While Gemory was gone, Danielle went to the common room to see what Toni and Ami were up to. She found them quietly talking with Mist (in her true, Valkyrie form), with a serious look on her face.
Dani had never seen Mist's wings before- as opposed to being white, like Amielle's, they resembled the mottled brown and black wings of a Kestrel. She wondered if Valkyries had halos- she'd yet to see an Angel's halo, so she had no idea what to expect. A glowing metal ring, or a sunburst crowning the Angel's head?
The three noticed her and turned their heads towards her. “Uh...I can go...sorry...”
Mist's expression softened. “No, please, join us. You're going to find out about this soon enough anyways.”
Danielle walked towards the three, sitting in a chair facing them. “Okay, if you say so. So what's up?”
Toni had a goofy smile on her face. “I'm pregnant!”
“Oh, congratu...wait. What? Who's the father?”
Ami blushed. “I am.”
“Hold up. I thought Angels couldn't have kids 'cuz you're all girls. Wasn't that the point?”
Mist nodded. “That was the intent, at least. Ami seems to have found a loophole. The point of the Ban of Raphael was to prevent Angels from impregnating human women- thus the only way more Nephilim could be born is if an Angel let herself become pregnant and carried the child to term herself. Which, I can tell you, is quite the ordeal.” Mist, of course, had loved a man so much she bore a daughter, despite the trouble it had caused her.
“Ohhh, but because Toni is a demon, it can work?” Danielle realized. “I remember it being mentioned that Succubi can kids. And I assume the Fallen can as well, right?”
“Yes, but they rarely do so. I'm not entirely certain as to the reasons, but I suspect that it is very taxing for them. You see, in our purest forms, Angels are not material beings. A human has a physical body, and a spiritual component- the soul. Angels are basically all soul- pure divine energy, if you will. But we have the ability to transubstantiate into physical matter and back again.
This why it is so bad when an Angel actually suffers damage- our bodies are our souls, if you will. So it doesn't matter what form we take, we retain that damage.”
“Uh, but human souls can become damaged, I remember that.” Danielle pointed out.
“Yes but not by any sort of weapon or attack- if you were to lose an arm, your soul would not be damaged. However, if your injury was responsible for you succumbing to depression, or the means by which you were injured causes psychological trauma, then it can be damaged.”
“Oh, I get it. The state of your body doesn't affect the soul, but the mind does. Uh, about that, I know this is an aside, but I was curious- my mind, my consciousness...how much of it is my brain and how much of it is my soul?” Danielle asked.
“Good question. We're not entirely sure. A human body can function without a soul- there are ways to separate the two, but the person either becomes a zombie or is a mere shadow of the person they used to be. And obviously, if your mind was damaged, that would affect your ability to think and perceive the world. But if you were rendered to a mere soul, removed from your body, you could still think and form memories, since that's what happens when you go to Heaven or Hell.
However, should you return to Earth in a new life, typically you remember nothing of your past lives.”
“So um, about that. If I die and go...wherever...do I only remember my last life, or do I remember all of my lives?” Danielle frowned.
“In time, you would regain all of your lost memories. Most people don't stay in Heaven that long, and most people in Hell become demons before that happens. Steps can be taken to prevent this as well, as the memories of too many lives can be harmful to the soul.”
“That doesn't make sense. If the point of living again and again is for the soul to learn and grow, how can you learn anything if you don't remember it?” Danielle didn't understand.
Mist sighed. “This is a whole other conversation. I'm sorry, I'm an Angel of Death, I never bothered to learn this sort of thing. My job was to destroy things and deliver souls to Heaven.”
“No, it's ok, no need to apologize. I guess I'm too used to Gemory seeming to know everything.”
“I have a question!” Ami piped up. “What happened to your boobs, Dani?” She pointed.
Danielle had put on a loose flannel shirt, but apparently that didn't hide her now lack of development. She unbuttoned her shirt and showed them her flat, little girl chest. “My punishment for Gemory. She was bad, so until she repents, she doesn't get to play with my chest.”
“Oooh, that's a good one!” Toni nodded.
“To be honest, I mean, I like having breasts, but it's kind of liberating not having them. I think even when I grow them back, I'm going to try out having a smaller bust. Oh speaking of that, I can fix you at any time, Toni. I kind of forgot I could do that, I'm sorry.”
“Oh it's fine! It turns out, they're more sensitive this way.” Toni grinned. “Besides, once I have the baby, Succubus breasts get much bigger when we produce demon milk. I'm actually glad their base size is smaller, or I'd have basketballs on my chest!” She giggled. “I've seen other Succubi who look like that. If they weren't so hot, it'd be silly.”
“Huh, why do you produce so much milk?” Danielle asked.
“I'm told Half-demons mature in strange ways. Generally, they go from infants to small children super fast, then they slow down to a crawl. So they need way more nutrients to support that growth, and they are super hungry. Though sometimes they just keep growing, even up until they are adults.” Toni said.
“Nephilim are prone to that as well, though there are steps that can be taken to give them a more stable childhood. By the time my daughter was 6 months old, she looked more like a 2 year old. And what Toni says is accurate, I couldn't produce enough milk for her by myself.” Mist recalled.
“Oh so what did you do, buy formula by the truckload?” Danielle asked.
“Ah, no.” Mist blushed. “My husband, Brian, wanted to help. So I turned him into a woman.”
“You can -do- that?!” Dani's eyes widened.
“Yes, though not ever Angel knows how. I had to ask a friend to explain how it was done. He ended up younger than I'd intended, about 16 or so. But he was very cute as a girl.”
Ami grinned. “I bet I know what happened next.”
Toni just giggled.
“Well, yes, of course we were still lovers.” Mist seemed a little uncomfortable. “Even when I changed him back, he often said he missed being a woman. So I would continue to transform him from time to time.”
“I think that's sweet, Mist. He must have been very special, I'm sorry for your loss. Most men would be scared to go through something like that, even to help their child.” Danielle smiled softly.
“Yes, Brian was...my whole life. I had lived for thousands of years, serving God. And I loved God, but Brian...he brought me joy.” Mist started crying.
The three girls squeezed onto the loveseat with Mist, offering her hugs. She cried for a bit longer, then managed to stop. “Thank you. I...I thought I had come to terms with losing him. I guess having you girls around has made me remember those times.”
“I'm sorry.” Danielle looked down, but Mist brought her chin up with two fingers.
“No, don't apologize. I'm grateful for the memories, even if they bring heartache.” She kissed Dani on the forehead. “Ah, but we were talking about the baby.”
“What baby?”
They all turned to find Gemory had returned, with Raphael, who waved at them.
When Toni dropped the bombshell, there was, predictably, shock and confusion, but eventually things calmed down, and they began to discuss the miracle.
Danielle was seated in a chair once more, Gemory in her lap. The demoness had shrunk again, but Danielle didn't think now was the time to mention it- she was now about 4' 8”. Dani wondered if Gemory would become as tiny as Toni before she finally found a height she was comfortable with.
Toni was seated in Ami's lap, mirroring them. Ami had her hands on Toni's belly, which was still flat, but for how much longer, they couldn't be sure. Ami claimed the baby was growing at an accelerated rate.
Mist sat near those two, as long-forgotten maternal instincts were kicking in. And Raphael...Raphael sat alone, with that enigmatic half-smile on her face.
“So the question is, could what Ami do work on a human?” Gemory directed her question at Raphael.
“I don't think so. A human egg cell, by definition, is weaker than a Succubi's egg. It would probably explode.”
Everyone said “eww” at about the same time.
“This doesn't even violate the spirit of the Ban, I don't think, though I'm sure that will be hotly debated in Heaven. You see, Ami is a Second Class Angel. She wasn't directly created by God's Will. The whole problem with Nephilim is that Angels aren't supposed to have children, that was never part of The Plan. But Ami used to a be a human- had her life turned out differently, she could have given birth.” Raphael continued.
“That's why Succubi can have kids. Not only are they the most sexual of Demons, they all used to be humans.” Gemory added.
“Even though I was a boy?” Toni asked.
“Doesn't matter, you see, the reason Nephilim are a problem is their souls. Two humans have a child, that child receives a soul at a certain point. No, don't ask me when, that's one of God's 'trade secrets'. Some claim it happens in the womb, some say it can happen as late as the age of seven.” Gemory shrugged.
“Now with a Nephilim, you have a child that was never intended to have a soul, because they were never intended to exist. But since an Angel's body and it's spirit are the same, when an Angel impregnates a mortal woman, their seed is, of course, a part of them.
So the Angel is literally impregnating a woman with a part of their own self. Which means the Nephilim, at conception, has not a true soul, but a fragment of an Angel's own spirit within them.” Raphael, had, at some point, conjured a pair of glasses, which made her look like a very young teacher giving a lecture.
“Now Angels regenerate, so the fragment they lose will be restored, but the Halo is critical here. A Halo is a conduit, you see, it's how divine power from God is transferred to an Angel. As long as you have one, whatever wounds you suffer will heal quickly, among other things.” Raphael frowned.
“Oh shit. That's why you took the halos from the Fallen. That's why they took so long to heal. You cut them off from God!” Danielle wasn't even all that religious, but she was horrified. “You...you monsters!”
Raphael flinched, as if struck, and Mist looked grim, but it was Gemory, turning in Dani's lap and reaching up to touch her beloved's cheek, who spoke. “Doing a monstrous thing doesn't make you a monster. I've done a lot of monstrous things, but you don't see me as a monster, do you?”
“I...no. Never.” Danielle shook her head.
“Rafe isn't a monster. She has a lot of guilt over her role in what happened, but there is fault and blame to go around on all sides. Was it their fault for stopping the rebellion? Our fault for pushing it to that point? Or God's fault, for allowing it to happen? I'm tired of the hate and the anger. You forced me to make up with Rafe, so if I have to forgive her, so do you.” Gemory waggled her finger sternly.
“I...ok. But...”
“No, you're right to feel that way, Danielle. Even if it was the most...expedient solution to the problem, it was heartless and cruel. Michael has never recovered from the guilt she feels about it, tens of thousands of years later. We all carry that weight. Anyways, this brings us to the problem of the Nephilim. Because of what they are, they have great power, but instead of a soul, they have a tiny amount of Angelic essence taking the place of one.
And it grows much slower, since Nephilim have no connection to God. Many Nephilim are cruel and terrible creatures as a result- lacking empathy, they are sociopaths with the power of demigods.” Raphael looked sad.
“But what about Mist's daughter? She wasn't like that, was she?” Danielle looked to Mist.
Mist looked down. “No. She's not. She's wonderful. But the reason for that is...I gave her my halo.”
Amielle gasped, but Gemory and Raphael didn't seem surprised.
“I didn't even know you could -do- that!” Ami managed to find her voice.
“I could, but there was a price. I can never reclaim it. Even if she were to die, it dies with her. That's really the reason why I wasn't cast out. What would the point be? I'm already half-Fallen.” Mist laughed, but there was no mirth in it. “It's also the reason why she wasn't destroyed, just had her powers sealed. She has a full, Angelic soul.”
“Nephilim are basically immortal to begin with. Anything you do to them, they can heal from, eventually. A Nephilim with a halo is practically invincible. You'd have to remove it first. Which, as we've discussed, is a very cruel thing to do to an Angel.
Mist's daughter would probably die. And well, she hasn't done anything wrong. If there was a sin, it was on the part of her Mother. So.” Raphael finished, lamely.
“Ok so what about Ami and Toni's baby, then? What will they be?” Danielle asked.
“Ah. That's the beauty of it. We don't know. The child already has a part of both parents in them. But as the child of two mortal souls...they could receive a soul themselves. Amielle, you really are a troublemaker.” Gemory smiled.
“So that's why Fallen don't have kids?” Danielle asked.
“Yes. Because not only does it take a part of our essence, that we cannot easily recover, but the child will have all the cruelty of someone with a partial soul. Part of the agreement between Heaven and Hell requires a certain amount of energy to exist in a Nephilim child or they will be destroyed. Mist got around that in a rather novel way.
For the Fallen, we have to give much more of ourselves.” Gemory sighed.
“With one exception, Gemmy.” Raphael chimed in.
“Yes. With one exception. Lucifer. He never lost his halo. Even now, if he wants to, he can draw on power from God. That's why he rules Hell- oh others have thought about taking him down. I'd be lying if I said we didn't hate him for leading us down this path. But after he healed..which was faster for him, but still took awhile, because of Michael's stupid radioactive swords...he was as powerful as he'd ever been. It took the rest of us a long time to recover our strength.
Even now, we are reliant on soul energy- we siphon a little off of every soul we take. Not enough to harm them, but enough to add to our power. Which of course, is why the average demon is weaker than a Fallen.” Gemory continued.
“And why I'm stronger than Toni.” Amielle realized. “She would be, if you hadn't taken that power from her before making her into a demon.”
“I'm not apologizing.” Gemory folded her arms.
“It's ok, Ami. Boss...er...Gemory...has always treated me fairly. Even when I was totally in shock upon finding I had this body.” Toni cuddled with her girlfriend.
“Uh, so we have a problem then. Unless Ami gives up her halo, or the baby gets a soul, it won't have enough, uh, 'soul power' to not be killed.” Danielle spoke up.
“No! Not my baby! I won't let them!” Toni had been slower to realize the ramifications of what had been said.
“Mist, please tell me how to remove my halo!” Ami pleaded.
“ENOUGH!” Gemory bellowed, her voice shaking the foundations of the Kingsley House. “Nobody is doing anything drastic. And nobody is going to harm a hair on that child's head.”
Everyone froze, then looked at the Duke of Hell.
“What? The way I see it, I'm Toni's mother, so that's my first Grandchild.” Gemory stated, matter-of-factly.
“Aw...does that mean I can call you Mom?” Toni asked, her eyes big.
Gemory got a goofy grin on her face. “I suppose it does...Daughter.”
Danielle groaned. “Great, I'm going to be Toni's stepmom!”
Toni looked to Ami, who nodded. The Succubus leaped into the air, taking flight, and colliding with Gemory, who hugged her and kissed her on the forehead. “Just so it's official, you are all my witnesses. I have adopted Toni as my Daughter.”
Danielle just held onto both of them, glad that Toni didn't weigh very much.
“Oh boy! That means I'm an Aunt!” Raphael grinned.
“Who says?” Gemory snapped.
“You're my sister, aren't you?” Raphael pointed out.
“Ugh. Fine. But I want Mist to be the G...Devilmother. She's got a good head on her shoulders, unlike you, love freak!” Gemory compromised.
Toni looked to Mist. “Oh would you, Mist?”
Mist looked nonplussed for a moment. “How did I end up a part of this family?”
Amielle glomped onto her. “Because you're wonderful.”
“Oh, well, that makes sense.” Mist absently kissed the blonde angel on the top of her head.