Chapter 45

"IT'S MY TURN!"

"IS NOT"

"IT IS TOO!"

Bad sighed to it all, Gaia has been busy with her duties as a goddess, but the problem is, those who answer to Gaia were fighting over who tends to him! "Ladies… It's not big deal…" he tried to say.

"BUTT OUT!"

'Wow, who knew girls fought over you?'

'Shut up!' Bad thought back. 'We're in this mess because of you…'

'I didn't eat a fucking dragon!'

"SHADOW KING!"

He snapped out of his argument with Garou, there were two Valkyries staring him down. "Who do you want tending to you today?!" they demanded at the same time.

"Uh…" Bad said in a frozen stutter.

"You two are bothering the Shadow King again, aren't you?"

He sighed with relief as Elle appeared. She crossed her arms as she stared down the two ladies who now hung their heads in shame. "It's just that… I wanted to tend to him today." Said one.

"But you got him yesterday!"

"I didn't!" she protested.

"Enough!" Elle said in a scolding tone. "Has King Bad eaten yet?" she asked.

"Breakfast, he had breakfast…"

"Who assisted him?"

"We… we both did."

Elle nodded. "Then you both shall tend to him today. King Bad is not able to move around as much as he would like to now. He will need help in the matter."

The two sighed and nodded, but then, it appeared an idea came in their eyes. "Wait, what if we combine our abilities?"

"Yes, you can make…"

"And I can manipulate…"

"What's going on?" Bad asked.

He was fortunate enough to be outside in the garden after breakfast. He tries to get a good dose of sunlight before he is unable to move for the rest of the day, but today… something odd was happening. He felt something slink up his leg at first, he jumped but couldn't see what was happening. "Elle…." He said nervously.

However she wasn't concerned as she turned to her sisters who are now working together. The sensation spread until Bad jumped at the sight of tree roots coming up his belly! They stopped mid way when suddenly, he was brought to his feet! "Whoa!" he said but kept rather balanced. Walking had become a chore for him, matters aren't helped as the kids he already had were starting to grow within in again. But for the first time, he felt confident walking!

"King Bad, we have combined our abilities to give you a little more support. We have used our power in nature to manipulate tree roots and vines to support your legs and also shift your weight. You want to try walking?" one asked.

He nodded, taking one step he felt the tree roots made a cage on the outside of his legs, but they absorbed the impact as well as his weight, making him feel lighter than before. He was always worried about falling forward and landing on his stomach. But now, he was more confident in walking. "This… this is great!" he said.

"We can only do this outside in the garden though, hopefully this will help you, Shadow King Bad."

"It does, thank you very much ladies…"

His stomach moaned and rumbled. "Goddamn it again…"

"King Bad just ate two hours ago…"

"We do not judge him for this," Elle said gently. "Remember he is not just eating for himself, but for six others!"

Her sisters nodded. "We will speak with the chef!" and vanished.

Elle turned to Bad and smirked. "You have made quite the impression here. Everyone is willing to serve you without hesitation. Despite you being the Shadow King and all…"

Bad gave a small chuckle and nodded. "Yeah, I know everywhere else I went, people were pissed to see me, because of what the past kings did… yet I get blamed for it?!" he demanded. "It sucks!"

"Well, needless to say, you do not need to worry about that here. You have treated all with great respect. Despite being a demi god, you never made yourself look like you are better than everyone else. The other demis do, which we despise them for!" she protested.

Bad nodded, just with the way they acted around him, he knew. Bad also didn't know how to act like a demi god to begin with, perhaps just being himself was the best method anyways. He listened as Elle spoke to him about the past Demi god's actions. She said none had ever been treated with respect until he came in. "That's even with Brutus who is SUPPOSE to be Gaia's demi… he was suppose to look out for us, instead, he used everyone as a way of flexing his power over the other demi gods…" she said and sighed. "But you… you have been different from all the others. You never complained about how we treated you…"

Bad paused. "Are you nuts!" he protested. "I feel like I've been at a five star hotel! Everything has been great despite the fact I can barely move under my own power now… I eat a lot more than I use to… but none of you have ever treated me badly. Hell I am surprise a few fat jokes haven't been cracked at my expense!"

Elle froze. "Who dares mock your situation!?" she demanded.

Bad laughed and waved her off. "No, I mean, none of you have… the only one who did was when you were still a fairy and I was stuck on my back in bed and couldn't get up!"

She snickered, but quickly stopped herself. "I shouldn't laugh…"

"Please, do you know what my significant other calls me?" he asked as he firmly patted his belly. "He affectionately calls me Fat Bat"

She lost it. Elle folded over laughing it up, but then realized what she was doing and began to lower her head. "I am so sorry!"

Bad however laughed it off. "Don't worry about it! He calls me it all the time, even when he's the one making me fat!" Bad snickered as he once more slapped his belly. "Ain't that right Garou!" he called.

'Quit doing that!' Garou protested. "Jeeze, the kids don't feel that but I do asshole!'

Bad snickered as he rubbed his belly. "Besides, I don't mind a few jokes cracked at me, I am use to it…"

"LORD BAD!"

He turned as Elle's sisters returned. "The chef has prepared your next meal!"

"Wow, he's fast. Please led the way. I got to thank him and the others for this."

"He said it's an honor, as well he is training his underlings a lot faster because of your needs."

"Still, a lot of pressure to do that…" Bad muttered.

He was led to a small clearing, and a table was set up, just like the ones from the demi party. Bad took a seat and waited as the table erupted in white fire. Large meals, worthy to be called dinners more than anything appeared before his eyes. "Whoa… this is some rich looking food!"

"We told him you were hungry, he wants to be sure you are kept full. Now, please enjoy your meal." The sisters said and bowed.

Bad licked his lips as he helped himself. Three full tables later, he felt full. But he also felt weird. His stomach was shifting about oddly, it's never done that before. 'Garou, everyone good?' he asked.

'Kids are getting too damn big!' he protested. 'They are starting to move about on their own,'

"Great…" Bad muttered.

"Did you dislike your meal?"

"What? No, the meal was amazing!" he said. "I just got word my kids in here are growing, and are starting to move on their own accord…" Bad felt winded as he felt one kid's foot push up against his stomach, he paused as he swore he saw the foot outline against his belly before vanishing once more. "Shit, this is going to get worst before it gets better… I still go another three months!"

"Perhaps your children are signaling they are ready to be born?"

"Yeah, they are, four of them… but one is still not ready yet. They can't leave until it is! Which sucks… I feel bad for the one on my right here that just kicked me. They have been stuck for 3 years in me… that's a long time for a kid!"

"But you have carried yourself well King Bad."

Bad smirked. "Yeah, sure I have…" he muttered.

#

Just as he predicted though, Bad has found the kids were getting rebellious. His stomach was shifting oddly as the four kids moved about and round, it was startling to see, a foot one moment, two hands the next and he felt every bit of it! As startling as it was to see, Bad couldn't help but smile to it all either. "They are healthy and strong… if they weren't they couldn't do this..." he said to himself.

Garou on the other hand, he could feel him trying to wrangle the kids. 'Quite moving too far! You stop kicking! Hey, what did I say about that!'

Bad laughed aloud. 'Garou, let's them,'

Silence came from Garou. 'You WANT them to kick you?' he demanded. 'Didn't think you were into that sort of thing…'

'Shut up! I mean let them move about, I can handle it, besides, no one is around it won't freak them out. Let them stretch out'

'You asked for it…'

Bad felt his stomach suddenly relax, then the quivering began! The kids were active as hell! They where shifting all about his stomach, he couldn't tell what was happening but he certainly felt it. His stomach felt like it was flipping, churning and moving all on its own, he had no control over the motion, which made him realize it was the best idea he had was to sit down and let the kids do this now before he tried to stand up again!

'How's it feel?' Garou asked with a snicker.

'Like one of those massage things for your neck… but in my belly and not really massaging!'

'HAHA!' Garou laughed. 'Good luck wrangling them back in, they got a taste of freedom!'

Bad however knew he could. It was like when he had to draw in Garou. He did the same with the kids as he sucked in his stomach. He felt their bodies shift back and held into place once more, yet they did rebel against him for that. 'Okay, let's make a deal. After I eat, we let the kids roam a bit, but only after meals and as long as I am sitting down!'

'You sure about this?' Garou asked.

'Like it's going to get any easier from this moment on.' Bad thought back. 'I want them to have their freedom, at the same time. If we don't allow it, they are going to force their way!'

Garou agreed. It was better to let the children move about than to restrain them.