Atlas wasn't much changed since she had last seen him eight months ago, a little extra muscle on his chest, arms and legs but that was all. He still had that full head of gray hair, and that predatory look in his eyes. Atlas was much different from her father, he wasn't pushy with her or demanding. He'd gently escort her and ask her, they had only two fights and that was mainly on Angel's fault due to her hormones being all screwed up. Unlike her father, who locked her up in his bedroom chamber, Atlas would leave the door slightly ajar. Whenever she wanted to, she could go out and walked the halls of his winter palace. She found out right quick that she could no longer bend over, her stomach, protruding the way it did, would lock her in place and force her to stand hunched over, her fanny sticking up in the air. When Atlas found her that way one day he walked over and gently helped her right herself, she had been embarrassed immensely.

It was a week after she had been taken in by Atlas, again she found herself becoming a member of Atlas' harem but things were different. Atlas was just plain nice and gentle with her. He never mentioned sex or having a need, although she saw it plainly in his eyes. At the time, Atlas was still very busy. She asked the day after she had fully regained her conciousness what month it was and was surprised that it was February, the fifteen day of February 1999. Winter had been slow in approaching and Atlas had stalled moving his people to the winter stronghold located inside the Jebel el-Dist mountains.

"She wants to know if its a girl." Hannibal translated for his younger twin sister, Calypso.

"I have no idea." Angel replied. "I think it's a boy."

The twin girls were running around the courtyard, a beautiful yellow concrete area that had berry bushes, a warmed up pool and a fountain that had a pool around it, floating about in the fountain's pool were crafted gold leaves, they were so thinly crafted they blew in the wind. She was resting inside the warmed up pool, letting the warm water soothe the baby to sleep. The past few hours it had really been acting like it was running a marathon, kicking like crazy, turning and throwing its arms around. She rested her head back on the yellow concrete rim of the pool and looked up, Atlas' winter stronghold was slightly different that his summer one. The yellow mudbricked buildings were built closer together to prevent chilly wind from freezing the people, Atlas hadn't made a cut in the top of the Jebel el-Dist mountain that his winter stronghold had been built, when she had asked why Hannibal had answered saying that it prevented the breeze from getting too rough. The only way out of Atlas' winter stronghold was an underground tunnel, lit up with torches. Atlas had walked her around his winter stronghold, talking to her all the while, telling her how he'd been the past eight months. The man looked none the worse for his constant searching for her, in fact he looked stronger. His chest was tighter with more muscle and his arms and legs were stronger. Regardless his extra muscle, he was still gentle with everyone.

Angel, when she had teleported to Earth had been wearing a red dress with black leaf designs on it and a black belt and a red band around her wrist, it had gotten so worn out and ripped up that she needed a better outfit. Atlas provided her with a few outfits a day after she had woke up, one of them she was wearing now. It was a loose-fitting blue tunic with loose-fitting light blue pants, the band around her stomach was the stretchy kind. She wore no belt and she wasn't wearing anything on her feet, they were still painfully sore! Hannibal was seated on the left side of her, occasionally one of the twin girls would run up and ask her questions in Arabic and he'd translate for her, and he'd translate for the two girls what she had said in reply to their questions.

"Is the baby still kicking crazily?" Hannibal asked her.

"Still moving about, not kicking though." Angel replied. "That is a relief!"

"Pop says that the baby sometimes tries to kick him out of the bed." Hannibal snickered.

"Tries is an understatement." Angel laughed back. "I think the baby has a schedule for his kicking periods."

"He?" Hannibal looked at her sharply.

"It, sorry."

Sleeping at night wasn't easy for her nowadays, she found her condition even more uncomfortable now. Atlas would always walk in, give her a kiss then climb into bed beside her. The first few nights he'd snuggle up to her, pressing his head up against her shoulders or neck, but the baby had kicked out so vigorously that after the third night of her sleeping with Atlas in his bed he simply climbed in, gave her a few kisses then rolled over and went to sleep. On the fourth night she had rolled over, trying to get into a more comfortable position, and he stomach had slapped up against Atlas hard. That had not felt good and the baby had kicked out its frustration at being jostled around. The past two days she had steered clear of Atlas, she had had two nights of gassy attacks in a row and was thoroughly embarrassed by it!

"With the way the baby kicks, I bet it's a boy." Hannibal said.

"Don't get your hopes up." Angel turned her head slightly. "Henry the Eighth thought Anne Boleyn was pregnant with a boy because her baby kicked out so vigorously. Instead, the baby was a girl."

"Who?" Hannibal asked.

"English king from the sixteenth century." Angel answered.

"Oh, my father would know more about him then." Hannibal gave an embarrassed smile at not knowing who Henry the Eighth was.

"Pardon me for asking, but how old are you?" Angel started to get up out of the pool. "I was never told."

"As old as you, I think." Hannibal replied.

"Two hundred and sixteen?" Angel looked at him, she was having a trifle problem getting out of the pool.

"No, you're younger." Hannibal helped her up out of the pool. "Two hundred and thirty."

Aphra, Alexis and Selma suddenly left the courtyard and, for some reason, so did Hannibal. Angel found herself alone. She slowly stood up and stretched, the baby kicked and she sighed. She walked out of the courtyard and had just rounded a corner when a bell was rang. She looked around, wondering what was going on and why the bell had been tolled and why everyone had gone off. The baby kicked out hard and she turned, her hand pressed on her stomach. It was then that she saw the shadow behind her. The elongated ears, the tall form, the robe, she felt a chill run down her spine and her breath caught in her throat. How had he found and gotten into the stronghold? She was just turning around when the baby kicked out again, harder this time. This time the kick was enough to make her legs fall from underneath of her.

"Well, he said you was in good health but he didn't say you was pregnant."

She looked back and her emerald-green eyes bulged out wide. Standing behind her was not her father as she had thought but his hated older half-sister, Dione. She backed up against the corner, when her spine touched the edge of the corner she stopped, her back hurt her pretty badly nowadays. Dione looked no different, she looked her usual. There was no mistaking that she was Master Vile's sister, hell she could even pull off being his mother they had such resemblance! She had the elongated ears, slender and feminine, and white glowing eyes with black pupils. She was wearing a long flowing, but tight, maroon dress that had black ties and bows on it, she had maroon colored high heels on her feet which had bows on the sides. The left side of her head and face was yellow while the right was light blue. She had make-up on, her lips were lipsticked the opposite of her facial colors, she had on black mascara and white eyeshadow over her eyes. Dione's hair was long and was a deep purple in color with white and gray mixed in. Angel was nervous for one reason; she had fought against Dione eight months ago. The last she had seen of Dione she had been supported between her daughter and granddaughter before they had teleported out of the area. She looked Dione in the eye, there was nothing in them that said she was angry but she knew better that to trust the eyes of a person, or being. They hid things well. What Angel had done eight months ago, fight and then turn against Dione, scared her some now. Dione could be horribly angry with her and could do something to her or worse, she could hurt the baby.

"Calm yourself child!" Dione snapped. "you act as if I'm about to hurt you."

"Are you not?" Angel replied. "I fought against you eight months ago."

"True." Dione walked forward two steps then stopped. "How along are you?"

"How did you find out?" Angel demanded.

"Atlas wrote me last night, been wondering whatever happened to you." Dione placed her hand on Angel's stomach then yanked it away. "Pretty along."

"S-s-seven months and two weeks." Angel stammered.

"The Dione bunch has only girls, remember that."

That was all that was said, Dione teleported, actually she dissipated, and everything went back to normal in the palace. Angel stayed where she was, shivering and shaking violently, scared to death! What if the baby was a boy, would Dione hurt her baby if it was a boy? Dione had sounded pissed, angered, frustrated, she had sounded like she wanted to hurt her, her voice had been so low when she had spoken. After a while Angel walked off, towards Atlas' Throne Room. Atlas's Throne Room had three windows, it was built shaped like an octagon but it had just three windows and all were situated in front of the room. There was a pair of sliding wooden doors that led to the room and, before she slid them open, she looked in. Atlas had a painted silver chair that had a swayed seat, a purple cushion was placed in the seat of the chair and a few long tables in the room, a stack of pillows were placed in one of the corners. He wasn't in the room so she went off to his bedroom chamber. He was there, coming out from the walk-in bathroom. She walked in quickly and confronted him about Dione knowing about her being with him, about her being on Earth again.

"You told her!" Angel exclaimed the second she was in the room. "You wrote and told her that I..."

"Was heh, yes." Atlas nodded his head. "She be wantin' to no, yeh no she be worryin' boot yeh."

"Bullshit!" Angel walked up to him, stood within an inch from him. "She is pissed! She saw this and didn't look pleased." she pointed at her stomach. "Thanks!"

"She needin' to no, Angel." Atlas gently placed his hands on her shoulders and led her to the bed. "She no mad, she jus' surprised."

"The Dione bunch has only girls?" Angel repeated Dione's words. "That don't sound like surprise to me. That sounds like she's got the old ticker working upstairs."

"Yeh safe heh." Atlas assured her. "She jus' not no'in how to talk her surprise, is all."

Atlas had a style to him, he'd only wear a robe that covered him completely if he was outside of his palace or in the company of his daughters. At the moment, being that he was not outside of his winter palace and not in the company of his daughters, he was wearing a bottomless loincloth. It was made of light purple fabric that had gold around the edges. There was a gold design around the band which had ruby and topaz stones placed in odd places, he had gold wrist bands that had a topaz strand around the center on his wrists and he wore brown sandals on his feet. Angel shuddered when he walked by her after he had seated her down on his bed, the back of his loincloth was short and it swayed from side to side, it barely covered his butt cheeks.

"You being macho man or something?" she asked him. "Aren't you cold in that thing?"

"No." Atlas laughed lightly. "I no cold. I's warm."

"Alright Macho Man." Angel snickered.

Atlas was particularly against being called anything but his name and when he turned and gave her a look she shook her head. Atlas' bedroom chamber in his winter palace was a unique one! He had a Lion rug, headless, at the side of his bed and stuffed birds; Sacred Ibis, Brown Booby, an Oriental Darter and an Egyptian Goose, lined up on one side of the room on the wall. Near a window was hung the head of a Rhim Gazelle, it looked like a Nubian Antelope except for the neck being a full tawny brown and the horns being slender and slightly S-shaped. There was a dresser beside the bed and a mirror on the wall. The bed underneath of her had tan sheets and a tan blanket with an Ankh design on the front. The pillows, circular, throw and normal in shape and many of them, were lined up against the wall, when she and Atlas slept they'd take a pillow, or two, each from the side of the bed and sleep on it. The bed was shaped in a half circle. He had a framed photograph of him surrounded by his harem and Helen in his arms hanging on the wall, beside it stood a framed photograph of him with his five children, all by Helen.

"Belleh feel good?" Atlas placed his hand on her stomach, the baby kicked once.

"At the moment, yes." Angel replied. "Not sure how long it will stay that way though. Knowing Wiggly-Kicker in there."

"Good an' hehtheh babeh is!" Atlas said, he traced his finger over her stomach lightly. "Yeh feet feelin' good?"

Angel's feet were still sore but she didn't say that to Atlas, and that was enough of an answer for him. He went off to his bathroom and was gone for a short while. When he returned he had a brown bowl and some water, laced with honey, with him. He had Angel lie down and stretch her legs over his lap. When he started rubbing her feet she felt funny, as always. Atlas ran his hands over her feet gently, she giggled twice when he touched the sensitive parts of her feet which made him look up and smile at her.

"Yeh teeklish ting!" Atlas snickered, he tickled her feet on purpose.

"Q-q-quit th-th-that!" Angel laughed. She sat up and messed his hair up.

"Qeeet dat!" Atlas shook his head. "Silly ting!"

"You started it." Angel layed back down.

"Yeh namin' it one of dem names yeh pa done tought up?" Atlas asked her.

"Bikira or Vlorben? Hell no!" Angel did not like those names, they sounded odd. "I'm not sure if I'm keeping it or not."

"Sure yeh is!" Atlas patted her stomach gently then went back to rubbing her feet.

"You know it's not yours, right?" Angel asked him, he truly acted on the fatherly side of things with her whenever the baby was brought up. He even spoke to the baby from time to time.

"I no'd dat, yes." Atlas replied.

That night she felt funny, she couldn't get to sleep. She sat up in the bed and turned around, being careful to not wake up Atlas who was snoring lightly beside her. She stood up and walked over to the window, as she looked out she placed her hand on her stomach. She smoothed her hand over her bulging belly slowly for a short while then turned around. Seeing her reflection in the mirror made her turn, she had yet to accept what she looked like, of having a big belly. If she hadn't been pregnant she would have had a petite body, a trim and petite body with size 36C breasts. At the moment her belly made her look fat and her breast were swollen, she was no longer able to wear a 36 cup bra, she had to wear a cup size bigger. She truly looked deformed, and she hated it.

"Angel?" he was obviously awake, Angel turned around and saw that he was sitting up on the bed, the blanket down by his waist. "Someting wrong?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all, just seeing how ugly and fat I am." Angel swallowed hard, she choked back tears.

"Angel, yeh no fat or oogly." Atlas got up from the bed and went to her. "I sees a boofool gal, no fat or oogly." He kissed her cheek. "Boofool."

"You're a man," Angel said the obvious. "you don't know how it's like or how a woman feels... I use to be trim. Petite. Now I'm..."

She started crying and Atlas wrapped her up in his arms. He smoothed her hair back and kissed her cheek then planted a kiss on her lips which, for some reason, she returned. He slowly and gently picked her up and placed her on his bed, when he slept he wore not a thing so when he climbed into bed beside her she saw him fully. She rolled over and snuffled some. Atlas pressed his naked body up against her, he placed his head on her shoulder and nuzzled her, his hand went around her belly. The baby kicked once then became still.

"I no's how yeh feel." Atlas whispered in her ear. "Yeh goin' trew changes, is all. Yeh git yeh feegyor back agin."

"I hear some women don't ever get back their figures, or go back to being the same as before they were pregnant." Angel said.

"Yeh be meybe a inch big in deh weest is all, boot yeh git yeh feegyor back." Atlas reassured her. "I's gone trew five of dees pregnicies, I no's."

"But you haven't gone through seeing a woman have a baby from a monster." Angel started crying again. "M-m-my grandmother, Irka, says that she had to be c-c-cut for my father and his brother to be born."

"Helen had dat doon too wit Julius." Atlas ran his hand up to her breast then trailed it down to her stomach.

"I don't think as much as my grandmother was cut." Angel turned slightly and looked Atlas in the eye. "Irka says she was cut from her A to her V for both of her sons to be born."

"Yeh be fahn." Atlas kissed her cheek.

She slept in his arms that night, he would periodically trail his hand up to her breast then down again and would give her kisses. She still had her father's brand on her neck, the ugly M and V with the V's last branch curled around the two letters in a circle, both letters had been set in metal on a poker in a Gothic style. She had tried to get her father to take the brand off but he would hear none of it, she still had it and it still brought back memories of that first, horrible, sexual encounter with her father. The one where he had been so rough, putting bite marks in her shoulders, neck and breasts and had made something inside of her feel like it was breaking. Near morning her eyelids slipped down and she fell asleep.

It wasn't Atlas that woke her up around noon, she had figured that he would come but obviously, she hadn't figured on his arrival being so explosive. The Earth lurched up then dropped only to be lurched back up again, the sky grew pitch black and thunder rumbled loudly, acid rain fell as did hail. Atlas ran into his bedroom chamber just as the Earth started rocking back and forth, she could hear the slabs underneath the soil slapping up against each other, a whirring sound was drifting in through the mountain's hollowed walls.

"Damn that fool!" Angel said as she got up from the bed. "Can't leave me alone or let me go!"

"Yeh lie down, it be fahn."

Atlas grabbed her up in his arms gently and was carrying her to his bed when the ground underneath the palace rocked left hard. His legs were pulled out from under him and he fell down, Angel dropped to her knees on the floor and yelled out in pain, she felt something pop in her and looked down. The Earth went silent a few minutes later, the sky above was still pitch black and everyone in Atlas' winter stronghold quickly lit up torches. Atlas ran over to his closet and took out an oil lamp. He lit it and set it on his dresser then went to her. He was starting to help Angel to her feet when she yelled out in pain and grabbed his hand.

"Angel," Atlas said concernedly. "what's wrong?"

"It's... coming." Angel looked down and Atlas followed her, there was a yellow puddle between her legs, a yellow liquid was dripping down her legs from her crotch. "Atlas..."

"It be fahn," Atlas gently picked her up and placed her on his bed, he pulled the sheets up but kept the blanket down. "Yeh be fahn, I no's what to do."

"Wh-what do you mean?" Angel looked at him fearfully. "You going to deliver or...?"

"I gits Helen den we do dis ting." Atlas patted her stomach gently then left the room, he took the oil lamp with him.

When he had walked into his bedroom chamber after a right bad clap of thunder he had figured he'd see his daughter-mate huddled in a corner, but instead he had met with a confusing situation. When he had walked into his bedroom chamber he had not seen her, he had checked the room thoroughly, turned it upside down practically, and still, he had not found her. After the second time checking under his bed he had looked at the window on impulse. That was when confusion had turned to fear, the window was shattered, from the inside it had been shattered, the glass broken completely from the frame. He had leaned out the window, looked to the left then to the right then had looked down before calling out at the top of his voice his daughter's name. He had gotten rained on, he had stood there leaning half out of his window getting wet from the head down to his waist with the rain. A bright flash of white lightning followed by a loud thunder-clap had made him pull back into his palace and race out of his room, shrieking at the top of his lungs that she was gone, missing, had escaped.

He had been furious, his father had been equally furious. All of their planets, their conquered galaxies, had been ordered to close down all abortion clinics, an abortion was only allowed when the woman directly asked permission from their ruler and only so if it was a health-related issue, an abortion needed because the woman was in danger. Master Vile had gone to each of the planets in his galaxies, the Betta, the few planets he had conquered in the Dark Galaxy and of course, his birth galaxy, the M-51 and had done a personal broadcast, giving out a description of his daughter and making clear that she was pregnant. KurukVile had done the same in his Wycos and Vulcan Galaxies and on Oot and on the planets he had conquered in the Joga Galaxy. DuruVile had done the same in his conquered galaxies and TazirVile had done the same in his two conquered galaxies and the planets he had conquered. They had expected for Angel to be found and returned swiftly, but when nothing had come back after two weeks each had looked at Earth. Master Vile had his ship touch down in a valley, his father, grandfather and uncle followed and landed nearby.

"I'm destroying this planet after I find her this time." Master Vile said to his father after he had landed his ship and walked up to him. "No more of this nonsense, she's my mate and she'll listen to me. This planet has a limited window now."

"I cannot agree with you more, Son." KurukVile nodded his head. "She's broken the last shred of my patience."

Master Vile's ship was shaped as a gigantic skull with its mouth open in a scream. It had large fangs on both sets of teeth dropping down with a split tongue inside that was beat red. His ship had two dark red eyes the size of a small car, they stared out from the cockpit of his ship. His ship had been fastened somewhat in his image, it had his elongated ears with earrings hanging down from them. When he had landed he had made the ramp, the split tongue, roll down from the mouth, the pharynx which was really the hatchway of his ship had gone up, then had ordered all servants inside to start setting up camp. He wasn't expecting to stay here long. His ship was called SkullTerra for a reason, it terrified people with just one glance.

KurukVile's ship was landed across from his son's and was large, it had a metallic silver coloring to it. A large silver coil ran around a skull that was as white as an eggshell that had two black soulless eyes that stared out, the mouth was closed but the teeth were very viewable. The teeth were rotten, a yucky green and yellow in color, the two canines on the top row of teeth sparkled with gold dust. There were gray bars that connected the skull in four places to the coil. The hatchway was built into the teeth and slid noisily whenever anyone walked out. KurukVile's ship was called the SkuCoil.

Sitting directly in front of KurukVile's ship was his father's own special craft, the SkullBat as he called it. It was shaped like the head of a bat with its mouth open, the teeth jutting down giving the bat a menacing appearance. The beady eyes of the SkullBat were dark red and looked out from the cockpit, just like Master Vile and KurukVile's ship's did. DuruVile Surfeit's ship was mostly dark gray and black in color except for the eyes and the teeth which were white. A short silver ramp ran down from the ship's bat mouth.

"Such a pretty planet, why not just suppress her memory of it?" TazirVile walked up. When Master Vile turned around and looked at him, his golden-yellow eyes blazing, TazirVile shrugged. "Your, planet, you do as you wish with it. I'd just swipe her memory of her ever being on the planet, if she was my..."

"She is not your daughter!" Master Vile shoved his uncle hard, TazirVile fell back on the cold ground hard. "Don't you ever start lecturing me on what you would do if she was your daughter! If you were in my shoes you would do the exact same as I."

"Don't you ever put your hands on me, Nephew!" TazirVile jumped up and pushed Master Vile back.

Master Vile lost his resolve and started fighting with his uncle, they wrestled on the ground and punched back and forth a few times, neither used their magic or their abilities but when they were pulled apart TazirVile's mouth was bleeding and Master Vile's left eye was near shut, when TazirVile had punched him his blue-tinted glasses had broke, a piece of glass had slapped up against his eye, luckily he had sensed what was about to happen and had closed that eye before the glass could enter and cause harm. TazirVile yelled, DuruVile, his father, had him about the waist and was literally lifting him up off of his feet. Usually TazirVile was all about reserving his strengths but seeing him acting this way made one take a double look.

"Alright! Since you're going to be physical me and Eshal are heading out of here." TazirVile turned and entered his ship and took off.

"Good riddance, never was any help in the first place." Master Vile shook his father's hands off of him.

"Son, you need to get control of yourself." KurukVile sighed. "We do need him, he's not as unreliable as he looks."

"Really? All he's done so far is stand around and gawk." Master Vile turned to his father. "Or am I missing something."

"He helped capture Angel..." KurukVile started to say before he was interrupted.

"Once, since then he's done nothing but be in the way."

Master Vile and TazirVile had been at each other's throats ever since Angel had gotten pregnant, TazirVile, it seemed to Master Vile, had decided that he was the smart one, the one that everyone had to take their problems to and the one that had to give out the advice and give out lectures. This was very annoying to him, he did not like his uncle coming up to him and telling him how to run things in his house or how to act with Angel, or with Rita and Rito for that matter. He had enough to deal with, he didn't need a know-it-all on top of it. KurukVile had gotten on him twice for giving him non-useful advice on how to act around Angel. Had he acted like this almost fifteen thousand years ago? He truly could not remember! His last memory of his uncle before he had been disowned by his father was during a party, he thought it was a birthday party but it could also of been a party hosted for the conqueror of a planet, was he the conqueror or had the party been hosted for TazirVile? Again, he didn't remember. He hated not being able to remember things.

"Where are we?" Master Vile asked.

Angel was in a world of pain! She had been stripped fully of her clothing and was literally on her side in a fetal position screaming at the top of her lungs, the contractions came every minute and a half and were so bad she was clutching at the sheets that were around her. Atlas was constantly busy, bringing in new pails of luke warm water, new towels and rags, and of course there was the usual pacing that he did afterwards. Helen was there, she had Angel's hand and she knew well how she felt. Angel had a death grip going on, Helen had had to tear her hand free as the circulation had been cut off a few times.

"How... how long has iiiiiiit been going on?" Angel stammered, another contraction came and she screamed loudly.

"Four hours." Helen answered. "How far along is she, Atlas?"

She wasn't far enough along to deliver, she was only 3cm dilated, not far enough to pass a baby. Atlas was careful, he could feel the contractions and was worried. Helen, he remembered well that when she had been pregnant with his children she had gone through pain but not as much as this. Angel was screaming in pain, he had no pain medication to help her, the last had been used up almost a month before by a woman of his tribe, she had to do this one her own. He gently patted her hip, she grabbed his hand and squeezed tight, he didn't mind.

"Not far enoof." he replied, he looked up and gave Helen a concerned look.

Claudia, the oldest daughter of Atlas and Helen, was pacing back and forth in the courtyard. Even from here she, and everyone else in the courtyard, could hear Angel screaming. Claudia was in love with a man in her father's tribe, just hearing Angel screaming like she was made her want to not have children. Claudia looked like her father, she had a slightly hooked nose and high cheeks bones, her hair was sandy brown and she had brown eyes. She was wearing a white dress on with a black belt around the waist, there was nothing on her feet. The sky outside had started to lighten up, everything was starting to settle down except now everyone had to contend with Angel being in early labor. She wondered if this was how it happened for new mothers, if they had an early labor for the first child then had normal labor for the next. She couldn't ask anyone in the courtyard, they were all her family and none of them were married or had children, if she wanted to ask anyone she'd either have to wait and ask her father or mother or she'd just have to wait until she had her first child.

Angel screamed throughout the night, she dilated a full 7cm then stopped, the pain was getting worse with every hour and Atlas was near hitting the roof with worry. After the sun rose the next morning Angel had yet to go past 7cm, Helen had gone off to ask one of the women in Atlas' tribe, a midwife, if this was normal leaving him with Angel. When the sun had been up for three hours both Angel and Atlas had a major scare. Three hours after the sun had rose up, sending its rays on the chilly landscape below, Angel started gushing blood. Atlas yelled out for help, then he started cleaning her. The second he had her cleaned up more blood would gush out, Angel was now clutching pillows and screaming in fright, her body was shaking violently.

"Am I miscarrying?" Angel yelled out in fright. "Atlas, is that it? Am I miscarrying?"

"I no no." Atlas was trying to be calm but at that particular moment he was far from it.

"You don't know! You said you'd gone through five pregnancies with Helen! Surely you must know, Atlas!" Angel screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Angel..." Atlas said, he looked up slowly, his eyes wide.

"What?" Angel exclaimed. "What, what is it?"

"Yeh done boosted down heh." Atlas replied. "Yeh needs to push. Now!"

Helen walked in in just in time to see Angel start pushing, she was confused then when she saw blood gushing out from the sheet that had been pulled up she ran forward. Angel flopped down, gasped and yelled out then shot back up and pushed again before flopping back down again, her knees were at angles, her hands were in fists and her face was as red as an apple. Helen was about to run to Atlas when Atlas suddenly pulled back, his face was red and dripping in blood, he quickly wiped his face then started shouting in Arabic for Angel to push. Angel was screaming loudly, she was pushing and she was flopping back after every push to the bed.

"Push!" Helen shrieked at the top of her lungs. "Angel, don't stop, keep pushing!"

"I am pushing! I'm pushing with every fucking muscle in my body!" Angel shrieked back. "It won't come out! It won't come out!"

"Dafa'a!" Atlas shouted at her in Arabic. "Dafa'a, Angel! Dafa'a!"

Angel was pushing, she was giving her all, she couldn't understand why the baby wasn't coming out. She thought up a million reasons why; the baby was deformed and couldn't come out because of its deformity, the baby was in a breech position, the baby was dead and her body was just not pushing it out because it wasn't alive. She even thought up that Dione was causing the baby to not be born, as horrible a thought as it was she had it planted in her brain and thought it. She breathed in five times in succession then pushed hard, her bottom actually lifted up from the bed. Atlas had stopped yelling in Arabic, he was doing something between her legs. She suddenly felt a relief, like something had come out, and she dropped heavily to the bed. She was drenched from head to foot with sweat, the bed was drenched in her sweat and blood. She breathed hard, she looked up at the ceiling, her mouth slightly open, her emerald-green eyes wide with shock. What had just happened? She looked down, Helen had stopped yelling and was standing still, her hands were up to her face. Atlas was standing up, he had a bloody bundle in his arms. She watched in horror as he carried it to his bathroom then she broke down in tears.

"I lost it?" Angel cried. "After all that I lost it?"

"It didn't cry." Helen said in a weak whisper. "I... I don't know. Atlas!"

Helen ran to the bathroom and she was quickly thrown out. Angel screamed out for Atlas to tell her what was wrong. It had been a full minute since she had felt the relief fall over her and had seen Atlas go off to his bathroom with the bloody bundle. What was going on? She screamed out for Atlas, she asked him again what was going on and if the baby was okay, she got no answer. Two minutes, now it was two minutes since she had seen Atlas take the bloody bundle to his bathroom. After five minutes she slid her head to the side, away from Atlas' bathroom and started sobbing pitifully, large tears falling from her eyes.

"I'm sorry!" Angel cried. "I told everyone I couldn't carry to term a living baby and no one listened!"

She was about to cry out something else when, suddenly, a loud, high pitched cry reached her ears. She turned back to Atlas' bathroom, was that the baby crying? Helen was standing by Atlas' dresser, her face frozen in shock, her eyes wide and her mouth dropped. It was another minute before she heard another high pitched cry, it was indeed from a baby. Was it hers that she was hearing? Or was it a baby outside the window? Helen must have read her mind because she tore off to the window and looked out.

"It has to be yours." Helen whispered, then she said a bit louder. "Angel, that's your baby crying! It's alive!"

"Good an' hehtheh too."

Atlas walked in at just that moment, he was smiling slightly and he looked very tired. Angel shrank back when he came up to her, her eyes went to the bundle in his arms. It was moving, she saw a hand come up through the bundle then it disappeared. She slowly sat up, inch for inch, very slowly, and stretched her hand forward. She pulled her hand back when the baby made a snuffling sound, she looked up at Atlas and he smiled down at her warmly. He understood what she was going through, Helen had done the same after Hannibal had been born. She had been fearful, scared to touch the baby. He had had to push Hannibal into her arms gently for her to hold him, everything had fallen into order afterwards.

"Wah-what is it?" Angel asked him.

"Yeh see fah yehself." he slid the baby into her arms and sat down.

Atlas had taken the baby to his bathroom on impulse, the reason why Angel had split wide open was because the baby had elongated ears, if he had of known he would have cut her himself to lessen the pain but he hadn't known and instead the baby had made a way out for himself, in a few minutes he'd have some serious stitching to do, Angel wouldn't be able to walk comfortably for a month and sex would be next to impossible for two to three months. He was happy about the baby though, he had been born quiet, and not because the cord had been wrapped around his neck but because he was a strong one. He had moved a lot after birth, but had not uttered a single cry, the only reason he had cried out was because he had turned the faucet on slightly, the trickle of water had scared the baby into a single, high-pitched cry, a strong cry. He had sighed loud when he had heard that cry then had gone on to finish cleaning the baby and tie off the umbilical cord, he had cut the cord in half without thinking then had gone off to his bathroom quickly.

"Eeeesh, well the old man really marked his son didn't he?" Angel sighed.

"What is it?" Helen asked, she took a step forward then stopped.

"A boy." Angel replied. "Isn't he a bit small? His head is big but his body looks... thin and small to me."

"He be a newbohn." Atlas patted her knee. "He suhpose to be small."

"I thought he'd be bigger since I was so big." Angel said, then she gasped. "Could I have another in me? Twins?"

"Dey no more in yeh, I checked." Atlas slid over to the head of the bed. "He it, jus' one babeh in yeh."

Angel looked at the baby, he truly did look like his father, their father, and that made her wonder if there was some sort of gene in her father's family that made male children look like their father's, she quickly tossed it to the side when she remembered that Rito, her half-brother, didn't look anything like their father. The baby was small, about sixteen and a half inches in length. The head made him look deformed, he had elongated ears like his father, they went about half the length of his shoulders and drooped slightly, she guessed that when he was a little older they would pull up and become straighter. His ears were dark green with light green Tiger-like stripes. The left side of his face and body was dark yellow while the right side of his face and body was dark green, his left shoulder was skeletal in form and his left elbow on down to his wrist was also skeletal in form. His knees were also skeletal, the rest of him was flesh. She had yet to see what color his eyes were, he had his eyes closed tight.

"Isn't he suppose to have his eyes open?" Angel asked, she looked at Atlas then at Helen. "They're closed... shouldn't they be open?"

"Dey was open," Atlas leaned in and wiggled his finger in front of the baby, the baby grabbed his finger. "He be fahn, pohfuctly nohmal."

"Can I hold him?" Helen asked.

"S-s-sure." Angel gently held the baby up and Helen gently and slowly took and held him. "you are, after all, his grandmother."

Angel screamed out in pain when Atlas started stitching her up, Atlas explained that she was split pretty badly down between her legs. The baby had done a number on her, she would have a difficult time walking for the next few weeks, he claimed. Helen was bouncing the baby, who was still silent for some reason. Angel wondered if something was up with the baby, he was much too quiet. Could there be something dreadfully wrong with the baby's mental make-up? Could something of not formed correctly in its brain or had her running around in the desert for a week of done something to make the baby be this quiet? It took Atlas a good fifteen minutes before he had her stitched up, in all them minutes the baby hadn't uttered a peep.

"C-can I hold my baby?" Angel asked.

Helen handed the baby over to her daughter gently, Atlas had seated himself back beside Angel and was looking down at the bundle with a slight smile on his face. She sat down beside him and placed her hand on his, he looked at her then stood up. With her hand in his, they walked out of his bedroom chamber, giving Angel some time alone with her firstborn. Atlas went to his Throne Room and practically dropped from exhaustion in his chair, Helen took a pillow out from the corner and sat on it. It had been a rough night and morning, both she and her husband were exhausted.

"He is very quiet." Helen broke the silence. "Awfully quiet for a newborn."

"He be a strong one!" Atlas boasted. "Ver strong! Not all newbohn babeh's be makin' noise all deh time, some be queet, some be noisy."

"Everything worked out alright?" Helen asked her husband. "Was the cord wrapped around the neck or..."

"Bohn fahn, Helen." Atlas caressed Helen's face. "Angel's babeh bohn fahn. Be ver hehtheh! Ver strong!"

Angel bounced the baby in her arms, the baby snuffled twice then went back to being silent. He raised his arms twice then dropped them back down, he kicked his legs out once then stopped. She wondered if the baby was hungry and pressed him up to her breast, it was then that the baby cried and opened his eyes. She stared in shock at the eyes that the baby had, he had yellow-green eyes that glowed brightly, another thing he had inherited from his father. She wondered if he had inherited anything from her, to her it looked like he was dominated fully in design by his father. The baby had a high wail of a cry, it almost made her want to clamp her hands over her ears, it was that loud.

"Hey, uh, there now stop, uh... crying." Angel said to the baby. When he continued to cry she started rocking him side to side. "Sssshhh now, hush little baby. Just wanted to see if you was hungry is all."

The baby quieted up then latched onto her nipple, he suckled noisily, clinching then unclenching his little hands all the while. When he was done with that nipple she slowly moved him over to her other one and he latched onto that one quickly. Was it okay to burp a newborn after he nursed for the first time? When he was finished nursing from her she gently placed him on her shoulder and patted his back lightly. He made a sound and pulled up slightly, she guessed that he had just burped. She slowly lowered him back down, she held his tiny head in her hand and balanced his body on her arm. He seemed livelier now, he was kicking his legs and moving his arms about. Was that how it went after a baby had its first milk? Did newborns get more active after they drank from their mother's breasts for the first time? She knew that with animals the first milk was very important, it carried special nutrients, antibodies important for development and for disease prevention. Did humans have that?

"Well, baby, you've been fed and burped." Angel said to her baby. "I guess now it's time for a name. I don't much like Vlorben, do you?" when the baby spit up she smiled and gently wiped his mouth and face with a cloth that had been left on the bed. "Well, I don't either so lets think up a name for you. How about..."

She thought hard, she looked at the baby and took note of the baby's colors and figured that maybe a name on his colors wasn't right. She didn't much like naming him Vile Jr., that sounded not right and she did not want to name him after both her and his father. Maybe switch a letter, keep the last three letters of her father's name but change the first letter? She repositioned herself, sat up a bit straighter and slid her legs down so that they were straight. Surprisingly, she didn't feel any pain. It was like she hadn't even given birth. The baby looked up at her, his eyes and hers locked, she didn't look away, she kept staring at him. How could she of said she didn't want to have him? He was a dear little thing! There was a dictionary over on the dresser, she figured Atlas had taken it out for a reason. She reached over and grabbed it, she flipped the pages then stopped at a word.

"Hmmm..." she thought. "Bile, a bitter-tasting, dark-green to yellowish brown fluid, produced by the liver of most vertebrates that aides in digestion of lipids in the small intestine." the baby raised its hands and made a giggling sound, she looked down at him and smiled warmly, he smiled back up at her. "Well, I guess we shouldn't end tradition here. How about Bile?" the baby giggled and tossed his little hands up at her, she released the dictionary and grabbed one of his hands and brought it up to her face. His skin was smooth and delicate. "Alright then, Bile it is. Welcome to Earth, Little Bile One."