Author Note: I'm going to release another chapter in a bit, but it'll be a lot shorter than this. I could have just combined them, but i liked where i ended things at. I was going to make chapter 60 longer, but eh, as i said, i liked where i was right then and chose to stop there.

These chapters aren't too important all in all, mainly just me trying to develope a few characters a bit more before I move on--or rather, just flesh them out a bit more? In any case, hope you enjoy them. Despite my sstory's slow pace, I try not to make them too boring

Feel free to rate, review and comment on whatever you wish.

I will edit out any spelling mistakes i find later.

********************

After Solomon was feeling better everyone went back to the ship.

Morrigan had rushed to be by Grace's side as soon as she and Mercury arrived, and they had waited until they all came back.

When Morrigan heard about everything that happened, she took Roland into her room, put up a barrier to prevent any one from eavesdropping, and had a talk with him.

" You shouldn't have stepped in. Maybe Solomon could really have killed her for good, or allowed time for help to come. Why did you have to get in the way like that?

Morrigan was greatly shaken by the news of Gehenna being here. To her mind, there could be only one reason for her to follow after them: Morrigan's death.

Grace's too. That woman would never let the girl live. She was Morrigan's daughter. She probably knew that by now. As such, she'd kill Grace for no other reason than that.

Morrigan couldn't allow it. Ever. But knowing a monster like her was after them, that she right under their noses, made it feel like an icy hand was holding a tight grip around her heart.

Even with her husband here, even though she knew how strong he was, she still felt this way. It wasn't as if either of them were weak, but Gehenna....she was simply too much of a threat. Too powerful.

"I got in their way because I wanted to talk to the woman. It's important."

"What, more important than me and Grace?" Morrigan tone was a touch bitter." She wants to kill us, you know. Of everyone in the Higher Planes, Gehenna hates me most. And she'll hate Grace, too." She knew the woman would. She had grown so powerful now, and they had too much bad blood between them. Even just seeing Grace with Morrigan that day would make Gehenna want to kill her.

She'd always held a small kernal of fear for the woman ever since she first saw how demented that woman was. And now that she seemed to becoming even strong than last time... Gehenna hadn't gone after her before, and she didn't know why, but now that she'd seen Morrigan again how could she not want to end her?

Knowing she and her daughter were the target of a person that seemingly couldn't be killed, had gained even more power than she'd wielded previously....Morrigan's kernal of fear had reached it's tipping point.

It exploded forth and now she couldn't say she wasn't scared. Maybe she had held back before, but even if she didn't would it have really made a difference? Gehenna played with her, never taking her serious at all.

Could end her with a flick of her wrist, maybe. And this knowledge is what truly frightened Morrigan. Having that woman's eyes on her, knowing she was lurking somewhere nearby, sent a chill along her spine.

"That Gehenna...Her being here, it can only mean..."

Morrigan suddenly felt herself being enveloped by a pair of strong arms.

She stiffened instantly, never expecting this husband of her's to initiate such an intimate action himself.

"Don't worry so much." He whispered into her ear. "You yourself aren't weak, Morrigan. And even if you were, your fears are unwarrented. You and Grace are my family, you know? I'll protect you both. Nothing will happen to either of you. It's an impossibility."

Morrigan was distressed.

Even when she was with the him of before, had she ever heard him say such an arrogant thing? Somehow the him of now seemed even more sure of himself than he used to be.

But at the same time, it worked. His words carried a certain weight to them, amazingly, even though they shouldn't.

When he spoke, it didn't seem like it was supported by mere confidence. Rather, they seemed more like statements of fact. As if he didn't believe in them, but instead knew they were simply truths.

In the face of something like that, Morrigan didn't know how to respond.

"And besides. " He added, " I doubt she's here for you. Otherwise she'd have acted long before now. From what I here of her, she's not the type to wait around."

Well she certainly isn't, Morrigan thought.

She sighed. Maybe...maybe shewas overthinking it.

"Alright, fine." Morrigan said, calming down. "I won't panic. But I don't want to stay here anymore. Once you and Solomon do whatever it is you're going to do, and after we reach the Higher Planes, I'll summon another ship to carry us. I don't feel at ease here with Gehenna near. No matter what you say or how confident you are, I just don't want Grace to be anywhere near woman."

Roland smiled. "Don't think I can take care of her?"

"t's not that. I simply don't want to take any chances. If you only knew Gehenna like the rest of us, you'd probably be the same way even if you didn't fear her. She's not right, she's just...wrong." Morrigan's eyes drifted off. " I honestly don't know how you dealt with her back then. Didn't she try to attack you?"

Roland shook his head. "No. I attacked her, though. Gave her a wound on her chest, like Grace's. If I knew who Grace was bgack then, I probably wouldn't have stopped there. But regardless, she didn't do anything about it. But recently I've started to think that--"

He stopped.

"Think what?"

"No, it's nothing." He refused to talk about it.

Roland wasn't sure what relationship, if any, that Gehenna person may have had with him in the past. An if she was, if they had been close, then...

It would complicate things immensely.

Roland almost didn't want to know.

Usually he didn't like meeting people who might have been someone he used to know in a past life. But this Gehenna person was very infamous, he was curious how they could have known each other in the past.

He felt she may have been important to him. But wasn't sure. Although in the end maybe it wouldn't matter. He'd doubted it was a situation similar to Morrigan's.

He may be extremely curious, but unless the woman also had a child with him he doubted he'd feel any obligation to continue being with her.

Of course, he didn't know if the relationship between them was that close. Despite his feelings, he couldn't say with certainty at all.

And if it was a relationship such as that that, something like lovers, then maybe meeting him would only cause more pain to her. But she didn't sound like the sort of person to to form close relationships with people so perhaps that wasn't how it was.

Hm. Though people said the same of Morrigan, and look how that turned out. Ah, whatever.

Point was, until he was clear on exactly how she knew him, he'd not let others harm her.

After that, they'd go their seperate ways once more.

**********

Morrigan decided to stay like that for a while. Even when he tried to pull away, she didn't let him.

Since he was the one to start it, shouldn't he take responsibility? Spoiling her just a little like this, that's something that he ought to do more often.

The only thing was that it made Morrigan a bit restless.

And when she decided to take advantage of the situation and give him a kiss on the lips it really only grew worse.

Morrigan had never been a promiscious woman like Mercury. She'd never desired a man, or a woman. Her sex drive had always seemed rather inactive. Maybe part of the reason was because she never liked interacting with people in general even when she was a mortal.

This had changed when she'd met Roland. Not immediately, but over time, as she started to fall in love with him, she found that what had previously been dormant had awakened with a fury.

It was only after they started their relationship that she'd discovered the...profound pleasures... of being with a man.

Not to say it was indiscriminant. She'd never felt any arousal or interest towards any but her husband. She couldn't even imagine laying with anyone other than him. Perhaps that was strange, she didn't know, but it didn't matter to her.

It was just that when they were together like this, when he held her...it was difficult restraining herself.

And so right now she decided to stop, at least a little.

She could tell he was thinking deeply about something, but the moment their lips touched those thoughts seemed to have vanished.

His arms hugged her even tighter, bringing them closer together. Morrigan was a tall woman, but even she couldn't reach the height of tall man like Roland. As such, she was slightly on the tips of her toes at the moment.

She loved his kisses. Always had. They were always deep and passionate, never failing to make her feel like he'd given her his full attention. Maybe that's just how it was with him, maybe in moments like this he really did devote himself to the act without bothering to care much about anything else.

Whatever the case was, she liked it.

Unfortunately she'd lost sight of where they were. And so when she had begun to start undreassing him, he had to stop her.

" Best not." He took hold of her hands, putting an end to their roaming.

As she was, It required several moments for her to get his meaning.

"Oh, it's alright" She told him. "Grace won't be able to hear, and I doubt she'd wake up anyway. She's a very deep sleeper." Suffice it to say, she wasn't exactly thinking straight when she said this.

Catching the look in her eyes as she stared at him, Roland was regretful. But he was very firm. "Trust me, were it anywhere but here I'd not really care to refuse. But I don't want to take the chance that she will wake up. Thereby scarring her for life. So I think we should stop for now. Sorry, but..."

Morrigan slowly came to her senses.

"No, no, you're right." She assured. " It would be a bad idea. I..." She flushed. "I don't know what came over me. Forget it. " Thinking about her actions just made her unable to keep the blush from spreading even more across her cheeks.

She really was being a bit too daring just then, wasn't she...

Seeing the expression she was making just then, Roland couldn't resist teasing her. " So even you get embarrassed like this, huh." He chuckled. "You know, Morrigan, you're a very beautiful woman. But I didn't think you could be cute ever now and then too."

Morrigan smacked his arm lightly. "You're awful."

Still, she can't say she wasn't a tad happy by his words.

"Okay, I think we've stayed in here long enough. The others are waiting."

"Right. Of course."

**********

When they came back out, Mercury and Fenris narrowed their eyes at them.

"My, my, weren't you two in there for quite a while. I wonder what you were up to?" Mercury asked suspiciously, taking a sniff of the air as she did so.

"..." Fenris couldn't even...she had no words to...

...Ugh!

Really, what had they been doing? To come out smelling like that...!

How uncouth!

And in front of Grace, too! Some people really knew no shame. Fenris hadn't expected either of them to be so daring!

"We were just talking." Roland answered, not at all convincing the two.

Fenris saw through the lie. "Is that so? What's with Morrigan's flushed face and the two elevated heartbeats I hear then, hmm?"

"It was a very heated conversation." The man replied, very seriously.

"..."

"..."

Even Mercury was at a loss on how to respond to that.

Meanwhile Solomon, who was also present, looked at the two in question.

"...Hmm. Ro, hey. So you and Morrigan fucking or what?"

Straightforward, blunt and with absolutely no concern for the people around him. Classic Sol, his friends were thinking.

Solomon was no fool, he was never accused of being slow. He knew something was up as soon as the woman dragged him into the room.

Roland decided to be equally blunt. "Pretty much. She's my new trophy wife, won her in a game of cards a while back. Luck was not on her side that day. You like?"

Solomon's mouth fell open. "I'm sorry, what?"

The other man sighed. "Nothing. But I wasn't kidding about that wife part. Yeah. It's new to me, too."

" Great balls of the fucking Beast...." Solomon exclaimed. "That's not a small piece of news. Her persuers won't like this." He frowned.

"She has persuers?" Roland raised a brow. "...No, wait. That seems pretty normal, actually."

Morrigan was a very beautiful woman no matter what kind of attitude she had. Of course she'd have at least a few. It's just that he hadn't given much thought to them. Didn't matter to him. Why would it?

"You don't look all that surprised, Sol." Roland noted.

"I was suspicious about it the moment I arrived. And she had traces of your aura around her too. Plus she momentarily reeked of a woman in heat when she saw you. Looked at you like you were a tasty treat, she did. Not unlike Mercury here. So I had a bit of time to come to terms with it."

Solomon was a very colorful person, he called things like he saw it. A shame that he had no tact at all sometimes.

Morrigan stared at him as soon as he finished his sentence, not amused at all. In fact, although she didn't say anything, she had the look of a person quietly contemplating murder.

"Loki and everyone else freaked out when they first heard of it." Roland said.

"We did not." Aries and Mephisto, upon hearing this, spoke out against it.

Solomon ignored them. " I resent that. You can't compare the great me to those idiots." He spoke off-handedly. "And freaked out, eh? That's probably because they were just jealous." The man grinned. "Hell, even I am a bit. But let's get to the point: What did you want that was so important? You said something about my egg? And where are these supposed beauties at, hm?"

He was taking the news surprisingly well. "Wait, you aren't a bit curious about it?" Roland thought he would be.

"You mean the thing about you popping a beautiful ancient goddess' cherry? That's unexpected, can't lie, but you getting with a woman isn't a surprise, Ro." Solomon shrugged. "Just surprised at how fast you work!" He shook his head in wonder. " What's more, It's Morrigan! I have to admit, I underestimated y--"

"Mommy, daddy?"

Grace came out of the room from behind Roland and Morrigan, appearing between them. She rubbed her eyes, yawning.

Solomon froze, staring at the girl.

Hair similar to fresh fallen snow, a pair of large round eyes that were perfectly gem-like. Greatly reminiscent of a clear blue sky. A small frame, very young. Her face a heart, hinting at the beauty the girl would one day possess.

A very "adorable" young girl by any standards.

Solomon looked at the three of them with a disturbed expresssion, disbelief written all over him.

"Grace, honey, did you sleep well?" Morrigan asked gently, her face softening.

The girl nodded lazily.

"Were you and daddy in the room just now, mommy? I thought you were..."

"Yes, we were just checking up on you. Pay it no mind." Roland told her. The girl was so cute, he couldn't stop himself from giving her cheek a light pinch.

"'Kay." She didn't doubt them at all. "Mommy, me and Evie are hungry." The girl informed suddenly.

"Evie?" Roland and Morrigan spoke in unison.

Grace held up the white, multi-tailed fox.

"Evie. " She introduced. The fox responded by tuning in her arms and licking her cheek, eliciting a few giggles.

"I see." Morrigan smiled. "Let's go to the kitchen, I'll make you something to eat"

This caused Roland to make an inquiring whisper. "You can cook?"

"Mommy, you can cook?" Grace also asked.

"You can't, can you?" Roland's words made the woman hesitate.

Morrigan looked at them in silence, unsure. "...I can do it."

Fenris walked up to them. "Eh...I better go instead. What would you like, little one?"

Grace replied without hesitation. "Pancakes!"

"Wait a minute. I said I can do it." Morrigan insisted.

"I always do this though?"

She was unfazed. "No, it's fine, you don't need to bother."

Fenris tried to convince her. " Morrigan, look, we all have things we're good at and things we aren't good at. Cooking, well, your skill in that area is a bit..." How did one kindly say to someone that rather than having zero cooking skills, it was in the negatives?

As long as Fenris had been with them, she'd not once seen Morrigan make anything edible.

Grace had always eaten things cooked by other people. When Fenris had taken to cooking a few things for the little girl in order to brush up on her skills, she noticed that Morrigan would watch on in disease.

Fenris would often sleep over at their house in cat-form, so she was there when Morrigan would sneak into the kitchen.

She never understood why back then, but now it was obvious. Apparently Morrigan didn't like a person like Fenris, who was so close to Grace, making her daughter things to eat when she herself couldn't.

Fenris surmised that was fine when it was people they didn't really know, like chefs whose jobs it was to do make they were asked, but this was different.

If she had to say, it hurt Morrigan's pride as a mother?

So after Fenris had begun to make Grace any kind of treats she wanted, the woman set out to learn how to cook on her own.

She had tried a few times but the dishes she made were nearly always burnt, twisted monstrocities that should never have been given life.

Fenris quickly came to understand that the woman didn't know how to use a pan, or a spatula, at all. Not to mention know how to use them to cook food.

She had seen the woman cut herself when she tried to use some kind of weirdly glowing dagger to cut open an egg.

An egg!

Who did that, trying to open an egg that way? She'd made a great mess, suffice it to say. As for how she cut herself, she held the egg in her palm like an idiot. To this day Fenris didn't know what that dagger was either, probably some artifact she had acquired at some point or something.

Fernris supposed it was understandable, the woman hadn't likely ever had to cook anything in her life. Or if she did then it would have been a very long time since she last had to.

Fenris did want to teach her how to cook, as she herself was a pretty good one--as for why that was so, it was because she had to learn to cook at a very young age, no one else would do it for her. She couldn't just forage for food all the time, and a girl had to eat right? So she got a few recipe books from the Royal Library and taught herself. She'd probably not die from starvation, but she hated it. Being hungry was not a fun thing. And her's wasn't like normal people's, wasn't sated that easily.

Yet she correctly came to the conclusion that Morrigan would never accept it, and would instead be mortified if she knew Fenris had seen her futile attempts.

So despite admiring her efforts, Fenris let it be. Morrigan had never given up trying to learn, but she never got any better as far as she knew. Rather, her bad habits were probably throughly ingrained in the woman.

But...maybe Fenris should give her the benefit of the doubt....?

"I said It's fine. I am perfectly able to do this. I'm her mother, of course I can do this much."

Morrigan glanced at her husband, thinking, In his past life I may have been unable, but that doesn't hold true now. I've been practicing...I can do this, at least. This is nothing.

A mother and wife who was unable to cook for her own family, what sort of useless person was that?

She'd made a few breakthroughs recently, she was obviously able to do this much!

Morrigan was very confident.

"I can just conjure something for the little tyke." Mercury offered. Mercury was an excellent cook. She was just too lazy to do it the usual way. since she had the knowledge, she could just cheat and make any dish instantly using a bit of magic.

She couldn't just materialize anything into existence, but if she knew how to make it, what components went into the desired object...then it was doable.

Morrigan didn't like any of that, however. "No, thank you." She said.

She was just averse to letting Grace consume anything from Mercury. And using methods such as that to make food, Morrigan didn't like that either. Both reasons were silly, but even so...

"Suite yourself." Mercury didn't take it to heart.

The two mother and daughter--plus Evie--disappeared towards the kitchen area as Fenris and Mercury shrugged. If the woman was that stubborn, what could they do?

As for himself, Roland trusted Morrigan knew what she was doing.

But while all this was going on, Solomon remained frozen. Rooted to the spot, unable to speak. He even still stared at the direction they left. His eyes had never left Grace's small frame until she moved out of sight.

Solomon seemed confused. "What? What? Did she just say....daddy?"

He turned towards Roland, looking doubtful. " Ro... little girl, who is she?"

" Hadn't seen her around?"

"I hadn't even seen Morrigan in quite some time, and it's not like we're close in the first place. So how could I? Even if I did see her, I wouldn't remember her. But just now, when I saw her next to you both..." He couldn't go on.

"Well if you ask who she is, then I can only say that she's...my daughter?"

Despite not reacting much to the previous revelation, he had a decidedly bigger reaction from this one.

Solomon looked towards the kitchen door, then cast a spell to stop the two from hearing the next bit of conversation.

"Okay. Look. That's bullshit." Solomon said flatly." That's...no, bullshit sums it up nivcely. Maybe her age can be explained away, but you can't really expect me to believe the Morrigan would be capable of...Ro, Death Goddesses, they..." He struggled to say what he wanted. "See, for them, they can only take life away. But they can't...they can't give life. Everyone knows that. It's impossible."

"Apparently not." Roland said dryly.

"But...but how did you even..."

"How do you think?"

Solomon wasn't in the mood. "Dammit, Roland, be serious!" He all but yelled, his anger coming quick. "Do you even know what this means? There's reasons why Death Goddesses can't birth children!"

Roland sighed. " I know it's not exactly happened before, and I know well that it shouldn't be possible, but--"

"Wait" He was cut off. "...What makes you think that it hasn't happened before?" Solomon asked quietly, stunning those present.

Aries stepped in. "What're you saying? There's never been a child like tha--"

"From what I know, there's been exactly one." Solomon informed, flooring him.

Aries recovered after several seconds, glaring. " Cut the crap, Sol, I've never heard of any Death Goddesses bearing a child."

Solomon's eyes darkened. "That's because it was much before even your time, and happened in a place much further than any of the universes the current Pantheons are in control of."

" Then how?" Mephisto's brows furrowed. " A Death Goddess can't even....Like you said, It's not possible."

"Yes, not possible anymore. Heaven's Will hadn't allowed it" He looked at Roland, as if trying to uncover some secret. "....until now, that is."

"And do you know who that previous child is?" Aries stared at him, hard.

Mercury did too.

Solomon was quiet. His thoughts were a complete mystery to those present.

Finally he deigned to reply, the words almost unwilling to come out.

"...The burden that the Mark of Life and Death places on a body isn't something anyone, especially a child, can bear. Not while staying sane." He sighed. " They would be broken from the moment of their birth." Solomon turned to Roland. "No matter how I think of it, your daugher should be the same way. And yet..."

"Grace isn't broken." Judging from his tone, no one would be allowed to say otherwise.

'I know. She's not." Solomon nodded in agreement."Ugh, but let's not waste anymore time talking about it. However....just so you know, whatever happens in the future, I'll help."

Roland, Aries and Mephisto looked at him oddly, puzzled by his statement.

"Grace, huh." Solomon mused aloud. " A good name, that. Seems like a good girl. too."

Solomon's gaze rested on Mercury for just a moment while he said this.

"So, all that aside, are we going to get back on track or not? I still want my stuff. And where are my promised beauties? I see none here. Ah, no...not that Mercury and Fenris aren't ones, but..."

He quickly retracted his words once he saw the two women--or woman and cat--look at him with disdain.

"Right. Sorry." Roland apologies. "Yeah, let's get down to business, shall we? Come on, let's pick up the boys first."

"Boys?" Solomon had no interest in boys, and his tone spoke of it.

"Yeah. They'll be excited to see you. They're big fans." Roland grinned.

"Indeed?" Solomon smirked, getting full of himself. "Well I suppose I can meet them then. Far be it from me to leave my fans waiting. Who knows, I might like them. Maybe I'll even give them a few upgrades as a show of how kind and generous I am. Ah, being so popular is such a hassle."

Though his words dripped with shameless self-admiration his face didn't betray any real excitement to actually meet them.

Roland was already heading towards the door when he looked back. "Mercury, would you mind picking up the girls? You know where they're staying at, right?"

Since she could teleport the girls here it would make things a lot quicker.

"Sure do. Don't worry, I'll pick them up..."

"Good to hear, thank--"

"...For a price."

Roland suddenly got a wary look in his eye, not quite sure what was coming. "...Fair enough. What do you want?"

Mercury grinned lecherously.

"No." Roland was quick to refuse.

"You didn't even listen to what I had to say yet!" She pouted

"Okay, fine, what were you going to ask for?"

"....Huh. Actually I didn't think I'd get this far." She admitted. "So...I don't know. A hug?"

"Apologies, Lady Mercury, but I think I'll have to take a rain check. Although regrettable, I'm going to have to refuse your request."

"A small kiss on the cheek instead, maybe?"

"Even more unacceptable."

"Can you lick my toes then?"

"I don't know where you've been, Mercury. That's disgusting."

"I'll have you know my feet are always squeaky-clean, thank you very much." She said indignantly. " But alright, have it your way. Since it's come to this, although I'll be suffering a loss...I'll settle for you spanking me on my ass and pulling my hair."

Mercury took full advantage of the fact the spell Solomon had cast a while ago blocked Morrigan from hearing what she was saying.

Every word out of her mouth just kept on getting more annoying and outlandish. Fenris wanted to smack her.

Roland was dumbstruck. "Why are these getting more and more ridiculous? Isn't it supposed to be the other way around?"

"It's called good bargaining skills. I ask for something outrageous first, which later makes my final offer seem much more reasonable in comparison. So, on that note, I'll just take that shirt of yours."

Roland cast a suspicious glance at her. "Why do you want it?"

This was a bit much for just a small favor. Why was she being like this? It isn't as if it'd kill her to just do it for free, wouldn't take long at all either.

"You shouldn't wory your handsome little head about it. Actually, you wouldn't want to know anyway."

"Is that all?"

"Yes sir. I'll pick it up later. But run around first. Get it all nice and sweaty. Soak it in them masculine juices of yours, my lovely."

Roland suddenly decided that he had played along more than enough. "Nevermind. We're done. I can get them myself in a bit. You just stay there and just look pretty or something.."

"You think I'm pretty?" She grinned. "We'll discuss that later, sweet cheek. For now you're too late, i'm already off!."

She disappeared in a flash of light.

"I had forgotten exactly how tiresome even just listening to Mercury could be." Solomon commented. "Whatever. Best say goodbye to that shirt, Ro, she'll get it eventually. Hope it wasn't your favorite one or anything."

"..."

"Let's try this again. After you." Solomon gestured to the door, impatient.

**********

"Hmm..."

Solomon gave a long, considering look towards Saren.

The boys were practically sweating bullets, fear holding them in place.

"Hey, boy."

"...."

"Tell me, how keen are you on the idea of fusing your body with the blood of a--"

"Sol, don't." Roland stopped him.

"What?"

" The last time you tried something like that you gave birth to a pack of giant, bloodthirsty rabbits...all with the power to level mountains if they tried."

"You can't use that against me, how was I to know that feeding lower lifeforms the blood of a god and replacing their brains with mini super computers would result in a hyper-intelligent pack of wild, overpowered, adorably pissed-off demon-spawn?"

Roland wasn't about to let him weasel out of it. "That was exactly what you were trying to do. For fun. You were drunk so I don't think you'd remember, but you definitely had that in mind." Probably. Roland wasn't entirely in his right mind either, but he didn't boter mentioning that. "And bullshit. How were they intelligent? They bit off Loki's finger. Then threw tartar sauce on his unconscious body and tried to eat him with alive. Wild animals."

Solomon rose to their defence. "Yes, but after that they mutated and used their powers to build a nuclear bomb out of spare parts from my lab. Pretty damn smart for creatures that don't even have thumbs to pick shit up with. If only they didn't try to gang up to try and feast on our presumably delicious meat...Although I suppose they weren't all too smart, admittedly, since all they mainly did was fuck every two minutes. Plus they completely ignored their potential. All that unapped godly power...A real waste. "

" That's what killed them."

The rabbits lived for all of a half hour before their bodies broke down. Roland wasn't sure how he would have felt about just killing or imprisoning creatures that had higher thought capabilities. Although they weren't exactly self-aware for the most part, it was still a grey are for him.

But it was weird. They must not have been regular rabbits, surviving that long with the blood of a god running through them. Sol must've modified them somehow.

Suffice it to say, it was one of the more controversial experiments Solomon had conducted.

Still, at least they weren't human. Would have made things a whole lot worse in a variety of ways.

As he was thinking this, neither he nor Solomon noticed that each word sent shivers down the spines of the two boys.

With faces growing even more pale by the second, accompanied with cold sweats. Combine that with the looks of pure horror, laced with a healthy dose of anxiety, and they seemed completely traumatised.

"But we're getting distracted again. Right, boys, come over to my place for a bit. We're going to meet with Reina and Lilith then Sol's going to take a look at you. See what he can gleam about your situation."

"No!" They cried out in fear, visibly shaken. They refused to take part in it! This...this madman, who in their right mind would let him near their bodies!

Every fiber of their being screamed out against it.

"I told you this is what was going to happen, what's the problem? Come on already."

"W-We're feeling under the weather right now. Maybe later?" Saren hesitatingly spoke, doing his best to appear unruffled.

"I can heal you, you know, it wouldn't be a problem."

"Ah...well, actually, we're busy. You see, we promised Natalie and Yazmin we'd meet up with them later. So, we'll have to reschedule..."

"You've been keeping in touch? Huh. But no, this is much more important."

"Who're those women they spoke of? The beauties you promised?' Solomon's eyes lit up. Like Loki, speaking of pretty women always earned his attention. Although from the words that were said, Solomon doubted they were the ones Ro had talked about.

"No, just a couple of succubi they had the pleasure to be the company of the other night."

"Indeed?" Solomon appraised the boys with bit more respect--even if miniscule. "Impressive. Succubi aren't easy to come by. Quite a lucky."

"Interested? There's an entire den of succubi on the ship. Maybe you can find one to keep you entertained later. "

"Fuck, after what happened to us the last time we found a whole group of succubi? No thanks, I'm not in the mood to become a daddy just yet."

"They aren't that bad." Roland had unexpectedly found that the women all pretty nice.

"I'll not take my chances, succbi are a man's sweetest temptation and greatest weakness."

"Suit yourself. Now, as I was saying...Let's go, boys, times wasting."

"I've got to go to the bathroom." James stood up just then, face entirely calm and natural.

"As do I." Saren also rose.

"No, you don't. Neither of you do."

"..."

"..."

"Stop fussing. He's not going to bite. Or I don't know, shoot you. Don't be so childish." Roland chided them for their behaviour.

"..."

"..."

**********

Mercury hadn't exactly been at the place the girls and their parent had made their temporary home at, but she could still lock onto their energy patterns and travel there easily.

Which is what she did.

What she found was a large living room where the girls' father--she forgot his name. No, had she ever even heard it?--sat beside his wife as they conversed quietly to themselves.

"Yo~!" Mercury made her appearance known instantly. " How's it goin', you two? Enjoying yourselves?"

The father's eyes widened, not expecting the woman to suddenly show up unannounced.

"Lady Mercury." He stood up, giving a small bow. "What brings you at such a late hour? Is there something you require?"

She waved him off. "Oh, no, no, don't mind me. I just need to borrrow your young'uns for a bit. That tremor you felt? Solomon's doing, the cheeky bastard. Don't be concerned, the matter was resolved. Ahem. But my fated future sex-friend wants him to look over your daughters' conditions and so sent me, Mercury, to fetch them."

Garreth, the husband, stared at the woman oddly. He only knew of one person she could be referring to..... Did they have such relationship? He couldn't be sure.... But Lady Mercury was a person that was no stranger to casual flings, at least from what he'd heard of the woman.

However from what he'd seen when they all boarded the ship, wasn't that man and Lady Morrigan not already....? No, he'd best not think too deeply of it.

As for her side of things, Mercury, as soon as the words were said, mentally chided herself.

Ah, that's right, she wanted to save the guy for her daughter. So it'd be weird if she set her eyes on the man herself as well. A pity. She kept forgetting that, honestly.

Maybe her daughter would be okay since Grace adored the woman, but if it was Mercury than she'd just be seen as a homewrecker. Fenris was lucky, she was in an opportune position. Already got the daughter's love and affection, so there wasn't anything Morrigan could do.

Hell, maybe the girl would even accept her as a second mother if Fenris wanted to go that route!

But were it Mercury, eh....she'd die?

Of course it goes without saying, though, that if she ever did try to snatch him away, she could. Heh, who would be able to compete with her, Mercury, for a man? Such a woman didn't exist yet, perhaps never.

That slut Aphrodite, even she's a mere pebble next to the divinely carved masterpiece that was Mercury.

...Wait, she was getting distracted. What was she here for again?**

"Right!" She recalled. "As I was saying, hand over those lovely daughters of yours!" She spoke like a dastardly rogue, her words quite misleading without context. "So that we can get this over with. Savvy? Fear not, they shan't be harmed at all~"

The wife inwardly frowned at the woman's crudeness, but merely pointed to the hallway to her right.

"There rooms are right over there, my Lady. They should be awake, the tremor from before having startled them. I think they just got out of the bathroom not long ago." She understood that they liked to take showers when they're nervous.

It calms them somehow. If they had the chance to freshen themselves up, they would. They also had a special penchant for cleanliness, so that increased the desire. The two started to sweat a bit during times of stress, which their mother could tell happened more often of late.

Despite her best efforts, the two apparently didn't want to open up to them about their problems. Lilith especially seemed to have something on her mind.

"That being said, can you wait for just a m--?"

"No time, dearie, I've a job to complete and the promised reward is somethin' I'm gonna be able to have fun with on cold, lonely nights such as these. Toodles~"

***

First was Lilith.

Young woman had been in the middle of putting on a light, pale-grey shirt. Thankfully she already had a pair of shorts on.

Mercury appeared out of thin air and grabbed her elbow.

"Come on, my sweet, gotta go."

"...!!!"

Lilith's heart nearly jumped right out of her chest, not expecting the woman to be here at all. She instantly entered into a state of extreme confusion.

"What--?!"

"Let's get outta here, poppet. Fear not, I'll take care of you real good."

Mercury flashed them out.

***

Reina had been the last to get out of the showed, letting the warm water hit her for quite awhile before she decided to leave.

She was in her temporary room, a single towel wrapped around her all that covered the young woman's naked figure.

Her clothes were laid out neatly atop her bed.

It was just as she took them in her hand when Reina heard a very faint whoosing sound from behind her.

She abruptly jerked upright in surprise.

"Oh? Nice. You and this sis of yours got some pretty great assets, can't lie. 'Course, you're still lacking compared to me. But buck up, girlie, someday when you're both a bit more ripe perhaps you'll possess a tenth of my own otherworldly grace, style and feminine charm. Take pride in that, it's a very decent amount."

Mercury took a moment to comment, nodding her head in approval.

"Lady Mercury!" Reina stuttered, her eyes going wide. "...And Lil? You...why are the two of you..." She blinked, not at all sure what was currently happening."Just what's going on?"

"Eh, would take too long to explain and I ain't that patient a person. C'mere, chop-chop. Time's a-wastin'."

Without saying anything more, and under the very flustered, perplexed gazes of the other two, the goddess grabbed Reina and all three of them vanished.

***

Roland and Solomon, with Saren and his brother James right behind them, arrived back just before Mercury flashed into the room.

It took a very slim moment for Roland to understand what was going on.

Mercury came in with a very confused-looking Lilith and Reina.

The first girl's hair was a little wet, framing her face. She was also wearing nothing but a pair of rather small shorts. She did have a shirt too, but currently she only had one arm through it while everything else other than a pale green bra was exposed.

As for Reina...she was a lot worse off.

She only had a large towel around her, the thick cloth all that seperated her bare body from view. She seemed to have some clothes in her hand, but that was it.

Nearly as soon as they arrive, though, that towel started to slip.

With everyone's curious eyes on the scene before them, Roland acted fast.

Right as that towel was about to fall he raised a faint blue barrier around the three women that hid them from sight.

"...Mercury..."

"Yup?" Her disembodied voice came out from behind the barrier.

Roland took a few seconds to squash down the annoyance that was building in his chest. " Why did you bring them here like that?"

"Hey, it's not my fault they're slow. I was just following your request. This matter is important, no? I had no time to just laze about. And I'm a very serious person, I don't play around, you know? You needed them here, I delivered. Oh, right, when are you going to give the agreed upon payment for my services?"

Roland breathed out, sighing heavily. "Mercury....I generally dislike hitting women. But I feel like I wouldn't mind doing it to you."

Her voice took on pleasantly surprised tone, almost eager. " Indeed? Interesting. If that's so, I assume you wish to revisit that other offer I mentioned? Minus the hair pulling? I have to say, that sounds pretty fun. But don't do it too hard. I've very tender skin, It wouldn't do to be too rough. Although maybe if we used a bit of lotion or oil we wouldn't have to worry..."

This woman said whatever she wanted with really no regard for anyone else's opinions.

As vexing as it was, Roland couldn't really find the heart to hate her. She was like the class clown that made things a bit more interesting at times.

But did she have to spout lines of sexual harrassment at each opportunity? He was really able to understand why Aries and Mephisto didn't appear to like the woman all too much.

Like Loki, few would probably be able to handle her. Or keep up with her. She was a troublemaker, no doubt. Just in a different way from Loki. Maybe worse in a certain sense.

Roland glanced at Fenris, who was staring at the barrier in horror and hiding the majority of her face with her hands.

Towards the words spouted forth by her mother, she was deeply ashamed.

"I'm sorry." He told her, his meaning unlear to everyone else but them.

Fenris' embarrassment only grew, almost unable to meet his eye. But she nodded, feigning carelessness.

A silent understanding was formed between the two.

Having a mother such as she couldn't be an easy thing to live with. Add Loki into the mix and it was even worse.

He felt a bit of pity for Fenris. Must have been tough, putting up with them all these years.

"Reina, Lilith, you two decent yet?" Roland asked.

Reina's voice came out a moment later. "...No, not yet. It's a little small in here...I can't even see too well....Um, if possible, could you give us a bit of l--? Ah, thanks."

"No problem."

"...Okay, done." She called.

Roland put the barrier down.

As soon as he did, Solomon sprung forward.

"Oh? Hey Ro, these lovely young ladies...I assume they're the ones you spoke about?"

"Yeah. Sol, meet Reina and Lilith." Roland gave a short introduction, as he had with Saren and James earlier.

Solomon gave a charming smile, stepping up to take Lilith's hand. He raised it to his mouth and gave it a small kiss, very gentleman-like.

" I thought so. Nice to make your acquaintance, my dear."

Lilith looked at Roland out of the corner of her eye, trying to see how she should respond. Towards a man like this, her first instinct was to retract her hand and kick him. She didn't like being touched by strangers, and it was much worse when the person looked like some kind of dandy who's main interest was to get with women.

But she wasn't sure who this man was, although he looked a tad familiar. Plus he appeared to be a friend of her benefactor. It wouldn't be good to act violently.

"....Right..." She endured.

Roland laughed. "Don't worry, it's fine if you hit him."

Solomon's "charms" didn't work on everyone. Lilith obviously didn't care much for loose men, which Solomon definitely was.

Good girl, not being swayed by that guy's antics.

"...I wasn't thinking about doing that at all."

"Sure you weren't."

Solomon ignored them and moved on to Reina.

But his face changed when he got a closer look at her.

Though it was just for an instant, it was enough.

He, unlike with Lilith, didn't make a move towards her at all. Instead he just offered his hand as a way of greeting.

After she took it with some trepidition, he spoke quietly to her. "You're quite young, aren't you? Well, I suppose it's not that rare. Some are quite a bit youger. Quite a surprise, though... For various reasons..."

"...?"

Reina wasn't sure exactly what the man was talking about so she didn't know what she should say to something like that.

" Those are some nasty curses you four have, too. The boys are a lot easier to see through, and I have to say, their's are pretty cruel. But you two? It looks like something's not quite right, doesn't it? I can't see what their effects might be. Is this what you wanted me to see, Ro?"

Roland nodded. "Yeah. I wanted a second opinion. Loki wasn't able to help me much in this regard, he's busy with something else..."

"I see. How curious..." He turned towards the boys, an odd light in his eyes. "Your bodies all seem quite different from a normal mortal's."

"You thinki so too? You know, I had a hunch that was the case but didn't want to assume too much." He thought it was so because during that one training session he gave them, they held up remarkably well. "If it helps, the girls apparently aren't of this world. Their family originates from the Higher Planes. As for the boys, they're orphans from what I know."

"Orphans, you say." Solomon chewed on the words for a moment. "I wonder if...No. Probably not. But still, interesting. Duly noted." He nodded. "Now you, boy. Come here." He pointed towards James. " Give me your arm."

James wanted to run away just then. But he knew that wouldn't help. And the situation wasn't one to make light of. So he complied.

Solomon grabbed his arm, running a finger along his veins. His eyes moved elsewhere, concentrating. He turned him around, looked at him from every angle and poking him at certain places at times.

"Ah...So that's how it is. I missed one..." He murmured.

"What did you find out?" Roland asked him.

"...It's nothing important. Anyway, I can't do any extensive tests here. You want my help? Fine. But I won't help while that bitch is somewhere skulking about. I couldn't even If I wanted too, either. We've got to leave, got to my lab. And, about my egg..."

"Don't worry, I know where it is. At least i'm pretty sure that it's what you're talking about, doesn't seem much like an egg to me though. In any case, it's safe. I'll tell you more once you help out."

"What," The man narrowed his eyes. "You don't trust me?"

"Would you?"

"Eh, good point." He grinned. " Fuck it, come on then. Dantalion, open the Gateway."

He spoke loudly, causing everyone to step back as they felt a tingle in the air.

The previously killed Demon was nowhere to be found, but a spark of light was formed in the middle of the room.

It expanded rapidly, growing nearly eight feet all and half as wide.

"Let's go. Dantalion will keep the Gateway open."

With that, Solomon stepped into the portal and disappeared from sight.

**********

The place Solomon made his home--or as close to a home as a man like Solomon would have--was located in a realm that was seperate and unique from most others. It was a place you couldn't reach without him. At least, not normally.

It was a small world all on it's own with tall mountains, fields of emerald grass, flowers of every shade of every color imaginable....

The sky was mostly clear, but with a few clouds here and there that kept things interesting.

There were lakes and waterfalls, all clear and fresh and glistening brightly underneath a golden sun.

There were also a lot of mysterious creatures, too. Tiny fairies that fluttered by on wings of gossamer, tree nymphs that would occasionally come out of their homes and bath by rivers, beautiful fish with softly glowing scales that would swim inside.

The more you looked, the more you saw. It was a very idyllic sort of place, the kind that gave you a feeling of comfort and happiness just by gazing upon it.

Into the distance was a large, castle-like building that stood atop a moutain. It had a large terrace, allowing on to simply sit and enjoy the wondrous scene below.

"So beautiful...." Reina breathed, marveling the view with an enraptured expression upon her face.

"It's a amazing..." Lilith, too, couldn't help but stare.

"What is this place...?" Saren wondered aloud.

"This," Solomon smiled with pride, "Is New Eden!" He let out a laugh, very self-satisfied.

"What do you mean, "New"?" Roland said. "You literally stole everything here from--"

"Shut up. I made it better."

Mercury looked around. "Hold on, this place reminds me of somewhere....And that name...wait, don't tell me..." She glanced at Solomon suspiciously.

"I borrowed it." Solomon said, not ashamed at all.

"...Didn't bother to tell Big J, though, did you?"

"He didn't say no, did he?"

Mercury was at a loss. "So you did steal it!"

He frowned. "Again, I'm merely borrowing. It's not stealing as long as they don't say no!"

"You didn't give him a chance." The woman replied dubiously.

"The fact remains, he didn't say I couldn't."

Roland shook his head i disgust. "You're exactly the same as Loki. You even give the same excuses he does!"

"How did you even move it here?" Mercury wondered.

"With a lot of fucking difficulty." Solomon sighed. "Nearly crippled myself. Ah, it was such a pain. But this place was too perfect. Had to have it. And it was just sitting there, ignored...Plus, just look at them." He gestured to the Dryads some feet away. "They're a lot happier here. No one to tell them what to do, everyone living in peace. And I'm not complaining about having some company."

" It probably helps that they're pretty, doesns't it?" Mercury said.

"Quite." He shrugged.

Dryads didn't really need much. They mainly wanted to be left alone, away from conflict. This place was perfect for them.

" They don't wear you out?" The woman asked.

"No, it's not like that you know? Well, sometimes a few of them get a bit hot and bothered, in which case I don't refuse, but it's not like a regular occurance. And I'm not here all day in any case, so..."

"Heh. Weak. If I were you I'd never leave. You're with me, right, handsome? This guy, he's too wasteful isn't he?"

"Don't get me involved in this." He stepped a bit away from her.

"Mother..." Fenris, who'd been silent all the while, finally spoke up in order to lay onto the woman.

Apart from her there was also Aries and Mephisto who came along.

"....Daddy?" A small voice came up from behind them.

"Oh, Grace." Roland went to greet her. " And Evie, too, I see. So, did you get something in your stomache yet."

She nodded happily. "Where are we?"

"In illegally acquired property." Roland responded automatically, causeing her to tilt her head in confusion.

Solomon glared.

"I told you, it's--"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Whatever. Grace, your mother..."

" ...Is right here." Morrigan stepped out from the portal. " Hm. Eden? So this is where it got to. I had thought that might be the case, but I didn't think it was actually him...."

"New Eden, thank you very much." Solomon wouldn't give up on this.

"How can a place that never changes be called new?"

"...All of you please leave." He looked around. "Hold on, where's Aries and Mephisto?"

Roland supplied an answer. "They said they were going to raid your fridge. And though they didn't say anything about it, I think you should assume that your wine celler has a very high possibility of being emptied too."

Solomon seethed. "Bastards! I'll kill them!"

He stormed off, flying towards his home with great speed.

"Mercury, would you mind...?"

"Not at all, lover boy, I got this! Gimme your hand, everyone."

Roland backed even further away as her palm darted out towards his own. "No, thank you. I'll walk, enjoy the view. You can take the kids."

...He still had reservations against being teleported. Unless he had to, he didn't want to.

"Wait." Lilith spoke. "I'll walk too."

Reina joined in. "I want to see more of this place, so...My apologies, Lady Mercury."

"Looking around wouldn't be bad." Saren rubbed his chin, his gaze wondering everywhere---particularly in the direction of the Dryads from time to time.

"Couldn 't hurt." James agreed simply.

"Daddy, it's so pretty here..." Grace was already beginning to wonder off, prompting Morrigan to follow.

"Grace, dear, wait up."

"You'd rather walk that come with me? Tch. Suit yourselves." Mercury felt very unappreciated. "No, no, wait up, when do I get my promised reward?"

"Take it if you can." Roland wasn't about to bother with the woman, folowing after his daughter and wife.

Mercury huffed. She called out, " If that's how ya wanna do it, no problem. You can pay me with your body instead, as compensation for my trouble."

"Mother!" Fenris snapped, once more angered and embarrassed due to the woman's antics.

"What? You know I don't mean it, dearest girl. Like, I'm only around sixty percent serious. Besides, I was planning to let you have him from the start anyway. I'll just be satisfied with the shirt. Really, never let it be said that I, Mercury, am a greedy person. So when can I expect some adorable grandkids, daughter of mine?"

Mercury was having an extremely fun time teasing her daughter.

Unfortunately Morrigan's unusually sharp ears heard all this and turned around to look at the woman, her intentions a littletoo obvious.

...Fenris felt like she would die an infinitely early death when she realized what her mother just said. Or commit matricide. Whichever came first.

Why, just...why?

Fenris hated it. It was fine for Mercury to say such things, but why did she have to include Fenris?

She felt her anger building even more. It was a very dark, oily feeling that just wanted to be let out.

But before she could explode, Mercury grabbed her arm. "Looks like Morrigan can't take a joke. Let's leave before she decides to get all stab-y. Come along, daughter, off we go~!"

"No!" Fenris hissed. "I--"

It was too late, they were already gone

********************

Author Note: **Yeah unless it wasn't clear before, it would be best to not take Mercury too seriously. She has a habit of saying or thinking a lot of things that can seem kinda....you know? I would consider her bubbly, honestly. Maybe a tad air-headed? Not exactly right, but she is a character who'd get a little lost in random thoughts. Or have certain opinions on things that aren't too likely to happen. Like thinking Fenris could just walk up and seduce Roland without consequence since she got Grace as a friend..

Which would be more what Mercury herself would want to do, actually.