And again. With every alternating swat on Alyssa's bottom, the noise continued to grow louder and louder. To find the culprit of the strange smacking noises, the angels around the area fluttered directly to the source. To their surprise, they would witness Grace once again giving the infamous "treatment" to a new girl. As a crowd began to form around the girl, it was divided in several sections of witnesses: there were the younger children who laughed hysterically and called the girl various slandering remarks. There were the older children nearing adulthood who weren't laughing or even smiling. They knew exactly the sort of demeaning stature this was because some of them were given the same treatment, by the exact same woman. The adults understood this more than anyone: some of them agreed to giving the girl a taste of her own medicine, while others thought that forcefully regressing her was wrong and a horrible way to punish a person and improve upon their strengths and weaknesses.

Alyssa didn't care what motives any of these people had for being here. They were all standing around, watching with interest as her hiney received the beating of a lifetime. The diaper sitting right next to her only added to the embarrassment of the girl. She wanted to stop crying, but it hurt unlike any other pain she had ever experienced. She'd surely swell up like a balloon if she tried to repress it all.

The woman gave a final, harsh smack, causing the girl to tightly clench her face and grimace in pain. After she was finally finished, she flipped the girl over and placed her bottom onto her lap, causing the girl to heavily convulse as her raw rump came in contact with a solid surface.

Even Grace could see how absolutely pitiful the girl now was. She had just been dealt a major blow, both physically and metaphorically. There was absolutely no way to recover the shreds of dignity torn away from her after what had just happened. But she could give herself and the girl a small bit of alone time.  

"Do you all mind? I should have you all banished for intervening with my affairs. Be gone or I shall heavily consider it for each and every one of you." The woman chose her words with a lethal coat of venom, as she said everything in a very menacing tone. Within a few seconds, the angels gathered around the bench scurried away like a bunch of cockroaches.

With them out of the way, Grace could focus back on Alyssa, who was still crying in her arms. "You poor, poor baby…" Grace warmly said, very different than the horrible, bossy woman that everyone was so used to. "Now look, I'm sorry that I had to take those measures, but it had to be for your own good. You won't learn how to be a proper, young lady if you don't know how to live up to your own mistakes. We all make them and we must be willing to accept them. If you don't, you're simply going to make them again in the future. Do you understand?"

Alyssa didn't say anything back. She still had the same muffled cries as before, only this time louder with the pain starting to fully settle in. Her eyes were sealed shut, her lips closed off and still unable to produce any real words or sounds but the suckling of the pacifier.

"Alyssa? Alyssa, are you alright?"

Grace looked down and remembered something vital about the pacifier: it was bound by a magical seal forged by her. The person using it would have it stuck onto their lips for as long as Grace wanted them to have it on. During all of this, she must have forgotten that. She was having too much fun babying the girl that she was not paying full attention to what she really needed. Alyssa could have apologized or even spoken to her earlier if it weren't for the pacifier.

"Oh… gods damn it, my mistake." Grace cursed, taking her index finger and tapping the ruby-red, plastic bit of the pacifier which stuck out of Alyssa's mouth. Colorful sparks of colors came bursting from Alyssa's lips. Grace grabbed the plastic portion of the pacifier and pulled it away, taking the entire thing out of the girl's mouth.

The girl's mouth could finally open on its own. Alyssa's first reaction: to continue crying. Now she could do it louder considering that there was nothing to block out the sound any more.

Her wails could be heard from several yards away, but the people were now well aware of what the sound was. They took Grace's words wisely by not further intruding upon her business.

Even though Grace had the firm exterior of a malicious, demanding woman, she was a real softie deep down, a side that not many knew about. She could allow that side to show more so for Alyssa because she could see the type of person that she really was; a very timid girl.

Suddenly, the woman pulled Alyssa closer to her, placing her head into her chest and trying to keep her awful cries from reaching further into the darkening sky. "Oh Alyssa, it's going to be fine. It's nothing that'll last. Just relax and I'll make everything better, dear." The woman said, substituting her rock-hard resolve with something softer. Trying to keep the girl from asphyxiating from a lack of breathing, the woman started to softly rub the girl's back to help soothe her.

For some reason, the woman's motions were starting to work on Alyssa. The little girl could feel the tender grazing of the woman's palm up against her back, and she could almost feel as if her heavily punished backside was starting to lose its horrible, stinging feeling.

After a few moments, Alyssa's cries started to die down into simple sobs, leaving a content smile on the face of Grace. "There we go. Now, let's put you back into your diaper, little lady. We wouldn't want the cold to settle in on you, now would we?"

Instead of directly speaking, Alyssa responded by shaking her head slightly.

"Good." Grace placed the girl back onto the park bench, lifting her legs and pulling her skirt back up so her red bottom was revealed to the public. The woman took the clean diaper that Alyssa was wearing before and placed it back underneath the girl's legs, lowering her bottom so she could comfortably rest on the padding. Going to the tapes on each side, Grace wrapped them around the girl's waist and pressed them to the front so the undergarment would hug her legs. Smiling, she lowered the girl's skirt and picked her up, placing her in her lap. "Now sweetie, can you tell me what you learned?"

Alyssa was slightly confused by this. How could she have learned a single thing if she was never given the chance to redeem herself for a small mistake that she made? However, as to not be grilled by the woman again, she would comply with whatever would be spoken to her. "I… I won't… I won't…"

"You won't what, Alyssa?"

"I won't… be mean to other people again. That was… really mean and… and I didn't mean for it to happen… I'm sorry mommy." Alyssa meagerly said.

Although what the girl said wasn't very easy to make out, Grace got the idea. She could see the remorse in the girl's eyes and just from the way she acted and spoke. It could not make her anymore happy. "You are forgiven, child." With that, the woman bent down and gave Alyssa a small kiss on the cheek.

Alyssa smiled in a very awkward kind of way. She only did so because she was glad that she would not be dealt an even harsher blow than what was just given to her. Plus, for some strange reason, this all felt very comforting in a way. Yes, after being beaten like a mule and then being treated like a baby, it all felt relaxing. What the hell was happening to her?

"T-thank you, m-mommy." Alyssa politely said, curling up and looking around to see if there was anyone else surveying what was now happening. There was nobody else but them.

"You're welcome, my dear. Now, perhaps we can-"The woman stopped in the middle of her sentence and thought for a moment. The sun had not completely dipped below the horizon of low passing clouds. Her original intention was to have the girl take a small nap after this, but it seemed that after the massive swatting that she had just given to her that Alyssa would still be wide awake. This would be a perfect time to give something productive for the girl to do. "Perhaps we can give you a little assignment."

Alyssa looked up to the woman, questioning this for a moment. She was being given an assignment this early on through the punishment? It was a bit unorthodox, but it did not matter much to Alyssa. She would try to grasp whatever opportunity she could to prove herself worthy to the gods, and more importantly to get this frustrating thing off of her legs. "What do you have in mind?" The girl asked, drying off the last remaining tears.

The woman slipped her glasses back over her eyes to correct her vision. Standing up, she planted the girl back on her two feet, allowing her enough space to move on her own. "Well, the idea I had is fairly simple. There is a small town in the United States that plans an elaborate Christmas display every year. Since the time is approaching for said holiday, I want to do for that town what we do every single year for them."

"What's that?"

"Give them our best blessings."

Alyssa was familiar with that concept. To give a single person or even vaster community a blessing meant to give them protection from the negative aspects of life. This essentially acted as an invisible safeguard.

"How will that work out?" Alyssa asked.

Grace tilted her head. "You mean you've never given someone your blessing?"

The girl knew she hadn't. She never saw the purpose in it, as she thought people were 100% capable of finding happiness themselves.  "Maybe." Alyssa shyly replied.

"Come now, Alyssa. It's one of the most important parts of being an angel. If we weren't here to spread joy to the world, then what is the part of even existing? It's our jobs to ensure that the people of Earth are always given good tidings. That couldn't possibly be any truer than at this time of year."

Alyssa simply nodded her head. As she did so, she took her hand and placed it on the front of her padding. A sudden urge had come over her, one which caused her to throw all of what Grace had told her away.

"Are you ready, Alyssa?" Grace asked.

"I've… I've really gotta… gotta go…"

"Well then let's go!" Without warning, Grace wrapped her arm around Alyssa and raised her palm up. A wispy cloud rose slowly from her hand, slowly falling to the ground and beginning to wrap itself around the two. Alyssa whined as the woman had not paid attention to what she was going to say. It was too late to speak now because the noises being produced by the twisting currents of wind blocked out her voice. Soon enough, the duo were completely concealed by the puffy substance. In a small instance, the cloud scattered to reveal absolutely nothing standing in the spot which was previously occupied.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  

The sudden rush of wind filled the night sky in one area. In the air, a small spiraling ball started to expand, growing to a decent size. Soon enough, the tufts of cloud dissipated to reveal the two figures how had traveled here: Alyssa and Grace.

Once they had completed the rather short journey, Grace looked down from her raised position and smiled warmly. "We're here." She simply said, turning back to Alyssa.

Alyssa appeared to be struggling. Her legs were slightly crossed, with a few quiet whines coming from her mouth. She was biting her lower lip, as if she was holding something in.

The girl turned to the woman. "We… we are?" She asked. She was so concerned with her "issue" that she had no time to realize that they were at their destination.

Without saying anything else, the woman came closer to Alyssa. Grabbing her chin, she tilted her head so she could get a good view of the sight down below.

The entire area looked to be set ablaze with a series of bright lights, each of which holding their own distinct patterns. A small lake was surrounded by the very bright and decorative ornaments, the lights twinkling off of the water's surface to showcase an even more beautiful display. What seemed to be the centerpiece was a large tree with the brightest lights of them all. A closer inspection would reveal all of the shiny trinkets adorned to it, including a golden star which jutted out of the top.

"Let's get a closer look." Grace said, grabbing Alyssa's free hand and flying down closer to the ground.

As Alyssa still attempted to stay composed, she herself took note of the wonderful sights her eyes had seen. She had always heard of the magnificent display put on by one small, earthly town. Although the angels were capable of doing much more themselves, the girl was astonished by the amount of detail crafted by human hands. It was a sight she would be sure to keep in mind when visiting earth once more.

Grace finally stopped flying as she reached a few feet off of the ground. She stood in front of a wooden sign near a paved sidewalk, one printed with large print for all to read:

"Mcadenville, North Carolina
Christmas Town"

"Well, this is it. Christmas Town USA, as everyone likes to call it here." Grace stated, watching the people as their eyes were filled in wonder over the spectacle that made this place so significant.

"It's… really beautiful. I don't even… know what to say."

"There's nothing to say, dear. It's simply enough to see the human spirit in action right here." Grace said with a smile. "Now I think it's about time to give this town the sort of blessing that it deserves." With that, she soared high into the air, her wings flapping rapidly in the air.

Alyssa watched from the ground with a quizzical tilt of the head. The woman had sped off so quickly that Alyssa didn't get to ask what she was exactly doing next.

She wouldn't have to ask as she looked carefully at what was happening now. Grace started to fly slowly above the entire area, letting her wings to briskly flap. From her wings came what appeared to be pinkish sparkles. These glowed wonderfully and started to flutter towards the ground, but disintegrating before they could touch it. The woman looked to be spreading this material all around the area, over the lake and above the people of Mcadenville. The citizens, as they were completely unaware of the invisible intentions of the angels, saw nothing and acted accordingly, still transfixed on the visuals happening at their level.

Alyssa herself was in a daze, so much so that she took her complete attention away from her bathroom issue. She was dazzled at the spectacle that the woman was putting on, and amazed that she or anyone else was capable of putting on such a fine display.

Soon enough, the woman was finished with this blessing, now flying back down to the ground. The woman soon started to float back to Alyssa's level, letting a sigh of content to show her happiness towards what she had just done. A blessing from her truly meant great fortune for any person, town or city considering her high status.

"Well that seemed to work out pretty well, wouldn't you agree?" Grace said.

"How… how did you do that?" Alyssa asked, still shocked by what her eyes had just witnessed.

"I gave this town my best wishes. It was a proper blessing for people who work so hard every single year to prepare this showing."

"But… but you made it look so easy." The girl continued to squirm.

"Well that's simply because I've been doing this for so long. I was appointed as the headmaster of the AA because of the experience that I possess. Well, come to think about it, I was able to do this since I was a little girl. It's rather easy."

Alyssa was a bit irritated with the woman's smug attitude. Grace seemed too over-confident and proud of her achievements, the polar opposite of herself. Alyssa never looked at herself as better than anyone else, and it clearly showed from the string of mishaps which have been plaguing her and the community of angels.

"I've done my part. I think it's your turn to help out now." Grace insisted.

Alyssa blinked. She froze right in place, not expecting that so suddenly and on such short notice. "It's… it's my turn? W-what do you mean?" She meagerly asked.

"We came here for a reason. I have done my job and it's now time for you to contribute. I didn't come here to show off to you; I came here because there is something which needs to be done."

"Bu-but haven't you already done it?" Alyssa crossed her legs. The pressure was slowly starting to build. The woman pressing demands onto her was not helping in the slightest.

"I have blessed the town, but there's just one, simple thing I need you to do."

"Wh-what's that?"

It was then that Grace reached for her backside. On her pants were a series of latches, one of which connected to Alyssa's staff/rattle. Unhooking it from the latch, Grace brought it from behind her back and slowly handed it to Alyssa who hastily accepted it. "Do you see that sign over there?" Grace said, pointing the girl over to the direction of the town's main sign. "I want you to focus your magic and hit that sign. It'll be the symbol to show a job well done."

"What's the symbol?"

"It's a heart." Grace replied.

To Alyssa, it sounded as if Grace had said it in slow motion. A heart, she says. It's the same, universal symbol which followed her through her missions and always resulted in her failing. No matter how hard she tried to avoid it, it always followed her, and no matter how deeply she tried to dig into the problem, she could never find the solution. Alyssa knew this was an issue, but never knew the answer of remedying it.

Alyssa looked at the toy/instrument of power. She couldn't risk having it cause another massive mistake. "I can't."

Grace was confused from hearing that. "I'm sorry?"

"I said I can't!" Alyssa replied, crossing her legs even harder and trying to hold in one of her problems. The other one was about to be instigated by the woman right next to her.

"What makes you say that, Alyssa? You were doing just fine a while ago."

"No… It's just that… I really CAN'T do it. I can't do anything right now."

It was then Grace slowly approached the girl, not angrily but in a sense to help her. "Look Alyssa, I know that's it's hard for you to get off the ground, so to speak, but I know there is no possible way for you to mess this up. I want to reteach you because I know you are fully capable of doing great things. You CAN do this, Alyssa. You just have to believe that you can."

The woman must have over-analyzed what Alyssa had said. The girl literally COULD NOT do it. If she did, she would be forced to degradingly piss herself right here in her pants, although it was a diaper meant solely for that purpose. She did not want that and had no intentions on using her undergarments at all.

The fact that the woman had placed her hand on her arm did not make anything better. The moment she came in contact with her bare flesh, the hairs on her skin rose up and gave her goosebumps. For a slight moment, it made her weak, getting even closer to releasing her grip and allowing the floodgates to open.

"I… I really… I can't… I can't do it…" Alyssa repeated.

Grace didn't understand and simply couldn't press it along any further. She could however give her as much motivation as possible. "Oh come on, Alyssa! You can do it! You've got the spirit and everything it takes! Now show mama what you can do!" She exclaimed, giving the girl a slap on her crinkly bottom.

Alyssa uncrossed her legs and lurched forward. The pat on the bum was strong enough to knock her off balance. Soon enough, she could hear a strange hissing noise coming from below her. The area between her legs started to grow warm and damp; the sensation spread up the lengths of the padding she was wearing. Alyssa could feel it and knew exactly what she was doing.

Alyssa desperately crossed her legs once again, closing her eyes and pressing her free hand between her legs to stop the flow. It didn't help to stop it, but only made it worse for Alyssa as she felt it vibrate and expand without any signs of stopping.

Alyssa felt so much right now: anger, sadness, depression, humiliation… It was astonishing to know how much emotion one angel could feel at one given time. It would be fine for any other angel, but it was extremely unfortunate for her at this time. What Alyssa was holding in her hand may appear to be a simple plaything, but regarding power it was the same staff of Cupid which she had possessed before. The girl was too focused on keeping her diaper dry that she was deterred from the instrument's deadly capabilities. The staff is controlled directly from the emotions of the wielder. Since happiness is the most notable emotion for an angel to show, the power of the staff can take the positivity of the wielder and transport it to the staff. The staff can then distribute the power in many beneficial ways, including to bless unfortunate people and to help some fall in love. There was a bad side to the staff, as well; it could be influenced by negative emotions, too. In this state, there would be no telling the repercussions of having the staff in the wrong hands. By all means now, it was in very wrong hands.

Grace noticed the demeanor of the girl was quite different. For starters, she was hunched over and appearing to be struggling with something. She was also making small, whining noises, those which started to concern the woman. "Alyssa? What's wrong?" She asked, slowly starting to approach her.

As Grace came closer, the heart-shaped end of the 'staff' started to grow a fiery red inside. The light pulsated and continued to grow in intensity. Alyssa did not notice it right away as she was desperately trying to focus on the issue strapped to her legs.

Grace noticed the glow of the staff and thought it was just the girl letting the thing charge up. She didn't know right away that this meant anything because she had never seen the girl or even the staff in action before. "Alyssa, please tell me. What's going on? I don't want you to feel bad or anything. Just let it all-"

Grace's words could not have come out at an even worse time. As she got close enough to pat Alyssa on the shoulder, the end of the staff in the girl's hand released a tremendous amount of energy in the form of a large fireball. The woman jumped back, narrowly missing it as the ball of flame shot from the tip of the shaft.

Unfortunately, there were SOME aspects of angel magic that could be seen and even experienced by humans. Most of the examples of this were from angels who had showed anger or scorn and had it released with terrifying intensity. No one would be safe if something like this were to occur.

The fireball traveled at an intense speed, preparing to collide with the other side of the lake. The people on the ground immediately took note of this, running away and screaming in a frenzied panic. Grace stayed where she was, watching it come closer to the surface. Alyssa, on the other hand, was still focused on her issue, beginning to whimper helplessly to hold in the stream filling into her diaper, her eyes closed and face tightly clenched.

The ball of energy finally did come in contact and did so with true impact. Upon crashing to the ground, a violent tremor occurred around the area, followed up by a loud rumbling explosion. This created an impact, sending massive amounts of dirt, grass and other debris into the air. The shockwave from this blast sent whatever was in close proximity flying, that now being only decorated Christmas trees. Those trees which weren't immediately annihilated launched to several different locations, most of which plopping into the lake itself. One tree actually managed to crash onto an empty, parked car, totaling it. As everything finally started to settle down, there stood a hot, gaping crater in the ground, with parts of Christmas trees scattered everywhere.

All of the people came back shortly after, horrified of the apocalyptic scene and the near-death experience they had all just encountered. The major displays of the attraction were ruined, making Christmas Town U.S.A. the site of a literal hellhole.

Alyssa opened her eyes and turned to see what she had just done. She didn't even bother trying to hold in her bladder any longer as there was no point. She took note of the devastation caused by her own hands, the chaos ensuing on the ground, the damage that had just been done. She was all at fault for it. The combination of that and the problem strapped between her legs started to make her feel weak inside, a pitifully helpless feeling.

Grace was paralyzed. The girl had just done it again, only more devastating than anyone could have hoped for.  The head angel had never witnessed such mayhem in her time as an angel, and she had seen a great deal in her time. What made this worse than other incidents was the terrible timing of it all: she had just given her best blessings for the town in hopes that there Christmas would go well, only to have that completely obliterated by someone who knew absolutely nothing that she was doing.

Grace's face grew deep red, her head violently rattling and appearing as if it would explode at any moment. She was infuriated, ready to lash out at Alyssa for the turmoil she had just created. It was then that she turned around to see her.

The girl was now crying. As Alyssa slumped over, her eyes were producing rivers of salty tears. She could not hold in her breathe long enough to say anything, as the only noises coming from her mouth were her helpless sobs.

Grace opened her eyes wider. She could see it in the girl's eyes and from how she acted. It seemed that she showed deep remorse for what she had just caused. Grace came to the conclusion that she did not truly intend on doing this, and for the first time showed a bit of sympathy for her.

The woman approached the girl, slowly pulling her in for a hug. She was taken by surprise when the girl wrapped her arms around the woman, not retreating or trying to break away from her.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm so, so sorry!" Alyssa said, stuttering between her cries.

Grace grabbed her head tightly, pulling her in to try and keep her under control. "It's alright, Alyssa. I'm right here. Just let it all out." The woman stated, trying to be as tender with the girl as possible.

Alyssa was doing a fine job at doing just that. She let everything out; her anger, her depression, and her overall sadness. She had just caused another scene and it was all because of the symbol which seemed to mark all of this: the dreaded heart. Alyssa also felt weaker due to the coincidence with Grace's statement, to "let it all out". The actual cause of this was Alyssa letting everything out into the contents of her undergarment, something which the woman wasn't even aware of yet…

It took Grace just a moment for her upper leg to brush up against Alyssa's padding. The front of it felt very warm against her thigh, so she decided to check it the best way she knew how: taking her hand, she pressed it firmly against the girl's crotch, hearing a loud and sudden squish and feeling a warm dampness along her palm. She now knew what Alyssa had just done, and during the process Alyssa figured out that the woman took steps in figuring it out, making her cry even more.

"Let's go home." Grace simply said, now lifting one hand up as the other one stayed wrapped around the crying girl. The free hand now had the same spiraling cloud coming out as before, swirling around both of their bodies until it fully enveloped them. It then vanished completely, leaving neither of them and allowing the humans to take over this scene.

Back on the ground, the town of Mcadenville was currently surveying the damage of the strange phenomena which had just taken place. It looked like something straight out of a disaster film. Firefighters were currently being called in to contain the small flames which burst from the crater, while police forces were quickly being stationed around the area to deter panicking or curious bystanders.

It seemed that everyone in this small community was now aware of what had happened. At least almost everyone, that is.

A boy with light, blonde hair stood behind a lone tree. He wore nothing but tacky, worn-out clothes which looked to belong to a random homeless man on the streets. He watched over the scene with the same interest as everyone else, only not bothering to approach or get closer to it than he already was which was relatively far away.

He could see the scene right in front of him and somehow not feel the same way that everyone else was. For him, the sense of dread was not looming in the air. He himself knew that this town could bounce back and return to a state in which the good faith would return and the lights would burn just like the spirit of the human heart.

There was something out there which could help this town and its people, as well as himself, too. He knew that there was a force up there which could change the course of a person's life. Dread was nothing to be clinging to, and hope had to be the everlasting idea which people needed to maintain in order to be happy. It was with that hope that the boy looked aimlessly towards the stars and away from the smoke.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

It was now completely night time at the Angel's Assembly. The time had gone by quickly since the incident, and many if not everyone in the area was aware of what had happened after the two had returned.

To shield the girl from any more scolding, Grace rushed the girl into her office past all of the disgusted looks given to them both. She had to deal with enough today, so having those people ridicule her further was something that she did not need.

The girl was sitting in the chair, watching as the woman in front of her went through her drawers to grab something. Alyssa was continuing to snivel, sitting in a heavily soaked diaper and waiting for whatever was to happen next. What would that be, though? She was scared that another harsh lesson was in store, even harsher than the spanking which was dealt to her earlier that day.

In reality, Grace was just grabbing a fresh diaper and other changing supplies for Alyssa. The girl had dealt with enough for the day and she felt that in her broken state, she didn't deserve anything worse than knowing what she had done.

Pulling out everything she needed and placing it on the floor next to her desk, Grace walked back to the girl and lifted her up into her arms with ease. She then placed the wrecked girl onto the desk, lifting the girl's skirt up to fully reveal the used garment underneath.

Alyssa simply continued to whimper, the process of being changed seeming much more painful than it really was.

"Oh goodness, why didn't you tell mama you needed to go?" Grace asked, tilting her head as she quizzically looked to her.

Alyssa couldn't even answer, as the woman had blatantly ignored her cries for attention when they were back on Earth. She could only sit here and stay sad, her eyes still misty and growing a bit red.

As the girl didn't respond to this question, Grace replaced it with another one: "What happened?"

Alyssa had to answer this question, lest she encounter the wrath known as the head angel Grace. "I… I couldn't do it… I had to go… but I didn't want to… I was scared."

"Why were you scared? You know that we were the only ones out there." Grace untaped the girl's diaper and brought the front down. She then pulled out a few cold wipes from the box and started to wipe down the girl's private areas.

The girl was now covered in goosebumps, but she continued. "I… I didn't want to have to go in… these. I was scared to know that whatever dignity I had left would be taken away by doing that. And it looks like that's how it's turning out."

"Come now, Alyssa. This treatment isn't about earning anything from all of these other people. This is all for yourself, building character and respect for yourself so you will be more appreciative and careful with the independence that you possess." Grace rolled up the girl's soggy diaper, throwing it away in a nearby trash can. She grabbed the fresh diaper and raised the girl's legs up, sliding it underneath and going for the baby powder.

"I… I can't say I can even respect myself any more…"

Grace stopped for a moment. Never at one point had she ever heard a child say something like this. It was completely unheard of as most of the punished kids were smug bastards looking to be set back in line. Alyssa was far different from that. "Why do you say that?" Grace asked with true concern.

"I can't even say I know what's right anymore… I can't do one thing right; I screw up every single mission that I'm a part of; I destroy things and ruin lives. I'm ashamed of myself and this monster that I've become." Alyssa stopped in the middle of her self-induced rant to continue crying.

Grace quickly took the pacifier from her pocket, slapping it into the girl's mouth to prevent her from wailing any longer. "Alyssa… honey, please calm down. I know you could not control what you did. I was a witness to it, after all. I've already notified the other angels to survey the town and to help find a method of solving it." Grace explained, shaking the baby powder so the mixture could spread onto the girl's exposed bottom.

Alyssa tried to absorb this as best as she could. Grace herself was informing her that this wasn't her fault, that this was an accident and nothing to be completely alarmed with. Those comments only flew past the girl's head. Alyssa saw this as the woman being a key witness to her lack of restraint. She still thought of herself as a barbarian capable of doing no good for the world of humans, or even that of angels.

The girl could only suckle onto the pacifier, trying to gain as much consolation as possible for what she had done. Underneath the binky showed a frown which could not be wiped away by any means.

Grace noticed that and frowned herself. Perhaps she couldn't get the girl to understand that she wasn't heavily upset at her directly, so maybe it would be best to let the stress just burn out. Grace would try to help with that, as the girl was probably tired and hungry after hours without food or rest.

After applying powder to the girl's skin, Grace brought the front of the diaper up to conceal Alyssa's crotch. She then wrapped the tapes around her waist and secured them to the front, smiling at her handiwork. "There we go, Alyssa. You're all clean now." Grace cooed, lifting the whimpering girl up into her arms and walking to the large chair behind the desk.

Going through her drawers once again, Grace pulled out an empty baby bottle. Noticing that there was nothing in it, Grace pressed a buzzer on the edge of her desk. Holding it in for a moment, she contacted her main associate, informing her to come to her office quickly.

Alyssa sat in Grace's arms being tenderly cradled. She was confused by her attitude as she had been a rough and mean-spirited tyrant before. Now she was acting like the mother she had never had before. Was this part of the "treatment"?

Within a few moments, a knock on the door was heard. "Come in." Grace simply instructed.

The door opened to reveal a woman. She was clothed very similarly to Grace besides the fact that she wore no glasses. She had a bright, blonde color to her short, shoulder-length hair. "You needed something, head angel Gr-"The young woman was stopped upon seeing Grace cradling a padded young lady in her arms.

Alyssa became embarrassed upon another set of eyes staring down at her like this. As if by instinct, she buried her head into Grace's embrace, covering up her shame.

"Is there… something going on here?" The associate asked, as if she didn't know any better.

Grace glared angrily at the young woman. "That is none of your concern. What you should be concerned of is this: this bottle right here is empty. Take it and fill it up with cold milk." The woman said, literally throwing it at the woman.

The associate caught it quickly, surprised that the woman had brashly tossed it her way. Holding it in one hand, she gave it a curious glance before turning back to Grace. "Yes ma'am. However, there was another reason that I came here. I was actually given word from a messenger that there is something of dire importance."

"You get my milk, I'll hear you out." Grace starkly replied.

"Understood." The woman walked out of the room and closed the door.

Grace was once again sitting here with only Alyssa next to her. The girl was now in a retreated position, clinging onto her as if she was trying to escape from the harshest of storms.

Grace couldn't help but let out a chuckle at how the girl was acting. "She's gone, Alyssa." The woman said, prompting Alyssa to lift up her head.

As the girl did so, she continued to whimper helplessly. Her cries had deteriorated by a noticeable degree since they had gotten back to Grace's room, but that hadn't stopped the little girl from feeling all better. There was still a lot of apathy she felt for herself hiding underneath that pacifier.

Grace obliged the girl, taking the pacifier out of Alyssa's mouth and placing it on the desk. She now stroked through the girl's dark hair right below her floating halo, going through every flowing strand with delicacy.

Alyssa could already feel her eyes drooping. She whimpers started to go away, and her vision started to transfer into a blur. Without the pacifier, she still felt relaxed. Something about Grace's touch flipped a switch inside of her, telling that there was no longer anything to worry about and that sleep was eminent.

However, there was one last thing the girl could say, one more thing on her mind that the woman drastically needed to know. "I'm sorry… mommy. I'm sorry…" Alyssa said, her words growing fainter.

"Shh… you are forgiven, my child." Grace whispered to the girl, giving her a small kiss on the forehead and wrapping her arms around her. She then started to gently rock her, hoping that these motions would be what would finally put her poor mind at ease.

It would be just that, if she had not forgotten about what she wanted earlier. Once again, a loud banging on the door of her office was heard. Groaning, the woman looked up to it, knowing immediately that it was her associate. "You know it's open. Just walk inside." Grace said in almost a growl.

The young woman entered the room, holding the requested item in hand. With the cool bottle of milk, she walked over to the woman, handing it over to her.

Grace received the bottle, placing it onto the girl's lap for the time being. Alyssa herself was too tired and disoriented to notice another set of eyes looking at her. "Thank you." Grace stated.

"You're welcome, miss." The associate said with a polite bow before turning back and heading towards the door. It was then she remembered the message she was supposed to deliver. "Oh, I almost forgot. I had something important to tell you." She said, turning back around to Grace for hopefully the last time.

"What exactly would that be?"


"Well… word has spread about what happened down on Earth about an hour ago. The messenger informed me that… he wants to speak to you."

Grace's gaze widened. He wanted to speak to her? He was preparing to descend from his throne to talk to someone well below him? "H-he wants to speak to me?" Grace asked, almost as if to validate a myth.

"Yes ma'am. But… he said he also wants to speak with… her." The woman pointed to the napping girl in Grace's lap.

Grace could not believe it. She thought it was strange enough that "he" would be speaking to her, but to Alyssa, as well? He was not a being who was known to be very active with the angels anymore. His appearances to the angels were very rare, unless those individuals so happened to be a part of his family. What Grace had forgotten was that Alyssa WAS a part of his family and the most important issue on his mind now.

"I… I understand. You may go now." Grace said, trying to absorb this information in as best as she could. With that, the other woman headed out the main door to the office, no longer to return.

Grace sat there for a few moments, completely flabbergasted. It took the slight wiggles of a tiring Alyssa to snap her back to reality. Grabbing the bottle, she held it right at Alyssa's lips, holding on and allowing her to drink as much as she wanted. It seemed the both of them would now need a good amount of rest and refreshment before they would be speaking to him.

Alyssa had no idea of the information that had transpired. She was too focused on trying to rest to care any longer of what was happening. Upon having the plastic nipple enter her mouth, she started to suckle on it, the cool milk sliding down her throat and quenching her thirst. She didn't notice or even mind that it was a baby bottle she was nursing from; anything would be helpful to help calm her down, at this point. As she continued to drink, her eyes grew heavy to the point that they could no longer stay open. Sucking on it much slower, she drifted off to sleep, unknowingly awaiting a meeting with the one who knew all and felt all: Lord Cupid himself.