This segment features  sorceressrose's character Zelia, please support the official artist. Also an entire space between a paragraph indicates flashback to present in this case.

Inner-Selves, No. 32, Part B

A few days after being admitted into the youth sprite academy, Kat was starting to feel very well-adjusted to being in the body of a baby; the same could not be said for Frenzy. He'd been regressed for about a week now and had already been through more diaper changes than he could remember, once or twice his cloth diaper had leaked and even once it fell off of him because he waited too long to go get changed. They attended several classes together, they both excelled at fighting due to the large amount of time they spent beating up bullies at the playground, however, when it came to learning magic, Frenzy was lagging behind.
They were headed to one of their classes one day, they walked side-by-side. "Why did I wake up so wet this morning? I didn't drink anything last night" Frenzy asked as he looked down at his now dry cloth diaper. "You're lucky, you were just wet..." Kat said as she looked down at hers then back up at him. "It's excusable with you, you're a girl, a baby girl" Frenzy said. "Aww lighten up, I think you make a cute baby!" Kat said with a giggle, Frenzy blushed and rolled his eyes. They entered a courtyard that had several targets lined up against one of the walls, their instructor -- a youth sprite that had long since graduated from the academy -- was there waiting for them. Soon all the students had filed in, various furs and reptiles were there, they all wore cloth diapers with no marks on them, they wouldn't be issued disposable diapers and marks until they graduated.
"Alright everyone, today we'll be going over Battle Technique number 31, if ya'll did your homework last night, you should already know the hand signs for it" said the instructor, a female beagle pup. Due to the size of the class, students lined up in 6 rows, then one student from each row came up and attempted to hit the target using the spell. The targets wouldn't take much damage since their techniques wouldn't have much effect without using the full incantation; this was because their spirit energy levels had not matured enough. Soon Frenzy came up along with his line, he gulped nervously as the group of students behind him started to snicker. "Try hitting the target goggle-boy!" shouted one of the students. "Don't you think you should be wearing a helmet?" laughed another. Sweat dripped down Frenzy's spine and he wet himself a little, Kat was the only one not giggling or smiling.
One-by-one, as they went down the line, the students performed Battle Technique number 31, they each successfully hit the target. The instructor jotted down their grades, she was impressed with each of the successive attempts. Finally it got to be Frenzy's turn, the students that had just attempted the spell all looked on as the students behind the line got quiet in anticipation. "C'mon Frenzy, you can do this!" Kat thought to herself. Frenzy took a deep breath and then formed the necessary hand signs, then he pointed his right paw out facing the target, he braced his right arm with his left hand. "Battle Technique number 31, Supershot!" he declared. Like all the other students, a glowing red ball of energy formed on his right palm, but instead of it firing out towards the target, it glowed brighter and then blew up in his face; he fell down on his butt as the group of students burst out laughing.
The instructor sighed and shook her head as she marked down a C minus next to his name, she knew that fortunately his grades in his other classes were good enough for him to remain at the academy. Kat tried her hardest, but she couldn't help but let a giggle slip out, the other students stopped laughing and looked at her, despite all of Frenzy's other magic lesson failures, she'd never once laughed. Frenzy looked around in disbelief, how could she do something like that? "So you find me amusing huh?! I can't believe you'd laugh at your best friend" Frenzy said feeling a little angry. "I'm sorry Frenzy, I didn't mean anything by it" Kat said, feeling terrible. "Hmmph, don't pity me, I don't need to be good at magic to be a great youth sprite, I could beat all of ya'll in a fight any day" Frenzy retorted.
"Being able to handle a rattle is all well and good Frenzy, but there are times when magic will be the only difference between life and death" the instructor advised. Frenzy said nothing, he just got up and walked back over to the group, Kat was among the last line of students to attempt the spell. "Alright, now this will be good!" said one of the students. There were several murmurs that shared the same sentiment as the student; they were referring to the fact that Kat was going up. It was a known fact that Kat was the best student in the class when it came to magic, her control over her spirit energy was unparalleled. Frenzy narrowed his eyes and stared at her, he had to admit that he was jealous of Kat's magical abilities. The other students in the line had all made their attempts, and then like when Frenzy went up, they too looked on at Kat as she prepared to do her spell.
She took a deep breath and wove together her hand signs, and then pointed her right palm out at the target. "Battle Technique number 31, Supershot!" she declared. A red orb fired from her palm and hit the target with enough speed and force to actually damage the target. The other students clapped and cheered for her success, Frenzy just snarled and clenched his fists. "Well done Kat!" the instructor proclaimed, she proceeded to mark an A plus next to her name. Everyone in the class flocked over to Kat to congragulate her and praise her for her efforts, Frenzy just turned and walked away.
Frenzy didn't speak to Kat for a long time after that, Kat grew concerned but every time she tried to address the subject, Frenzy just walked away. After some time, it came close to graduation date for the two of them, Frenzy had somewhat improved at magic but was still way behind the others, however, he was at the top of his class in terms of rattle combat. Final exams were coming up and Frenzy was out in an open area practicing with two other youth sprites, a koala and a wolf with blonde hair. Frenzy and the koala were sparring with their wooden rattles that youth sprites-in training used to practice with, they were not issued real youth sprite rattles until they graduated. The koala tried desperately to block each of Frenzy's assaults, but he was quickly becoming overwhelmed. "C'mon Jake you can do it!" the wolf girl cheered as she watched on. "Haha, give it up, you can't beat me!" Frenzy shouted. Jake the koala kept on blocking, Frenzy unfortunately was not giving him any openings. After a few more strikes, Jake lost his focus and opened himself up for an attack. Frenzy saw it and struck him in the chest, causing the koala to fall down.
"So close Jake, nice job Frenzy, you're gonna ace the rattle combat exam!" the wolf said. "Yeah, if you didn't have to take magic class you'd definitely be in the top percentile" Jake said. "Thanks Zelia, thanks Jake, that means a lot to me" Frenzy said smiling. Just then Kat walked up. "Hey guys, what's up?" she asked. "Hi Kat, we're just practicing for the exams" Zelia said. Jake greeted her and invited Kat to join them, Frenzy said nothing. "No thanks, I don't wanna practice with her" Frenzy said sternly. "Huh? Why not?" Zelia asked. "I think it'd be a good idea Frenzy, you're the best at combat and she's the best at magic, we should consider it an honor to have her help us" Jake reasoned. "I want nothing to do with that show-off, I don't need magic to become a great youth sprite, I've maintained that ever since that one lesson" Frenzy said. "So that's why you've been avoiding me huh? Well I think you're a show-off when it comes to fighting" Kat snapped. "Hold up, stop fighting, you two are friends" Zelia said.
Frenzy snarled and beared his teeth, his frustration and jealousy was about to boil over. "You think magic is such a big deal, I'll prove to you here and now that I don't need it, let's fight!" Frenzy shouted. "If that's the way you want it then fine! I don't need a rattle to beat you!" Kat shouted. "Will you two stop this, this is uncalled for!" Jake shouted. Frenzy ran at Kat with his rattle ready to attack her, Kat wove some handsigns and prepared a spell. As Frenzy closed in, Kat attacked with one of the new spells she'd been practicing, it hit Frenzy in the head just as he swung his rattle and hit Kat in the head; the two of them fell to the ground. Jake and Zelia tried to intervene but Kat and Frenzy pushed them aside and came at each other again. They experienced the same results for quite a few more times, but neither was a clear winner, Frenzy's skill with the rattle and Kat's magical skill were on par with each other. The two of them were laying down on their backs catching their breath after a while, they were beaten and bruised pretty badly, they were cut and scraped in several places as well. Jake and Zelia had given up on trying to stop them, rather they just decided to let them fight it out.
Soon after, the two of them got up and Jake and Zelia took care of their injuries, then they left so that Kat and Frenzy could talk. "I'm sorry I made fun of you that day, I wasn't being much of a friend" Kat said. "Eh, no worries, magic just isn't something I'm good at, I came to accept it that day" Frenzy replied. "I guess you were right, you don't really need magic to be a great youth sprite, I'm actually kinda jealous of your fighting ability" Kat said as she lowered her head and smiled a little. "I'm the same way about your magical ability" Frenzy said as he looked at her and grinned. Kat folded her arms behind her head and laid back down on the ground, staring up at the sky. "We're both great youth sprites, I'm glad we came here Frenzy, I really am" Kat said. "You and me both" Frenzy said back.
Over the next few days they had final exams, Frenzy passed the magic exam just barely but did fine on the others, and Kat passed all of her exams. At graduation each of the students were presented with their official youth sprite rattles and their marks which came with their very first disposable diapers. They all went around showing their friends what their marks were and talking about which units they'd like to join up with and whatnot. "You like my red heart Frenzy?" Kat asked as she showed off her mark to the fox. "Yeah, and check out my fire mark!" Frenzy said as he smiled. As the last official act of the graduation ceremony, all the new unit recruits removed their cloth diapers and threw them in the air as they strapped on their new disposable ones.
They all walked to a courtyard where representatives from the 13 youth sprite units were waiting to meet with the new graduates and enlist them if they felt they were good enough. "This is it, I can finally see my brother again!" Kat thought to herself feeling excited. When Kat and Frenzy got close enough to see the recruiters, she was disappointed to see that none of them looked like her brother. Suddenly large doors at the far side of the courtyard were opened, everyone turned to see what was going on. In stepped a total of 13 youth sprites, each of them wore a different onesie bearing their respective diaper marks, the recruiters bowed respectfully to them, while the graduates muttered to each other questions like "Who are they?", one even asked where he could get a onesie for himself.
The visitors looked at the new official youth sprites and the one who appeared to be their leader -- a snow leopard cub wearing a white onesie with a snowflake mark on the front of it -- began to speak. "Hello everyone, we are the 13 overseers, let us be the first to welcome you to the ranks of the 13 youth sprite units, you have all worked very hard to get here and we'll be glad to have you, each of us overseers have hand-picked members of our unit to meet with you today to discuss with you the possibility of joining up with one of the 13 units, feel free to take your time and ask any questions, we will also be here to meet with you individually, after all, if you're going to be working in our units, you'd best get to know us, carry on!" the snow leopard said.
Kat looked down the line of overseers, but there was one that immediately caught her attention. It was a black kitten wearing a navy blue onesie with a silver asterisk on the front, he didn't smile and didn't say anything to the new recruits. Kat gasped and her jaw dropped a little, she couldn't believe her eyes, she'd found him at last. As the group of graduates broke off to talk to either the overseers or the recruiters, Kat ran up to the black kitten. "Nightshade!" she shouted as a big smile came over her face. A few of the youth sprites turned their heads and looked at her, Nightshade had heard her and looked in her direction, his eyes widened when he saw who it was.
She jumped and pounced him, taking him down to the ground, some of the other overseers came over to see what was going on. "Big brother it's me! It's Kat!" she said as she smiled a bigger smile than she ever had in her whole life; she wet her diaper out of excitement, she was the first of the graduates to use their new diapers. "Get off me" Nightshade said, sounding slightly annoyed. "Aww c'mon, aren't you happy to see me?" Kat asked. "Actually I would've been happier if you hadn't joined the youth sprites" her brother replied. "Everyone stopped talking and looked at the two of them, Frenzy ran over to be by Kat's side. "What do you mean? You're joking right?" Kat said, chuckling nervously. "It's no joke, you should've stayed in the playground, you would've been much happier there" he answered. "B-but I wanna be with you" Kat said, no longer smiling. "Well I don't wanna be with you, now for the last time, get off me!" Nightshade shouted.
Kat complied, but tears were now welling up in her eyes, this was nothing like she had envisioned their reunion. "The life of a youth sprite is not for someone like you, you don't belong here" Nightshade said more calmly. Tears now streamed down Kat's face, she didn't remember her brother ever being this cruel. Frenzy got angry and marched right over to Nightshade to confront him. The snow leopard was about to step in-between them, but Nightshade interjected. "Sir, I wish to handle this myself, if he has something to say now he'd best get it off his chest before he signs up with a unit" Nightshade said. The head overseer backed off and let the two of them work this out. "So you're the brother that Kat spoke so highly of, how can you stand there and say that she doesn't belong amongst the youth sprites? She's the top of our class, if anyone here deserves to be in one of the 13 units, it's her! Just what kind of brother are you anyway?!" Frenzy said clenching his fists. "Frenzy, let it go, maybe he's right, perhaps I'm not cut out for this" Kat started to say.
"No Kat, he's the one who's wrong, remember all we've been through? We defended the playground for all those years, just the two of us, all of that time spent fighting is what enabled us to get this far, even despite the fact that I have absolutely no skills in magic, you fought long and hard to make your dream of becoming a youth sprite a reality, and I swear, I won't let anyone dare say that you can't be a youth sprite!" Frenzy shouted. Nightshade glared at Frenzy and then turned around to walk away from them. "Do whatever you want, but don't come crying to me when you mess up" he said sternly as he walked off. "No offense Kat, but I hate that guy" Frenzy said. "Thanks Frenzy, if you hadn't stood up for me just then, I would've quit being a youth sprite" Kat said as she smiled slightly, but continued to cry. "Big brother, you may not see it now, but someday I'll become an even greater youth sprite than you, and then, you'll HAVE to acknowledge me" Kat told herself as she glared at her brother as he walked out of the courtyard.

Frenzy began to cry, everything that he'd tried so hard to forget all came back to him, and he couldn't take it anymore. "What am I blaming you for?...." he sniffled. Fidget and the others turned around and looked at the fox as he was attempting to get up to his feet and look at Fidget in the eyes. Blood slowly dripped from the wounds in his chest and he could barely stand, tears welled up in his eyes and began to stream down his face. "It's my fault she's about to die, I should've just let her leave the youth sprites that day" he sobbed. Fidget began to walk slowly towards him, Chewy tried to stop him from going, but Dash held him back.
As Fidget got close, Frenzy put a hand on his shoulder. "Fidget, I'm sorry I blamed you, I..." he started to say. "Save it, it doesn't matter now" Fidget replied. "I know I have no right to ask you for favors but, please Fidget, save her, if anyone can do it, you can" the fox pleaded. Frenzy fell to his knees and softly collapsed on the ground at Fidget's feet, then he passed out. "Of course I will" Fidget said to him. They then heard the sound of a band of youth sprites getting close to their location, they had been drawn to that location because the size of Fidget's last attack could be seen from a long way off. Quickly, Fidget, Dash and Chewy retreated back into the sewer system, they agreed they would stay there until the coast was clear.