✅🎊✂️ Hypnosis Won't Take Me There!! [alternative cut]

Chapter 521: Getting Everyone on the Same Page

Adi looked up to see Dean standing behind Chastaine, smiling gently. She hadn't noticed him approach, she'd been so wrapped up in the story. But when she paused before describing her first meeting with Chastaine, she saw that he was there. Sweating lightly in the unseasonal heat, and looking more like an athlete on his way back from the track than any kind of babysitter or kidnapper.

"Hey Dean," she gave a little wave, and the girls on either side of her raised their hands as well. And she saw Belle standing beside him, so she added a second wave and greeting.

"Hi. We heard the end of that, so I think we all know where we're up to. It breaks my heart when I hear about you being so upset, and I really wish there'd been an easier way to do it. I wish I could have told you the truth without worrying about that making you trigger yourself again. But I'm glad you came to understand, and I hope all your friends can understand as well."

"That's really all it was?" Toni still sounded suspicious. "You wanted to give her a break from the triggers, and you didn't believe we'd let that happen? But then why go to another country? Why not tell us what's going on? Why'd you have to be–"

"He tried to tell you," Belle answered. "I know, because you even told me about it. Every time there was some communication, he tried to tell you, and you wouldn't listen. When he tried to tell me as well, and we just didn't believe it. But it's much more in character for Dean than being a real kidnapper."

"Oh yeah," Dean looked down at the seat beside him, and gave a half shrug. "I guess I should make introductions. Belle, this is Chastaine, my hypnotist friend. And this is Belle, my–"

"Alex?" Belle interrupted, eyes wide the moment she sat down far enough to see Chastaine's face.

"Please," he said, "I go by my surname. Call me Chastaine. Alex is reserved for the regression communities, where they insist on first names only. More childish, and helps build the right mindset. But not perfect, when I've never been impressed with mine."

"You already met?" this time it was Dean's turn to be surprised, but his feelings were mirrored by a circle of expressions running the gamut from complete confusion to late-dawning realisation. "Wait, you said your new adult baby friend had you talk to a hypnosis expert. You meant Chastaine?"

"I guess. I never asked his name, but looks like the same guy. That's such a coincidence."

"Not really. I've been helping people with troublesome hypnosis files for years, and reading up everything I can about the baby name trigger file ever since Nimh put it on the list of things she might try. I've helped a bunch of people try to break free of it, the ones who stumbled into it without seeing all the warnings, and I think most of the ethical hypnotists on certain forums have me pegged as the guy who's trying to fix it. If you're coming into contact with the same community, and you've listened to the same file, it's only natural that someone would direct you to the same person. I'm practically an expert on how that file can mess people up."

"Well, not a coincidence, then. But still, it's great seeing you again. Maybe you can help me adjust that trigger too. I'd like to make it a little safer, so it's just the whiteboard. Do you remember the whiteboard?" Belle turned to Adi, who seemed a little confused by this point. "Like I think you saw it but you might have been too little to remember properly. If I were a baby I'd obey the instructions on my special whiteboard, and remain a baby for as long as it's in reach. That's how it works for me."

"You're... becoming a baby?"

"It's a little break from the rest of the world. And when it feels so good, why not? I'm past caring what other people think about me. So every couple of weeks, or a month if I'm busy, I can be a kid again and have my head full of fun stuff. Maybe you should try it, to make sure you're not worrying too much when you start studying. I mean, you don't want to get stuck as a child, but you could still give it a try occasionally."

"I don't think so," Adi answered firmly. She was certain now, but now that all the bad things were behind her, she found that she could smile a little at how ludicrous the thought seemed. "Britney kept telling me it would help me relax, and I wanted to give it a try because I thought it would be rude not to. And it kind of worked, but it's more trouble than it's worth. After this summer, and after everything that happened since my birthday, I think I never want to be a baby again. I mean, nothing against people who are into that stuff, but I think I'm firmly on the wagon now. Too many bad memories associated with that stuff."

"And that was nobody's fault," Dean added. "Things happened, and it might have gone badly, but there's no reason for any of you to blame yourselves. We all learned, and everybody is, I hope, now on the path they really want their life to take. So there's no need for apologies or regrets."

"No," Adi shook her head. "You're wrong there. This was my fault, all of it. For thinking I knew better than the experts, for not trusting my friends, for not listening to advice. For thinking I was smarter than all of you, and not realising when I'd said the wrong thing. Almost everything that happened is at my door, and I can accept that now. Learn from it, try not to do the same again, and move on. To a future where, hopefully, I'll be back in big girl pants in a month or two."

"Think you can do that?" Toni asked, the guilt that was eating her up still clear.

"I hope so. I'm getting there, anyway. I think we were almost up to the part of the story where I started. After I'd met Chastaine, of course. Getting control of the hypnosis was always going to be the first part."

Dean and Belle had sat down beside Chastaine while they were talking, so everyone was around one table at last. A garish pink table, perhaps, but still a meeting place. So as soon as they had ordered coffee or got their cups refilled, Adi continued with her story.