The witch did find Chris' trail but by the time she found him, having dealt with John first, she was quite surprised. A few hours had passed and she came to find an old friend. A puppeteer who traveled on his own or with a circus. To be more precise, Chris had found him first and it was quite a story. Indeed, when the witch found Chris, she would not have recognized him. The puppeteer had taken the punishment into his own hands and he's been right.
Chris, it turns out, had separated indeed with John but as he tried to flee to the next town, he came upon an old-fashioned gipsy-style trailer. It looked empty and he thought he could rob more things. He entered, happy that the door was not locked at all. It was very dark, with barely a few candles and he smiled. This was going to be so easy! He could grab valuables again with no problems. But as he fumbled in the trailer, he realized it seemed a lot bigger than at first glance. Then he was grabbed by three things. Three little things that seized his ankles, his mouth and arm. He fell to the floor and thought immediately of little monkeys. Had he been assaulted by monkeys, the pets of the owner of the trailer? Then a light bulb turned on snd Chris thought he was dreaming. These weren't monkeys at all but puppets. Live puppets! Male-shaped, short sand grinning evily at him. They grabbed a rope and tied him fast and tight.
"Oooh, a robber!" one said, smirking.
"Goody!" another, dressed in green, said as he rubbed his hands.
"Let's play! See what our new toy can do!" exclaimed one dressed like a jester.
"Good idea!" agreed the first puppet. "At least until the master returns."
And a nightmare had fallen upon Chris. The three puppets had dragged him in a corner and because he cursed so much, amidst their jeers and mocking, they had gagged him. They then had used him as a living target with a toy gun that threw little stick-on darts. They had even had great fun aiming at his butt and privates! Not that it hurt, it was merely uncomfortable but it was so humiliating. After a too-long experience of that, they had removed the gag and played interrogation, as one puppet called it. they slapped him softly enough to not really hurt him and spanked him to get him to say his name, what he was doing and who he was. All the while they though he was a riot. Then they talked about all the funny costumes they could dress him in. Chris was horrified as soon as he heard the suggestions of "ballerina bear", "mouse", "caterpillar" or "strawberry". The puppet dressed in red gushed in particular at the idea, listing off all they could dress Chris as.
As such, Chris was relieved when the door opened and in walked a middle-aged man with longish hair and working clothes. Chris tried to plead for help but he was immediately gagged again and the three puppets jumped to the man, exclaiming and providing their own explanations. From a look of surprise, the man's eyes sparkled with understanding and a good dose of excitement and mischievousness.
"So, thought you could rob me?" he smirked as he removed the gag from Chris' mouth.
"Who are you?"
"The puppet-master, of course. My creations have said that you were caught trying to steal from here. And I trust their word. Also, I do not like burglars."
Chris could see that he could expect no mercy from the man's eyes. Besides, he must possess magic powers, to create live puppets. Oh, this did not bode well for him at all...
"Well, call the police!" he said, attempting a sort of escape.
"I rather think not. The police shall let you out eventually and I rather make sure you are appropriately punished. Now let's see what we can do with you... Certainly more than the waste of skin you now are."
The three puppets then jumped up and down, shouting suggestions and recounting all the humiliating games they had played with him. The puppet-master smiled and made himself some tea, listening patiently to what his creations had to offer. As he turned on more lights, Chris could see doors leading to supposedly places larger than the trailer could possibly accommodate. This guy really was a warlock of some sort!
He rose up as he finished his cup and drained its last drops and dregs.
"Now... Let's see what we can best use you for, shall we?" he smiled evilly, matched by his puppets.
The puppeteer had thought about making Chris a life-size puppet of sorts. He had attached his wrists on strings, a fake beard on his mouth sporting a goofy smile and asked his minions to act as if they were at a representation. He had then mimicked a silly voice for Chris above his protests under the gag, saying he was a big stupid oaf of a giant and that even knights were afraid of him. Then the three puppets had poked him with wooden swords, which had made Chris squeal and squirm. The puppeteer had declared that Chris was not worthwhile as an actor and that he should be used otherwise. The jester puppet said he could think of another game to play with their new toy. He approached Chris and asked in a sweet voice if he was ticklish.
"No!" exclaimed Chris.
"Ah! He must be, to deny it so loudly! I did notice he was sensitive to to our sword pokes! Let's have some fun!"
"Oh, yes, I bet he loves being tickled!"
"A tickle toy! Hours and hours of fun!"
"If our new toy smiles and laughs, it means he's enjoying our game! Let's make him happy!"
"Fine," smiled indulgently the puppet-master. "You have your fun with you new tickle doll. Actually, this gives me an idea for him."
He retreated into a room while the three puppets launched themselves at Chris for a new game session he hadn't asked for.
The puppets left Chris naked by tearing off his clothes. Then they proceeded discovering his weaknesses. Alas for him, they were many. After laughing and squealing from having his armpits and knees assaulted, the three puppets insisted blowing raspberries on his bellies and with three of them, his ribs got mapped out in which ribs were especially sensitive. They laughed even harder when they saw even his butt was very ticklish when lightly pinched. They commented endlessly, saying they could make his skin softer, his nerves more delicate and prone to react at the lightest touch. When one discovered a more ticklish spot, the other two rushed trying it out. But it was nothing compared to the treatment reserved to his feet. Of course the three puppets would want to check them out and it became a painless torture for Chris. Once his shoes and socks were off, the puppets went at it, trailing their fingers on his arch, tracing quick little circles on the balls of his feet and remarking how ticklish his toes were. Even bending them was useless because one puppet effortlessly forced them up again so the two others could tickle him more. Of course, in short time one returned with three feathers and it was another cycle of fun for them and torture for Chris. Two puppets seized his ankles, raised them up in the air and above Chris' head so that his bare genitals were spread. Immobilising him, the two puppets watched with glee as the jester one used a feather to tickle his privates. They each took a turn and as their game went on, they used more and more baby talk and words to address Chris. Poking him like all adults do babies became usual, as were the ticklings under his chin as the puppets uttered sweet "coochy coochy coo". They referred to him as a doll or a baby, saying he was indeed a laughing doll and that he should dress as one. They all were on him to tickle him, taunting him and teasing him. He begged them to stop but it only prompted them to act as if Chris was indeed their new toy, suggesting all the baths and doll accessories he would look cute in. Chris yelled he was no toy, unfortunately it did not impress the puppets at all, quite the opposite.
When the pupet-master came out of the room, Chris almost shouted in relief. The puppets went up to their master, exclaiming that Chris was as fun as a doll that laughed, walked and cried for them. The warlock grinned widely at that and showed them something in his book, which brought out shouts of joy from his three minions. Two even clapped their hands. The puppeteer then approached the breathless, sobbing mess that was Chris.
"Looks like my creations really took a liking to you. I would be a poor parent to deny them a fun toy such as yourself, now wouldn't I?"
He should the book to Chris, which happened to be... a toy catalogue, opened at the pink-themed girl section. He frowned but the puppeteer smiled, making him understand quickly.
"As punishment for you raiding my witch friend and me, I shall change you into a living version of one of these dolls. You'll be the perfect new companion for them. As a Barbie-style doll, you can serve them and undress suggestively for them. You can serve me as well. If you choose to be a newborn-style dolly, then you'll be treated as such. You'll make the joy and happiness of my puppets and any mothering individuals. They'll love to look after you. You can even choose which doll you want to be, although I suggest you do so, or else I'll choose for you. No boy section, allowed, naturally. That would be too kind for a mean little robber like you."
Chris was mortified. Each choice was horrible! Which was the least awful? The idea of being a living Barbie to those three puppets sounded like a truly horrific perspective... But he didn't want to be a helpless baby either! Then, as he flipped the pages desperately, he found a slightly better choice and pointed to it. The puppet-master grinned, congratulated him on his choice and cast his spell at him. As Chris recovered, the puppeteer clapped his hands and said to his creations that everything was ready for the new baby doll in the room of needs.
So when the witch had come into the trailer, she had seen her old friend with his minions who had just washed, diapered and dressed for the night a living baby doll. The doll was male, the model being manufactured to urinate and possessing masculine privates, if small, but with a diaper and pink clothes, none would be the wiser. It was the best Chris had found. A doll that was male. As a Ken doll, he would have been made to be a slave to those awful puppets. Being a male baby, even as a doll, was the least worse. Oh, he regretted already being a target practice for those puppets! The two practicers of witchcraft had coffee and shared news and laughs as Chris was left to gurgle and cry as he was effortlessly forced into a pastel pink pyjamas with smiling yellow stars and a bottle of milk set into his mouth. He was now called Sally and a new room in the dimension had been created for him. It was overflowing with cutesie baby things, all pastel colors, mostly blue and dominantly pink and straight out of an idealized version of what a sweet little baby girl should live in. No one would think him a boy in these conditions! He squirmed but was placed in a large frilly crib with plenty of stuffed animals and dolls. The mobile of smiling stars and moons above him hypnotized him to sleep, as did the lullaby sounds of the nightlights. The puppets couldn't wait to decipher more painless tickling tortures and other regressive treatments to inflict to the burglar who had thought he could get away with his illicit activity.
As for the witch, she agreed with his warlock friend that this was a good punishment and she magically added a big box of adorable toys and clothes to humiliate Sally with. She smiled as she went back home, her purse now containing the goods Chris had stolen from her.