Project Motherhood: Double

by Gamer95

Double is a servant to the Trinity. The one who will carry out their will. She has no agenda of her own. But that all changes when a tiny mute little boy comes into her life. Can the creature known as Double learn to love?

And so once again, the Skullheart had been destroyed. A small teenage girl with empty eye sockets stood in the cathedral with a smug grin. "Aaaand that's all, folks! Now to go and deal with the Medeadcis..." As Peacock left, however, a small blob of ooze emerged from within a corner of the room. With a few sick squelching sounds, the blob slowly formed back into the beautiful form of the nun, Sister Agatha.

"Hmm... Most unusual... For the first time, it seems I have survived while the skull heart was destroyed... Quite inconvenient... Yet it gives me adequate time to seek out the next Skullgirl..."

From the darkness, the symbiotic parasitic creature slithered its way out from the darkness below the ground, and off into the darkness of the night. The thing, or 'Double' as she had been referred to, took care not to be seen by anyone she had changed into as she traveled through the night, the last thing she needed was to get caught by someone after the Skull Heart's destruction. However, anyone who did see her simply saw a young nun making her way silently through the night, and no one gave it much of a second thought. 'Valentine could be a suitable host... but she clearly has ulterior motives she thinks I couldn't see... the feral woman could be useful, but her will seemed strong. That circus girl was too stupid to be of use, although her strength could be helpful...' Sister Agatha pondered as she walked. 'Yet again, another Skull Heart, another Skull Girl, and another defeat for them... it's almost pitiful if it wasn't so predictable.' She frowned to herselr. Her goddesses, Aeon and Venus... They seemed as though they just weren't into their plan anymore... They seemed to only be going along with it for their mother's sake... Just why was that...?

After a long walk around the city, she decided it was best to return to the church now. If anyone she recognized showed up, she could simply disguise herself again... She couldn't truly leave it behind, she was bound to it. Her thoughts returned to the Goddesses, well, were- well, no. That's what they were, how else would one describe them? They had the powers, plans, and abilities of Gods. Why was she questioning this? She must be tired... yeah, that was it. She had been through a lot, and yet she survived, so now, she had to adjust to that. What would 'adjusting' mean? What part in the grand plan of it all did she now play? 'Despite these questions, I believe I'm far better off than... anyone, really.' Double mused. She could literally become anyONE, anyTHING, just by thinking about it! She could impersonate the ruler of this kingdom, the pretender who played princess, she could impersonate that dying, desperate old fool whose soul was more damned than any soul that had ever existed, or she could remain as Sister Agatha, and no one would be the wiser.

But for now, she decided Sister Agatha was her best role. It was the role she had served for many a year, and she saw no real need to change it. As she entered the walls of her home, she let out a sigh. She would have to find ways to kill time now that her purpose was on hold...

Several months had passed, and Double had committed a sin against her goddesses, though she couldn't help but feel they didn't mind. She had taken to fostering stray and abused animals. Cats, rabbits, ferrets, birds, any animal she decided needed a better home, she took and stored inside a secret room within the church. She had power over the building, for it was an extension of herself. This meant she could morph and change it to suit her needs. The animals were delightful to have around. They kept her from being lonely. And she really did love most animals. Not dogs though. They smelled raw meat, no matter how much perfume she wore to hide it, and always bit her. And she had the bite marks on her rear end to prove it.

Well, not like she had to bother with them anyway. Humans clearly favoured them. Either way, she found herself... content, in a sense. She very rarely went out into the public eye, sometimes only going to get food when she felt like trying something new, but for the most part, tried her best to keep out of sight. It could be another seven years before she would be able to contact Aeon and Venus again, and she knew seven years could be problematic if she was engrained in society, or if she was discovered.

The only one she had seen since her time with the Skull Girl was the weaponized one, Double didn't know her name, or even if the girl could talk, but she had run when Double merely looked at her. So, the Nun decided against trying to see if she was okay. Besides, she had the animals to watch over for the time being. But she did wonder; why would humanity create such a contraption in an attempt to destroy the Skull Girl? Scratch that, why would they use someone who looked to be barely older than a child?

She let out a sigh and shook her head. It was to be expected, honestly. Humans were quite a barbaric species. Altering the noble wolf into subservient slaves, waging war over resources that could easily be bargained for, harming and abusing each other in various ways... It really was a sorry sight to behold. She would never understand why Lady Aeon thought humans were so interesting...

It was the same thing every seven years. Some woman who believed she was able to control the Heart's power got possessed, became the Skull Girl, chaos and death reigned for however long it was around, rinse and repeat. Sometimes those who found the heart would be able to use it to grant their wish, and Double had to give them that, it was surprising when that happened. Heck, even almost respectable in a way, that they were able to remain pure of heart and not give into temptation. Usually the wish was minor, something related to their family or children, typically a want for success or a long life, something along those lines. Really, it only ever seemed to be the same four or five wishes, with any other usually leading to their corruption. If she was honest, that was something Agatha never fully understood about all this. Was this supposed to be a test? Some sort of way to gauge if humanity was worth saving or destroying? From what she had seen, it was the latter, but nothing ever seemed to come of it. Again, she shook her head to clear it, Aeon, Venus and Mother most likely had plans she was yet to be privy too, and when she was needed, she'd become privy, so until then, she'd tend to her animals.

As if on cue, a raccoon she had nicknamed 'Oreo' skittered by, looking for food. The Nun-thing smiled, setting out some food.

The tiny creature snatched up the apple slices she had set down and began gnawing at them, taking tiny bites and causing the apple to slowly disappear into it's tiny maw. Soon enough, the apples were gone. Watching her animals eat was always such a soothing pasttime for her...

She decided it was time to head up to the main room of the cathedral and await the arrival of any potential churchgoers. She moved up the stairs with grace and poise... And then, the second she got upstairs, a tiny naked child ran into the church like he was being chased by the skullgirl herself.

Agatha blinked in genuine shock. She had seen and done many things which were unconventional, things which she could question all day and not even begin to find answers too, but this? Not even the broken lost souls she had welcomed into the cathedral were like this! She had seen people troubled from drugs and abuse, to a teenager who apparently could become some sort of monster. So, Agatha stepped forward to try and console the child, not sure why he was here, or why he was naked, but she felt a need to at least offer some help.

She was stunned into silence as the child looked around frantically before hiding in the shadow of a column, but before she could gather her wits to speak to him, she smelled something besides the rain outside and it was getting closer. It was something... corrupt, and it took her a moment to place it before a very old memory began to surface. It was the smell of a human who had been possessed by a demon for a very long period of time, and if her guess was right it was very close to ripping out of its host and becoming corporeal.

Then, a massive woman came storming in, looking around wildly with a bloody knife in hand. "HOW DARE YOU DEFILE THE GOOD CHURCH WITH YOUR PRESENCE, DEMON?! COME FACE YOUR CLEANSING!" Double, in her Sister Agatha disguise, frowned and approached the woman.

"What is the meaning of this? Do you intend to spill the blood of a child within the confines of the church?"

The woman turned on her with a grin and pointed the knife in Double's face, much to her annoyance. She briefly considered ripping it from her hand and planting it between her beady eyes, but fought down the urge to do so. The woman began to speak once more with a crazed glint in her eyes, "Where is he? I saw the little devil scurry in here, and he won't escape me now! Not when I'm so close!"

Double blinked in both shock, disgust and confusion. She wasn't someone who cared too much for humanity, if at all really, and this was a prime example of their depravity. Some freak chasing a child in here with intentions to spill its blood on holy ground for... reasons. Double knew corruption and chaos was part of what her goddesses wanted, but this wasn't the right time, this simply seemed to be an act of chaos for no reason other than depraved psychotic-ness. "You speak of a child as a demon? What's wrong with you?"

"The Lord has commanded me to spill his blood. He must pay for his sins! I will do as the Father commands!"

Now, THAT got Double's attention. Both the statement that God supposedly told her to kill a child who looked no older than four, and the fact that God was referred to as 'He'. Honestly, Agatha was growing irritated with this woman, both because of how she seemed to be acting concerning her own child, how she was going to defile holy ground, and because she could be a threat to her animals. Double shook her head. "Pathetic. How dare you use the name of the church to commit such a heinous act?" The woman screamed and lunged wjth her knife... Only for a tentacle that erupted from under Double's sleeve to wrap around themselves around her entire arm.

The woman was momentarily stunned into silence, but before she could continue her shrieking, a second tentacle wrapped around her mouth. Double frowned before flicking the knife out of her hands and back towards the main doors as she considered what to do. She had several methods at her disposal to deal with demonic possession, after all the Trinity Church had dealt with demons on more than one occasion, but at this stage most of them would still outright kill her and the one that wouldn't would leave her a vegetable, 'It would still be a kinder fate than her soul getting eaten by a demon.' She shrugged her shoulders as her body morphed into a massive monstrous indescribeable creature that towered over the woman. She let out a screech... and all it took to end the whole thing was one bite.

Double fell into a sort of empty mindset, for lack of a better term. She allowed herself to fully become the creature known as 'Double'. As Sister Agatha, she would keep an amount of restraint among herself, even if she loathed humanity and the sinful nature they inhabited. But as Double, especially in this specific place... she didn't care. The creature lashed out, and the woman was gone in seconds.

'There. Good riddance.' Double mentally grumbled, reverting to her human guise. She looked around, knowing the child had run off, and knew that while she may not care for humanity, she didn't need to hear it from Aeon and Venus to know an injured frightened child needed to be taken care of. She'd get him settled down, and then... ugh, she didn't know. She'd deal with that later. But why was a child running around naked and why did this woman want him dead? Was she telling the truth and he was some sort of demonic creature? That felt wrong, she would've sensed something if a rift between words occurred, and she hadn't felt anything in months.

Double looked around. She had been very careful not to leave so much as a single drop of blood behind. Such things could not stain the church. She let out a sigh, approaching where the knife had fallen, 'Hmm, I'll have to dispose of this.' Hiding the knife in her person for later, she turned towards where the child was hiding, Isaac if the woman's rambling was to be believed. "It's safe to come out, Isaac, she can't hurt you now."

The boy just flinched in his hiding spot, much to her disliking. "I see. So you witnessed that. But surely you find me less overwhelming now?"

Isaac shook his head before hiding back behind the pillar, causing her to sigh. She had taken care of children before, much to her distaste, in fact she had run an orphanage for a time or two as part of her cover while searching for a Skullgirl, although the kids all kind of blurred together after a while she still remembered a few things about getting children to trust her. Walking closer to the pillar, she stopped several feet away before crouching down, "Isaac, I'm not going to hurt you. That woman attacked me and paid the price for her foolishness, but you have done nothing to earn my ire." Okay, so maybe she was a little out of practice, but it had been a few decades.

The tiny figure just kept shaking, and Double bit her lip, uncertain of what to do. If she picked him up, he might freak out, which would be annoying, but more over if he was injured that may make it worse, and she didn't see herself as someone who would intentionally harm a child. Admittedly, there was more to it than that, as technically she had been responsible for Marie becoming the Skull Girl, and- that wasn't important right now.

"Please, little one, I only wish to ensure you are safe." She repeated herself, trying her best to appear calm and friendly. Aside from he fact that she didn't want to hurt the little boy, he was clearly terrified after being attacked and potentially nearly killed by his own mother. Because of that, she knew she had to be careful with how she addressed him, at least for now. "Little one, she cannot harm you anymore, please do come out."

Isaac clutched at his tiny head and shook it violently as tears began streaming down his face. Double cocked her head to the side. "Hmm... It is clear you have been abused... Just as much psychologically as physically... Come, little one..." Bending over, she picked him up and experienced the sensation of actually holding a child in her arms for the first time.

The first thing she noticed was just how light he was, second was just how fragile he felt in her arms. Both of which could be attributed to the fact that she could see his ribs to the point that she could individually count them. Double frowned as she mentally compared Issac to the thing that she suspected was once his mother.

Then she caught onto the nasty looking scar around his neck. She frowned softly. "Hmm... I see. Your vocal cords are damaged beyond repair. How unfortunate." She said as she inspected the injury.

Isaac looked down sadly as he lightly touched the scar before a breeze from an open window made him shiver. Double's frown deepened before she shifted her "clothing" to cover his body like a blanket, "I believe we have some donated clothing that should fit you, and after that we can find some way for you to communicate." Isaac looked up at her before making motions like he was drawing something.

Double looked closely at the supposed drawings, but was having a hard time discerning what he was saying. There was a cross, what looked like wings and horns, and was that supposed to be a fish? She couldn't fully tell what he was saying, and that was only going to make communication with him harder than it already was.

"Yes, little one. This is a Church, a holy place. You are safe here." She said reassuringly, deciding to try and assume what Issac was trying to say. The boy tilted his head and let out what almost sounded like a squeak, as if he was trying to talk. "No, no. Rest, little one. Rest. You clearly need it."

Double walked towards the back of the church, her mind wandering as she did so. What was the next step to all this? She'd try snd find him some clothes, but then what? The Orphanage she used to run had long since closed, and she didn't know if there were any others around the Kingdom (she had been busy with other obligations). The old belief was you would leave an unwanted or orphaned child on the steps of a church, but this was different.

She looked down at the child with a tilted head as she noticed how desperate he looked. "Hmm... Seems you desire to share your story somehow... Perhaps..." She tilted her head. "Ah, yes... A sheet of paper. Most effective..." She carried him off, and she found a box of donated clothing. Reaching in, she pulled out a random outfit, not particularly caring which one the boy wore.

Unfortunately she couldn't find any shoes for him but managed to find a matching pair of socks, worn but clean jeans in his size, and a turtleneck. All of which were just a little too big for him but still wearable. Although Isaac didn't really care after being forced to run around naked for so long.

He looked down at his new outfit and smiled widely before turning that smile on Double, who nodded her head. Then she wondered just what to do with him... She could very easily send him away, but that was quite unnecesarry... Perhaps some company during her seven year wait would be nice though...

Even for her the silence of the Cathedral could be unbearable sometimes, in fact she had several guises for when she couldn't take it anymore and needed to go out even for so much as a walk through the park. Having someone by her side would make the time fly by a little faster. Although she would have to be careful, she had no doubts that some of her enemies wouldn't fall for her faked demise.

But truthfully... none of them could do anything to stop her, really. With the Skull Heart destroyed, that meant her main weakness was removed, leaving her essentially immortal. At least, she figured that was how it worked, she wasn't in any rush to test that theory, mind you. with a shake of her head, Double re-focused her mind on the here and now, and more importantly, her new guest, Isaac. The tiny boy looked up at her, then down at the paper, and set to drawing something. Double couldn't tell if this was a child drawing for the fun of it, or him attempting to explain his life story. Honestly, she hoped it was the latter, she wanted to know what had occurred which led to him winding up here.

'He looks human, and there is nothing to suggest any sort of other side.' Double mused to herself. 'It just doesn't make sense, why would that wench threaten a child?'

Issac was intently focused on what he was doing for about four minutes, before he held up the drawing. Double took it and looked over it skepticaly, taking a moment to familiarize herself with the child's designs and drawings.

A simple first drawing. Simply him standing with his parents. She nodded, and he moved on to drawing the next part.

She sighed softly and looked down at Isaac. She took note of all the subtle details that signified likely abuse. Small size, timid demeanour, rather clingy to the first one to show him kindness in spite of her monstrous true form... And the scars...

They seemed to have been mostly made with a blade, most likely the same kitchen knife she now had on her person. She surprised herself as she felt the urge to grind the blade into powder before disposing of it. Setting her thoughts aside she continued to examine the wounds noticing a couple that appeared to be burns and one set that... 'Are those claw marks?'

She frowned softly at the injuries. Evidently, they were not all from his insane mother. In fact, these wounds looked downright demonic in nature. Studying them closely, she looked at Isaac. "Child, have you encountered the forces of Satan's realm?"

Isaac looked up at her before nodding his head and trying to mime out some of the creatures he had seen. Although it mostly just confused Double, "Curse that woman for taking your voice." Considering neither of them knew sign language she was going to have to get him that paper, and crayons she supposed, as fast as possible, as the sheet he had was all used up and she had no more.

"So, that woman was your Mother?" Double asked, deciding to try some very simple 'yes' or 'no' questions. She figured Isaac could answer those at least. Isaac nodded, and Double frowned at that revelation. "Hm, and you claim to have encountered some sort of beast, correct?"

Issac nodded again, before pointing to himself.

"Yes, yes. You encountered a monster." Double remarked, and to her confusion, Issac shook his head and pointed to himself again. It took her a moment, but realization seemed to slowly dawn on the Nun's face. "O..oh... your mother, she thought YOU were a monster?"

Issac slowly nodded.

"But... why?!"

Issac pointed to the drawing of a cross. It was right-side up, which didn't make sense, unless she was looking at the paper wrong, but that seemed insane! There wasn't a chance Aeon or Venus would command a woman to kill her own child! Biting her lip, she noted she needed to get that paper soon, she figured Isaac would only be able to nod to so much before he couldn't answer any more.

Still, based off of what he was miming, she could at least deduce that these creatures were nothing pleasant. In fact, as he listed more and more, she saw he was beginning to tear up. Then he began miming the various things he used as... power-ups. The ones that did unpleasant things to his body.

Double pulled out a handkerchief and carefully dabbed away his tears, "It's all right Isaac, you do not have to fight such creature or use such... objects ever again." She made a mental note to pull out a few of the items she had acquired over the millennia out of storage to check him for any lingering effects. Some of the things he mimed could only have been demonic in origin, and had rather nasty side effects when used by humans.

Even the more mundane objects he had used unsettled her. Forcibly proppjng his eyelids open with toothpicks... Making himself severely ill... Forcibly dredging up awful memories so he could cry harder...

Honestly, while she may not care for humanity, she felt a great deal of pity for this small boy. He had been through so much, and so much of it wasn't because of his choices, but because of others. He appeared to be an innocent, little boy, but the ones he was surrounded by were out for his blood for whatever reason. This troubled Double and she wasn't totally sure why, was it because of the depravity? No... she had seen depravity before, and it didn't faze her. Was it because he was so little? That was possible, but she couldn't say for sure. One thing she could say, he wasn't going back there, ever again.

'Ah, here it is.' She mused, picking up a crystal given to her by Venus, who apparently was given it by someone from some group called the 'Knight Sentinels' or something like that. Holding it up, she waited as it began to faintly, glow, the crystal was used to detect demonic anomalies or injuries, and she wanted to ensure there wasn't some sort of parasitic demon attached to Issac. It wouldn't do him any good to be freed from that horrible wretch he was forced to call a 'Mother' only to be consumed by some sort of demon.

Thankfully, he seemed to have avoided being tainted by demonic forces. It seemed his soul was too... pure for such a thing to occur. In fact, it was likely the boy's purity that allowed him to defend himself. Using toothpicks and illness...

And wasn't that just the strangest way of fighting she had ever heard, which was saying something after all she had seen. The boy had somehow weaponized his own tears to fight off hoards of demonic monstrosities. Even with the living weapons and parasites she had seen in her long life that was a new one.

This child was... adaptable, she would give him that much. Sighing, she looked him over. "I see you're quite worn out from your endeavours... I think it would be best if you got some rest." She had no bed, as she never slept, but that was no issue. She simply morphed into the bed herself.

'Another thing to procure for him,' Not that it really mattered as since beyond basic upkeep and utility bills, she didn't really spend that much, and as such had managed to stockpile quite the nest egg over the years. Furnishing one room for a child wouldn't even put a dent in her accounts. Isaac meanwhile was still a little uneasy with her sudden transformation until the bed began to gently rock him like a massive cradle.

She knew some people would enjoy the feeling of watching a little child sleep, but to her, she was more content that he wasn't being hunted. She wasn't a huge fan of children, but she didn't hate them either. But no child deserved what Issac had clearly been through. It occurred to Double she didn't know how Aeon or Venus would react to her keeping a child in the Cathedral for the time being, and despite this thought potentially being blasphemous, she figured it didn't really matter that much. When things came to their plans, Double would follow them without question, every word to the letter, but outside of that? Double wasn't sure what was expected of her. If one of the two showed up and told her to get rid of Isaac, fine. But for now, she was fine with him staying here.

'Perhaps he can help tend to the animals... that may help him get away from the trauma.' Double mused to herself, now thinking about her next few steps. She needed to get some things for Issac, and maybe try and find the rest of his family? Would that be a goods idea? If they were anything like his mother, she should just deal with them and be done with it, but if they were even the slightest amount of a decent human being (not that Double believed that many existed) then Issac should probably go back to them.

He yawned softly and closed his eyes, relaxing into the bed and resting his head over the pillow. Double nodded in content, and sat at attention, waiting for him to wake up. She quickly found that being a bed was very boring. Then, a couple hours later, she noticed Isaac was thrashing about violently, no doubt having a nightmare. A very, very intense one judging by the warm wet feeling she felt coming from the area he was sleeping... She learned the hardest way possible that Isaac was a bedwetter, no doubt because he was never let out of his room to use the washroom properly.

At first, she was angry, and justifiably so. But after a few moments, Double began to see the sadder side of this. Issac was clearly so abused and broken that the concept of wearing clothes, let alone being bathroom trained, seemed foreign to him. That angered Double for another reason, but she knew there wasn't much she could do. Issac was sleeping, and after cleaning him off to the best of her ability without disturbing him, Double set him on a pew and washed herself off, before returning Issac to the bed she made for him. She also surmised that this may be the first 'bed' Issac had ever slept in, judging by how he seemed so confused, even in his sleep about how he was supposed to 'be' while on the bed.

'It disgusts me. Humans and ferals truly know no limit to their depravity, do they? No. No they don't. If they did, there wouldn't be as many Skull Girls. There wouldn't be children sold like meat and property every day, while the pathetic royals sit in their castle, too blind and dumbstruck to see their actions only lead to more suffering. Or is that what they want? That wouldn't surprise me...'

This was pretty much all of Doubles' conversations over the past few months. With no one but the animals most of the time, she questioned how things could get so bad, her disgust only compounded by those who came to the Cathedral. Not them themselves, but why they were there. The junkies and whores who were forced to live on streets, the ones who were trapped in a cycle of violence that they couldn't escape. Double didn't exactly feel sympathy or pity, but she felt some form of it in a very, very tiny regard for these people. But more than that, she felt disgust for those who put them in this position.

But she didn't dwell on that. Instead, she focused on the fact that she had just been urinated on and still felt filthy as a result. Thankfully there was one amenity that she kept fully stocked and up to date, her bathroom. She may not have needed to bathe but she still enjoyed the occasional bubble bath.

She examined the stain on her chest area and sighed softly before focusing her attention on Isaac. She did not blame him for this. It was not his fault that he was tortured to the point of nightmares. Then, suddenly, a voice sounded out in her head. The voice of Aeon herself. "C'mon, Double... Comfort him already..." The creature was taken aback. She had forgotten her goddesses had a telepathic connection with her... And... Was that...compassion in Aeon's voice? And for a human?

She sighed as she felt another gentle nudge, this time from Venus, "Yeah Double, give the poor kid a hug already. He looks like he's about to have a panic attack." Even through the shock of hearing not one but two of the goddesses speak to her, Double could see that they were correct, as Isaac had woken up and was now staring at the stain in horror.

Slowly, she changed back into the form of Sister Agatha (noting Issac seemed a bit surprised by that) and slowly picked him up again, seating herself on a pew and doing her best to hug him. She had not real experience with this, and she had no idea if she was doing a satisfactory job or not.

"No, that..." Aeon began, only for Isaac to settle down and seem more than content in her arms. "Never mind."

Double blinked, a bit surprised by Isaac's reaction. Then again, she figured it stood to reason that no one had ever shown him compassion before, ergo, when someone did, he didn't have a standard to hold it to. Double realized she could be giving him the worst hug imaginable, and Issac would still think it was flawless, most likely.

She noticed the apologetic look he was giving her. He looked so guilty and embarrassed... Double hurriedly moved to console the boy. "Fret not, child, I hold no grudge against an honest mistake. It is a simple fix... However, it seems that myself being the bed is a rather... undesirable position for me until we are able to sort this problem out."

With a sigh, she gently wiped his tears away before they could fall, "For now, let us get cleaned up. You need a bath anyway, and now so do I." That last part she whispered to herself so she didn't frighten him any more than he already was. As she carried him towards the shower, she went over a mental list of her identities to decide which one would be the least suspicious in acquiring the essentials for Isaac... and a book or two on child care to help with his... issues.

She also wished to know just why Aeon and Venus were so compassionate towards this human child. The trinity was known for looking down on humans as lesser beings. Mere insects. Just why the sudden shift?

Was it because he was a child? Possibly. An abused child? That honestly seemed like the most likely reason. If there was one point Double would concede too, it was that children weren't as bad as the others. There was an undeniable sense of innocence and well, child-like wonder about them, but they were still human. They would grow and become twisted, depraved, it was in their nature. Honestly, Double wondered if Issac would be worse off than most humans due to his abuse. If her memory was correct (which it was) the most recent Skull Girl, Marie something or other, sought out the skullheart out of anger for the loss of her family. The abuse she had suffered in one form or another had caused her to lash out and become a monster. Would that fate befall Issac?

'...I don't think so...' Double quietly thought, surprising even herself. Isaac seemed different, his pain and abuse seemed to have only caused him to retreat further inwards into his shell, rather than anger him and set him on a path of revenge. Still, she couldn't say for sure, and there was no way of knowing at this moment.

Aeon sensed her confusion and decided to enlighten her, "He's not exactly totally... mortal anymore. I took a peek at what he went through and some of the changes he went through were pretty drastic. He's more like us than other humans, just a lot less powerful." Aeon sighed softly. "And to be quite frank... Certain events have led me to begin to have doubts about our plans... I will explain in good time, Double... Once Isaac is napping once more...Tend to little Isaac... And treat. Him. Well." Double was stunned by how stern and protective Aeon sounded.

Double bowed her head as she finally reached the bathroom, "I understand, no harm shall come to him while he is in my care." Aeon and Venus looked at one another before shrugging their shoulders. That wasn't quite what they meant, but good enough for the moment.

Drawing a bath for herself and Issac, Double set Issac on the sink, and took another chance to look him over. There was the notable scar along his neck, which now rendered him mute, and there were marks around his eyes, arms, chest, leg and back. Honestly the only place that seemed relatively unharmed were his ears... ironically. Double shook her head, it was tragic what he had been through, but such was the folly of man.

"You can understand me, yes?" Double asked, and Issac nodded. "Very well. I'll need to find a way to help you communicate with me... can you write at all?"

Isaac blinked, his face unreadable, and that was all Double needed to know. He couldn't write, but he could draw. Maybe she could get him one of those small whiteboards? In time, she'd try and help him learn to write, or learn sign language, or... something. She didn't know, and if Aeon herself hadn't told her no harm was to come to him, she probably would've left well enough alone.

Double's resolve to care for the child further strengthened after receiving the direct order from the very goddesses she served under. She understood that little Isaac was precious to Aeon in some way, and while she may not know why, she would never question it.

Meanwhile, Aeon and Venus were facepalming as they watched Double. Venus sighed and shook her head, "Ok, so she is way off." Aeon chuckles and patted her sister's back.

"Don't worry she'll figure it out... eventually."

Aeon nodded silently and looked down at the scene with a sad smile. Isaac's tale was a tragic one... and one that had changed her entire outlook on humanity as a whole. Some timelines, he tragically died... But most, he was happily adopted...

After a few minutes, Double set Issac in the water, noting with a frown that he let out a few squeaks of what was either fear or pain. He probably thought she was trying to boil him alive, or something equally depraved.

"Serenity, little one. My actions are not to harm you, they are to help." Double calmly spoke, her words way, way, way out of fashion, (and way out of Issac's vocabulary), but her tone was reassuring, and slowly, Issac calmed down letting the warm water wash over him. Even though he did wince at a few of his injuries acting up from the water. "Please, be still little Issac, I only wish to help you." Again, her words may not have made sense, but her calm tone certainly did.

'What could Aeon have meant, what powers could Issac possess?' Double wondered as she tried to clean him up somewhat. Again, she had no experience doing this, and to someone who knew what they were doing, it would look like the most awkward thing imaginable. But to Issac and Double, it was just fine. 'He claims to have powers of some sort, but what could've given him said traits?'

Aeon had to let out a soft giggle at the scene. Double had no idea what she was doing and it was a bit hilarious.

She tried to peek ahead a bit to see how things turned out, only for Venus to lightly chop her on the head, "No spoilers, Aeon, you know the rules." Aeon crossed her arms in a pout and turned away.

"Just because I spoiled one timeline..." Venus still hadn't forgiven her for looking ahead in one of her favorite realities.

She was so certain that Beowulf and Irving were going to become a thing, too... Like her sister, she too had warmed up to humanity. They were so delightfully entertaining to watch. Their lives fascinated her, and she just wanted to keep watching until the end of time itself.

She and her sister both had their favorites to watch, even their mother had a few she enjoyed observing on occasion. Different places and people showing up as the differences in each possibility they watched. She had even caught a glimpse of two other interesting children with similar pasts to Isaac.

The sweet little black-haired boy and adorable pink-haired boy had more in common than they knew, but she doubted they'd ever meet. Regardless, she had a feeling Double was going to get the hang of this, but it'd be fun to watch her attempts to figure it out before she found her stride. Double was made to be a weapon, heck, a monster even. But she'd follow their orders without question, so she'd probably have to learn, and learn fast. Well, she had already learned Isaac had nightmares, and that he was a bed-wetter, so those were two harsh lessons down.

While she didn't want to talk about it just yet, Aeon had to admit, she was concerned with what she had seen in Isaac's life. His mother seemed to be under the impression she was commanded by God to kill her son, which didn't make sense as it clearly referred to God as 'He'. While Aeon had met other Gods before (and by 'met' that usually meant being yelled at by), this seemed different.

Back below, Double washed Isaac down with some soap, noting with a grimace the amount of filth, grime and blood that seemed to fill the bathtub.

'Euch... I'll need to drain this before I take a bath...' Double mentally muttered.

Venus snickered. It was so unlike Double to sound like a disgusted teenage girl... She smiled at her sister, noting her jealous expression. Of course she understood her sister had far more personal reasons for her growing fondness of the human race than she did...

Meanwhile, Double was setting up the bath water for a second go, this time for the both of them. Isaac smiled, happy to be enjoying a bath again.

Double smiled as she added the final touches to the bath, "A few drops of this, a couple scoops of that, and it's ready." She carried Isaac towards the tub and climbed in, still wearing her nun garb, as it was just a part or her body.

She let out a sigh and held Isaac close as she settled into the water. It felt good to feel that stain washing away... Usually it was either animals or drunks that did that to her when she had to disguise herself as an inanimate object.

What truly stunned her was the sheer amount of filth that she washed away from Isaac's body. Although a part of her mind whispered that running through the rain had probably washed away a great deal of dirt before he fled inside the cathedral.

She frowned at these implications. This was absolutely twisted, even by her standards. Never in all her life had she ever seen a child suffer such awful abuse at the hands of their own mother. It was disturbing to her.

Even the Medici wouldn't do this, although it was mostly out of recognizing that it was better to cultivate talented youths into future soldiers than to beat them for their amusement. She frowned as she remembered the cause of it all, 'Just what sort of demon possessed that woman?' Eventually she was pulled from her thoughts as Isaac was adorably soaking in the tub with her, bobbing lightly on the surface, eyes closed in content.

'Is this what humans would find adorable about a child? Their ability to ignore suffering and seem happy with something as simple as a bath?' Double questioned. She understood the parental bond that would make people say someone was adorable, but this felt different. Then again, much about Isaac was different, so she assumed this was, for lack of a better term, 'normal' for him.

'If he was made to fight the devil's forces, for what end was he subjected to combat?' Was the next question Double couldn't begin to answer. Was this child of some sort of demonic slayer heritage? There was a family long ago, the Bel... she forgot their names, but they were a family of monster slayers, could that be what Isaac was born into? No, no. If he was, why would his own mother attack him? Had she been possessed? That seemed likely in some ways, but not in the way that confirmed her current theory.

Isaac relaxed into the warm bath water, clearly having missed this feeling deeply. He closed his little eyes and just leaned back a bit to relish in the warm water.

The calming smells combined with the warm water lulled him into a state of drowsiness, and even Double felt a smile twitch her lips at the sight. Honestly, she figured she could have ended up with a far worse child living with her. Beyond a few bits of unpleasantness, things were actually going quite smoothly.

She watched him snuggle in close to her and close his eyes as he drifted off to sleep in her arms. She then heard Aeon's voice in her head again. "Is he not the most precious thing, Double? A true little angel..." Double tilted her head at the sheer affection in her goddesses voice. "Ah yes... An explanation. You see, in another timeline... little Isaac is my child."

"I'm sorry, what." Double asked bluntly. Both loosing her regal composure, typical speech patterns, and losing all the respect and reverence she had in her voice when addressing Aeon and Venus. Aeon however, laughed slightly, as if she had been expecting such a reaction.

"I understand that is rather shocking, but please, allow mw to explain." Aeon said calmly. "The world we exist in, there are many copies of it. Everything remains the same, aside from one or two differences, and those differences can range from a persons hair colour, to someone else being in our position."

"But...that..."

"I understand it's a lot to take in, but that isn't my point. One of there alternate timelines, I exist as I do now with Mother and Venus, but I was the one who ended up taking possession of little Isaac. That timeline... things were different, certain events led to other gods turning on us, and we were forced to reconsider many factors of what we had been doing."

"I see." Double nodded, understanding this a bit easier than one would've expected to.

"Still... This is a shocking revelation... That my estermed goddess would adopt a humble human child..."

Aeon chuckled. "Yeah, it surprised me as well when I first saw it. Thankfully he arrived at your cathedral in this timeline."

Aeon took on a fond smile, though Double could not see it. "It began when I was watching television and I stumbled upon the story of an adorable little boy, who was horribly abused, until eventually... well... it's just too awful to say it..."

Double glanced at the scar on Isaac's neck and she could make an educated guess. Lady Aeon had witnessed the creature she had disposed of slashing her charge's neck. 'It seems a quick end was to merciful for it.'

Aeon sighed. "If only his death in my timeline was as quick as a slit throat... But let it be known. I may not be his mother in this timeline, but I have the memories from my counterpart. Please, Double... Take good care of him."

"Well, all right, Mistress Aeon." Double nodded, feeling a little bit off about her orders. Not because she thought it was going to far or anything like that, but because she didn't know what that meant. She was to keep him safe and take good care of him. Okay. How? What exactly did that mean? Was she simply to be a guardian, and allow Isaac to live his own separate life? No, he seemed far too small for that.

Well, take care of him. She could do that. She technically already was, so how much different could it be than what she was presently doing?

"She is so lost." Venus remarked in a monotone voice with a half-smirk as she watched.

"Indeed." Aeon agreed. "Still, she'll figure it out. I hope."

She sent Double one more message. "I have a second mission for you, Double. Learn to love, not merely follow."

'I hear and obey, Lady Aeon,' Double briefly bowed her head before returning her attention to Isaac. With a soft chuckle, she pulled his body higher before his head slipped beneath the water. He was awake, but still sleepy.

He pressed himself as close to her as he could and clutched at her robes, silently noting to himself that she was wearing her nun outfit in the bathtub, yet somehow the garment barely felt wet. He had seen her shapeshift, so he deduced that played a part.

Sadly, all good things must come to an end, and Double stretched her arm to grab a towel as the water started to grow cold. Double smirked as Isaac looks at the bath longingly. He pouted as she wraps him in a towel, "Unlike me you can get sick, Isaac, besides you'll be regularly taking a bath at least once a day from now on."

Isaac was pacified by this and made no effort to fight her as she lifted him out of the tub. She drained it, then held Isaac close to her shoulder as she searched for a towel to bundle him up in, finding the largest fluffiest one she could.

Isaac was awed by just how soft the towel was as Double swaddled him in it. Her lips twitched in a tiny smile as the towel almost seemed to swallow Isaac in its plushness. His face was just visible, with the rest of his body completely covered by the towel.

Double swore she could hear the sound of Aeon squeeing in delight at the admittedly rather adorable sight. Shaking her head in amusement, the nun decided it best to sit down somewhere and let him sleep bundled in her arms,

She returned to what functioned effectively as her room and study, and seated herself in a chair. She settled down, trying to be comfortable for both of them. Reaching over, she picked up a book, and figured she'd be here for a while, so she may as well read. About twenty minutes later, an odd sound could be heard, and Double looked around, wondering if one of the animals got in. Only to look down and realize Isaac had fallen asleep, and was sort-of snoring in his sleep.

'Well, at least he appears to be at peace.' Double thought, hoping he'd sleep through the night and not have any more nightmares or 'accidents'. She really wasn't sure what she was supposed to do in those situations, and honestly hoped she wouldn't have to deal with them right away. Thankfully, there was a nice, long time where that wasn't the case. Isaac slept peacefully, or at least calmly enough that Double couldn't tell if/when he was having a bad dream.

She sighed and looked around her office. It was fully furnished, since she did have to occasionally meet with people in a more official setting. With a sigh, Double sank into her chair and leaned back, a plush and comfortable piece that was another of her few indulgences. One arm stretched out to turn of the lights as Isaac snored softly. She hoped this would go better a second time...

Isaac subonsciously nuzzled into his little coccoon. Double cradled him in her arms like a baby and watched as he slept, a small teary smile forming on his face.

A tendril snatched up a tissue and dabbed his tears away while Double shifted slightly in her chair to make herself comfortable. This was actually rather surreal to her, just sitting around and not really doing anything. Typically she would have been doing something while in this room, even so much as just reviewing various documents for the cathedral's upkeep.

But still, she wasn't complaining. It was rather nice to just sit and rest for a change... Then she heard Aeon squeeing inside her head. "Aww, isn't he just so sweet when he sleeps? I love my baby so much..."

"Lady Aeon, I don't mean to question you, but if he's your child, why don't you take him?" Double asked, kinda wondering why Aeon or Venus didn't do anything about this. Aeon was uncharacteristically silent for a few moments before she finally responded.

"I...I can't." Aeon seemed saddened. "I'd love to, more than anything, but I'm not able to come down to earth at this time. In fact, it's unclear if we will be able to ever again..."

"What? Has something happened?!"

"Sort of, it's between Mother and several other Gods who aren't exactly happy with how we've been doing things, and it turns out when angered, they can be very powerful. Regardless of that matter, this isn't my world, this is yours, technically."

"I don't understand..."

"I'm sorry, Double. I can't really explain it better than that." Aeon remarked. "I just hope you find joy in the little one as I do."

Double looked down at the sleeping Isaac, and let a small smile form on her face. Lady Aeon was right, he was rather cute while he slept. For a human.

Yes, Double found herself unable to refute her words, even with her normal dislike of humans. Although that could have something to do with how she normally dealt with the more unsavory side of things. She had never just held a young child like for an extended period of time before.

"Yes... You are correct, Lady Aeon... He is indeed quite charming." She said softly, allowing herself a small smile as she watched Isaac sleep. Aeon spoke up again.

"Isaac loves you very much now, Double. You have formed a bond with him. A truly beautiful one."

Double's eyes widened in shock at that one word, "love." She had seen just how far humans were willing to go for it in the past, for both good and bad. However, it was not a concept that she was personally familiar with, nor was it something she ever expected to experience for herself.

Yet here Isaac was. Was this love? No, it was simply thankfulness for her assistance. That's what it had to be! Love couldn't be that simple, it was so much more-

Isaac yawned and nuzzled closer to Double, the Nun realizing Aeon may be right. Isaac loved her. But did she love Isaac? Well, somewhat at least. She harboured no ill will against him (his accident notwithstanding) but would she go so far as to say she loved him? That was a question she didn't know if anyone could answer.

"You need to figure that one on your own." Aeon remarked, saying what Double feared she would say. "Don't worry, you've got a while to figure it out."

"Yes, but-"

"Sorry, gotta go. That Steef is back in his world, it's been a long time since he's shown his face, I wanna see how this goes. Bye!" Aeon quickly said before the silence returned.

Double looked down at the sleeping boy in her arms, studying him carefully for signs of this alien emotion. He was smiling, he was cuddling up, he was at peace in her embrace... "Love.. Just what does it mean to love...?"

Venus smiled, and for a brief moment, Double swore that she could feel her hands on her shoulders. "Love is something that is difficult to explain. It is something that has caused great tragedies and wars, yet it has also something that gives people the strength to overcome any obstacle and to do the impossible. It can be simple affection or it can be a desire to want to protect someone from all harm."

Double listened in silence as she considered the goddesses words. Did she ever feel love? She tried her best to defend her goddesses and the skullgirls, but that was more out of dedication to her duty than genuine love...

So, what was she supposed to do? The same thing for Isaac? That kinda made sense, it was like defending one of the skullgirls, but a boy, and innocent, and harmless, and not involving murder or corruption, or- this was nothing like she had done before.

'Well, if I have to learn, then so be it.' She frowned, knowing that there wasn't much she could do now, but learn. Looking down at Isaac, she figured he needed his rest, and 'love' would probably be letting him sleep.

Turning her gaze back to Isaac, she remembered how she felt when confronting the shell of his birth mother. She had been annoyed, yes, but there had been something else. Something that had grown more when she had examined his injuries, and in particular the scar around his neck, she had been angry, but not at Isaac.

It was anger involving him, certainly, but it was directed moreso at what had been done to him than the boy himself. The mother was the source of this anger, and she had wanted to make her suffer before death.

She felt... protective of him, a strange feeling for her to apply to a human. Much less a human child she had just met. Frowning she takes a deep breath to order her thoughts, 'I am unsure if this feeling is love, but... I do know that I will do everything in my power to protect and care for Isaac.'

She felt someone smiling, and figured i was Aeon. Still, this was weird. What would become of him when the Skullheart returned? Had Aeon and Venus given up on their goal? What was to become of her then?

Oddly, when she looked down at Isaac, she didn't feel like she needed the answers right away. She was oddly content to just relax for a minute, to take her mind off of destiny, fate, plans and everything else, and just spend some time in quiet contemplation. Not even debating her own purpose in the world, just thinking about whatever her mind wandered to. Presently, her mind considered her job here in the Cathedral. She was essentially its caretaker, and people would still come here on Sundays for whatever it was they did here, but she didn't think Isaac would be an issue with that. He was quiet (unfortunately), but also seemed like he would prefer to be in the back rather than out and about in front of everyone.

And she was going to be sure she saw that he was content and felt safe. After all, it was what Aeon wanted. And what her goddesses wanted, they would receive with no protest on her end. Venus smiled slightly and shook her head as she watched Double. "And so the ice-cold demon learns of love... What a story..."

She and Aeon had to nudge Double in the right direction a bit more heavily than she would have liked, but at least she was on the right path. Venus let out a sigh of relief as she collapsed on the couch, "At least Isaac has someone looking after him from now on. As a bonus, you can keep an eye on him pretty easily with Double caring for him."

Aeon nodded with a fond smile. "Hmm... I believe I will watch the one where I am his mother whej I have a moment... That is a film I could watch on rerun for the rest of eternity."

Venus chuckled. "Sure thing, sis. I'll keep warching here and keep ya updated."

Down below, Double decided to try something, reaching down and gently patting Isaac on the head, which made him let out a small, happy sound in his sleep. Double nodded, deciding that was a good sound, and nodded to herself. Picking up her book again, she began to think about a few things she needed to do for Isaac, mainly, food. She had food for the animals, but she didn't really eat. She knew Isaac clearly hadn't eaten too well either, but that wasn't a good thing. Actually, she may need to get some special foods to help Isaac get better accustomed to eating food in general. Still, all in time she supposed.

'What do children eat?' Double pondered, thinking back to. her time running the orphanage. She hadn't been the one who took care of the food, but now she wished she had paid a bit more attention to that. Now, she questioned what she needed beyond food and clothes.

Aeon was still watching, feeling somewhat anxious and overprotective. Venus sighed. "It's fine, sis, I'll help her through things while you're not around."

Aeon gave her sister a hug before leaving the room, practically skipping as she did so. Venus chuckled and shook her head, but even she had to admit that she liked that timeline. Even their mom loved Isaac in that reality!

She winced. Their mother was so stubborn... Even seeing these other timelines hadn't been enough to get her to change her tone... Though really, these timelines never seemed to turn out well when they stuck to their evil ways, from being destroyed by their own skullgirl to being wiped out by each of the true deities, from Lord Death to Beerus to Zarathos to Dialga and Palkia to Palutena... Even those goofy looking Miser Brothers made them look like complete fools!

The problem was always the same; eventually they made too many waves and a bigger fish would come around to show them just how small they really are. They always seemed to end up fighting someone with powers that countered their own or someone so powerful that they could just ignore whatever the family of three could throw at them. Eventually after what must have been several million timelines their mother had to face the truth, eventually the Skull Heart would get them killed.

She still held onto the hope that it was possible to win. But Aeon and Venus were just giving up at this point. It was more fun to just sit back and watch the humans. She, honestly, surrendered after seeing the many embarrassing fates Snow Miser had for their alternate counterparts in the timelines where he was the one sent to stop them.

If it wasn't him stopping them through slapstick humiliation, it was Beerus and that flaming, trench-coated skeleton hakai-ing them from all planes of reality, to Zarathos ripping the powers from their bodies and then incinerating their bodies, to Dialga and Palkia erasing timelines to Kratos... proving why he was the God of War, it seemed like no matter what they did it always ended the same way. Aeon was clearly more exhausted and frustrated with Mother at this point, but they weren't quite at the breaking point just yet. But both sisters could tell things were reaching that, one way or another.

'I give it another cycle, two at most.' Venus thought, shaking her head. She looked back to Double and smiled, she seemed to be having a better grasp on this 'love' thing, even if she was super awkward about it.

'...food, clothing, a bed, writing supplies, maybe a book or something for him to learn to read?' Double made a list of what she needed.

"Very nice, Double, you're doing good." Aeon said with a small nod and a smile. Double felt like a child being praised by her parents. Well... technically, she was.

"Lady Venus, why do you and Lady Aeon surrender your goals for humanity? Are there truly deities that much more powerful than you?" She asked.

Venus snorted. "Yep, we're small fish in a big pond. A lot of these other gods are really scary... And the ones that aren't scary? Imagine some snow god trapping you headfirst in a big pile of snow, hardening it so you can't get out, then donating it to a museum for the ascended souls to come watch your permanent, futile struggles to pull yourself free for all eternity. That's happened to us in twenty five seperate timelines."

Double blinked in shock until Venus added:

"And that's one of the tamer timelines."

"But... that means... I..." Double was genuinely at a loss for words. Venus shrugged in understanding, this was kinda a big thing to be told.

"Well, that and Aeon kinda has a point." Venus continued. "When she found Isaac, or found him in another timeline, she felt love from a human in ways she hadn't experienced yet. That sparked something, and it also had to do with seeing us lose and or die over and over and over. It kinda led to us questioning if this was worth it."

Venus let out a soft sigh. "You think Snow Miser's bad, Heat Miser gave us permanent sunburns in one timeline... And they're always singing when they beat us too... But seriously, keep doing what you're doing, and you'll be fine."

"I understand, Lady Venus." Venus chuckled as Double bowed her head.

She shook her head and focused on the TV, seeing Double had not moved from her spot just yet. She smiled slightly. "Keep it up, Double... Sooner or later, you're gonna have the whole 'mom' thing on lockdown."

Double was currently smiling to herself as Isaac slumbered in her arms. He had been briefly caught in a nightmare but she had managed to bring him out of it without waking him. She had remembered that the sound of a heartbeat could soothe a child, and with a subtle use of her shape shifting prowess she now had a calming rhythm beating in her chest.

She too found a soothing sound that she enjoyed listening to... The sound of Isaac's soft breathing as he slumbered peacefully in her embrace. The nun smiled softly, content with the job she was doing, knowing that it would be to Aeon's liking.

The room was somewhat dark, with a cool air about it, and Double didn't really know how long she had been here. Five minutes, or five hours, it honestly didn't make that much of a difference to her. Patience and the ability to pretty much just stand around and do nothing for long periods of time was something she was rather skilled in, as she had to be during the previous cycles, while people tried to figure out where the Skullheart was, and usually got turned around multiple times before finally getting the right idea.

Her thoughts returned to Isaac, realizing she should've asked Aeon what Isaac's story was; she still didn't know how or why his Mother wanted him dead, or if that was simply this version of him. Was he capable of speaking in Aeon's other timeline? Who knew. She made a note to ask that at some point, but she didn't want to overstep her bounds when questions were concerned. If if they had apparently been bested time and time and time again, Aeon and Venus were still powerful, or at least powerful enough to stop her.

Double's thoughts were interrupted when Isaac turned in his sleep and cuddled into her chest. Her mind nearly stopped entirely when he innocently grabbed onto her robes with one tiny hand and smiled. When it finally started working again, a small part of her mind whispered, 'Cuteness like that is just not fair,' and it was neither Aeon nor Venus' thoughts but her own.

She frowned slightly, wondering just where that came from, but as she looked the boy over, she realized that he, objectively speaking, was absolutely adorable. Sure, the little animals she harboured deeper in the church brought her enjoyment and were cute as well, but this was different.

As enjoyable as their company was sometimes it was nice to have someone she could have a conversation with. Even though due to his injuries Isaac couldn't physically speak he could still gesture and draw to communicate. Although in some ways they were similar, many of the little ones had been either taken in off the street, rescued from the worst sorts of humans, or just wandered up to the church one day.

She never had much of a connection with them, aside from the whole 'Protector' image she had made for herself, but this was different. There was something about Isaac that she felt was different from anyone she had yet to meet. He wasn't the kind of person who would be susceptible to the Skullheart's power (aside from being a boy, he just didn't seem like he was that kind of person) and the adoration he seemed to have for her just felt, well, real. Real in a sense that Double genuinely didn't understand it. She showed him kindness but he saw her like a guardian angel, why? She figured it had to do with 'love', really, and he was so downtrodden that the first bit of kindness was what he'd latch onto, but still.

'Rest well, little one.' Double smiled, patting his back.

She silently wondered how he felt about animals. Every child loved a pet, and she had plenty to go around... She smirked devilishly as she remembered the humans she had eaten when she caught them harming her little pets.

She stirred from her thoughts when she heard a soft mewl. Looking over, she saw that troublesome kitten that kept escaping from the room. "Honestly, what am I going to do with you?" She asked with a small frown.

The kitten merely gave her a soft mewl before trotting over to paw at her skirtm demanding attention. With a sigh, she scooped it up with one hand and held it close to her face, "You really need to stop doing this, you could get hurt or lost somewhere that I can't find you." Double only got a soft chirp in response before the kitten licked the tip of her nose.

"Oh, very well." She conceded, setting the kitten down and scratching its ears, making it purr happily and lean into her hand. She looked to Isaac, and wondered if he would like this kitten. It occurred to her she hadn't ever named it, maybe he could. Children typically were rather creative, or at the very least enjoyed naming their pets. She had meant to name it, but she never had gotten around to doing so.

The tiny cat started licking at her hands. She tilted her head slightly, never quite sure how to feel about the kitten's sandpaper tongue. It was a sensation that somehow managed to be pleasant and unpleasant at the same time... Then, the kitten set its sight on Isaac.

The kitten let out a questioning mewl as it sniffed in his direction. Double sighed and placed the kitten on her lap, "This is Isaac and he'll be living here from now on." She couldn't hold back her smile as the kitten stood on its back legs to get a better look at Isaac.

Isaac felt the little cat's tiny paws on his chest and smiled in his sleep, subconsciously remembering the displays of affection from his late cat Guppy before his mother snapped after the cat had made her trip.

The kitten seemed to sniff him for a few moments, then nuzzled against his head before curling up in her arms, resting in-between the pair. Double blinked, then smiled as she saw the kitten seemed to have decided Isaac was all right. Double was fine with that, because she had absolutely no intention of getting rid of Isaac at the moment, and now the kitten seemed to have decided to decided here was where it wanted to be.

Isaac dreamed of his old cat. No matter how bad things had gotten back then, Guppy had always managed to cheer him up. Double noticed Isaac smiling and carefully placed the kitten on his chest, "You can stay but don't wake him up." The kitten gave a soft chirp before curling up and a few ear scritches later it was softly purring away.

Double watched with a light smile. It seemed Isaac too was an animal lover. She studied him closely, taking in all the details of the clear abuse. The concave ribs, the awful scars... It was a disturbing sight to be certain.

She had seen it a few times before in her long life, the clear signs of abuse with an obese guardian and a clearly malnourished child. What disturbed her most was how often the people around them were so willing to ignore the signs. Thankfully she had destroyed the source of his abuse and that thing could no longer hurt him.

Yet she had to wonder, how long would the scars last? Looking beyond the physical scars, the mental ones would surely last for quite some time. How he would react to them were unknown, aside from nightmares, trauma and fear, Double couldn't really say she understood how or why that happened in humans, and she most definitely couldn't say she knew how to help treat someone going through all that.

She shook her head with a small frown. That was one of the aspects she disliked about humans the very most. So often they failed to be there for one another. They felt it was beneath them to care to notice the clear signs that something was amiss with one of their own.

'I believe I heard someone once refer to it as the bystander affect. Everyone would just assume that someone else would handle it.' An apt term for one of humanity's most glaring flaws.

She shook her head and sighed softly. Looking over at the sleeping boy in her arms, she smiled slightly and rubbed his head. "Your species irks me greatly, little one... Yet you are an exception. I will be sure to raise you to be the best a human can..."

'Or perhaps, better so than one.' Double reasoned. It couldn't be that hard. If humanity left those being abused to fend for themselves, then she already was doing a better job than most of humanity in terms of taking care of Isaac. Sure, it could be argued she was doing so because she was told to, rather than out of a genuine sense of care, but Double didn't see anyone around to argue that point, so therefore, it didn't matter.

Her smile widened as Isaac nuzzled her hand like a kitten in his sleep. For now she would see that his body and mind recovered from his ordeals. Although later she would need to ask him for more details as to what he had encountered, or to draw it anyway.

Reaching into her desk, she was relieved to pull out a few sheets of blank paper and a pencil. She decided this would suffice until she could supply him with those colourful crayons that were all the rage with young children these days.

It was an effective way of keeping them entertained, as long as you could keep the colors on paper and not on walls and furniture. She had to admit that the variety of colors in some of the crayon boxes was rather impressive. She had seen a few sets ranging from one hundred different colors to as much as one hundred fifty-two!

'This is a suitable place to take care of a child, right?' She asked herself, looking about the cathedral. Aside from the catacombs, there wasn't anything too dangerous about this place. Double saw no trouble with keeping Isaac here, he seemed happy with her regardless of where he was, and he had only been here a few hours! Either that was how quickly bonds between humans formed, or he was that broken and desperate. Wither way, she figured it worked out one way or another for this particular scenario. She may not care for humanity, but little Isaac was proving to be the acceptation, not the rule.

Shaking her head, she focused on Isaac, vigilantly guarding him for the three hours he slept for.

Soon she felt him start to stir in her arms and smiled as she let him wake up at his own pace. However, she did place the kitten on her desk, who let out soft mewls of protest, but doesn't fight her. "None of that, give him a minute to wake up before you greet him."

The small cat let out a groan of discontent and laid on the table, pouting slightly. Double shook her head in amusement, and then Isaac finally awakened, letting out a silent yawn before processing his surroundings.

He looked around in confusion, letting out a few confused sounds, before finally looking up and seeing Double, who gave him her friendliest smile. Isaac blinked, then smiled in response, remembering the nice lady-bed-thing from earlier, and made no protests to being held by her.

"Hello, little one." Double nodded. "I trust you slept well?"

Isaac tried to respond, and Double sighed, remembering that he couldn't speak. That was something she would have to get used to, at least for the time being.

He simply nodded. "That's good..." before she could continue, a loud mewl brougy Issac's attention to the kitten on the desk. Double opened her mouth to chastise the kitten only to stop as Isaac's face lit up with joy.

He let out a soft croaky little chirp as he reached out with his tiny hands for the kitten. The small cat mewled, hesitating a bit, before mustering up the courage to make the leap and jumping into Isaac's waiting arms.

Thankfully the distance could be measured in inches so it was easily cleared. Isaac sleepily hugged the kitten and gently rubbed her back, drawing out purrs from the happy feline. Double softly chuckled as the two began to nuzzle one another.

'Awww...' Double thought with a smile, a thought that was rather unlike her usual brand of thoughts. Still, Isaac seemed more than happy with the kitten, and despite the kitten's apprehension, it seemed more than happy to be with Isaac, from the way it mewed and nuzzled down onto his lap, it was clear the kitten had decided Isaac would be its primary attention-giver. Double nodded in satisfaction, knowing that at least for the time being, Isaac had a companion to keep him company.

"I see you are a cat person." Isaac looked up at her with a small smile and mouthed something. She read it as 'Guppy' and concluded that was the name of a previous pet cat. Unusual to name a cat after a fish.

She could see a deep sadness in his eyes as well, and she could only assume that something bad had happened to his friend. 'Most likely at the hands of his mother. Probably at an earlier stage of the corruption.'

The pets were always the first thing to go in this awful scenario, and it just sickened her that demons were so thirsty for the blood of innocent animals. She looked down on demons even more than she did humans...

Still, for the time being, Isaac seemed more than happy, and 'Guppy' seemed happy with Isaac. Double nodded and decided to give them a minute to get to know one another as she checked a few things.

'WhatareyoudoingyoucantjustleaveachildaloneDoublewhatareyoudoing?!' Venus was mentally screaming. She may not have had a connection with Isaac like her sister, but Isaac was still a little boy, and Double was pretty much leaving him to his own devices. Thankfully, the Nun didn't leave the room, as she had feared she would, but was checking some other things.

The goddess sighed in relief. Sure, she wasn't as viciously overprotective of Isaac, but hey... this was her alternate timeline nephew, so she was going to have slight mother hen tendencies with him...

As Double attended to her business, she found herself scowling as she thought about demons.

Everything they did was for their own self gratification. There was no greater plan or goal to their deeds, well, except for the strongest of their kind. Thankfully summoning them was nearly impossible without very specific rituals, all of which were either lost to the sands of time or destroyed by her own hand.

But sometimes the vermin found ways to leak out into the world, and she felt it was her duty to destroy them when this happened... They always hurt others in ways that disgusted even her. Isaac was a perfect example.

She would have to venture to where it entered the world once Isaac was settled in. She couldn't leave the possibility of an open rift from Hell to go unchecked. Besides, from what Isaac mimed to her there might still be lesser demons still lurking about.

She wasn't sure if she counted as a demon or not, she had certainly been called that in the past, but her origins weren't in hellfire, but something else entirely. From what she had heard, there once was a powerful army of demon slayers, one who hell itself feared, and some man who traveled with an iron hand and a twelve-foot sword who killed demons of any sort, but again, those were either legends, or those warriors were long since past. Today, demons were irritatingly subtle; working in and out of the shadows, manipulating the minds of the greedy to give them some sort of foothold.

There was the one named Eliza who was a good example, a monster who made deals with demons for power and other such things which she didn't understand, all of which would most likely and with her brutal demise. Double could really care less, so long as the demons were dead or sealed away, that was good enough for her.

But then there were the lesser ones that like to invade and haunt specific places. Some truly ugly ones as well... They were always so... disturbingly deformed. It was enough to unsettle even her, and she was a constantly shifting blob of flesh and body parts under this disguise of hers... Then she remembered that Isaac had seen her true form.

He had been scared at the time, but she had managed to coax him to come to her. Was he just desensitized to such sights after all he had been through? 'Maybe the creatures he faced were more disturbing than my true form.'

Yes, her true form had a certain elegance to it. Despite looking like a mishmash of flesh and limbs, she still looked like a proud, strong creature. But those lower life forms... They were disgustingly deformed...

Reincarnated, twisted souls which were the remains of the depravity of humanity left to wander in eternal agony, causing pain and torment wherever they stepped. And those were the 'normal' ones. While she had never met them (and honestly, never wanted to) Double knew of other types of demonic monsters, and the Cenobites who were among the most depraved.

'Still, if any of them came to Earth, I would've known by now.' She reasoned, looking back to Isaac, who was still happily petting Guppy, scratching the small, salt-and-pepper cat behind the ears, as it leaned into the contact with great affection. 'Well, they seem happy.'

She considered what Isaac may have seen... Hideous monstrosities pulled from the depths of human nightmares. Quite literally in some cases, and she suspected that this was the case. Pulling monsters from the depths of their host and manifesting them was a common tactic amongst demons, it was often much cheaper than trying to summon other demons to their cause.

To torment the youngest of a species like this was simply deplorable, and she could only imagine the raw, mortal terror little Isaac must have felt in those moments. This thought brought her a sudden pain in her chest.

It was a strange feeling for her to be concerned about someone else. To care more for their wellbeing above her own without hesitation. 'Was this what Lady Aaron's counterpart felt when she first met her own Isaac?'

That made sense, it seemed likely that this sort of emotional reaction was commonplace for someone who would help someone in a less fortunate place than themselves. Maybe this is what humans called 'Motherhood'.

'That's ridiculous.' Double frowned. 'You're not his mother, you're his guardian. There's a difference between those two things.'

She frowned to herself. 'Such an unpleasant feeling this is... Would it not be more logical to avoid making such attachments so that the pain of seeing them suffer can never come to your mind?' She thought to herself.

But even as she thought this, the sight of Isaac and the kitten nuzzling one another brought the warmth in her chest. That same feeling that made her content to just sit and let Isaac slumber in her arms. How strange, she was... scared of seeing him hurt, yet just a few moments like this and she never wanted to let him go.

She sighed and looks up at the ceiling. "Sometimes I lament my disconnection from human emotions... It would make this so much easier if I could only understand how this boy thinks..." She mused softly.

Sadly, she had a feeling that wasn't as easy an option as she would've liked it. Isaac clearly would be a beast on its own, for lack of a proper explanation. He'd be different from pretty much any child Double could ever meet, what with all he had been through, and the powers he (may) possess. There was something so unique about Isaac that was both discerning and rewarding. Again, these feelings were new, and weird to Double. She had no real 'experience' with human emotions, and this was more of that, but also more confusing as there was now a child involved.

She was drawn from her thoughts as Isaac gently tugged on her habit. She looked down and saw him pointing at the paper on her desk with his other hand. "Ah yes, I thought this might make communicating a little easier for you. At least until I can procure some crayons for you," the pencils did look a little oversized for his hands, but they were all she had at the moment.

He clapped his hands eagerly and slowly reached over to grab the paper. The reach was too great for him, so Double grabbed it and handed it over. He hurriedly wrote something down, then proudly presented it. It was a simple message: Thank you.

Double smiled even as she felt her heart skip a beat, something she knew shouldn't be possible, "You are very welcome Isaac. Now then why don't you shed a little light for me. How did you end up running into my church in the middle of that terrible storm?" Isaac quickly began to draw at an impressive speed using page after page to tell his story.

So he had started out with a happy family life until his father left... Then his mother blamed him... She started to become increasingly more abusive. It started off with her giving him a box of dog droppings as a birthday gift. Then she stopped paying attention to him and left him to fend for himself. And as her sanity decreased, the abuse just grew worse and worse...

Apparently some sort of higher being told her he had to die for one reason or another, and Isaac was struggling to survive in his own house. He found himself trapped in his basement fighting to survive and hopefully escape. But no matter where he went, things just got worse. If it wasn't twisted creatures pulled from his nightmares, or his mother harming him so he could never speak again, it was some sort of horrific shadow version of himself. Double didn't know how to explain it, but Isaac seemed to colour it in with the pencil, making it clear this thing wasn't the same as him, but at the same time, was. Whatever this thing was, it followed him like death itself, and seemed to have no purpose aside from simply terrorizing him.

From there, all that happened was one nightmare after another, until by some miracle, he managed to escape into a box which hid him from his deranged mother for the time being. From there, he had to work his way back the way he came, and finally managed to escape, the last drawings showing the Cathedral, what Double assumed was her real form (although it looked rather different, but Isaac was little, so it didn't bother her) and then a picture of who she assumed to be herself and Isaac, holding hands.

'The demon must have first possessed her almost immediately after the father left,' Double idly mused, 'But she must have had some issues already for it to be able to push her so far so quickly.' She studied the sketches of how he had fallen into some sort of maze after hiding in his toy chest, followed by sketching out the various creatures he faced.

Double had to fight the urge to snarl as she looked through the drawings. "Repulsive... Such hideous, disgusting looking abominations... And for such a young child to face such horrors all alone.. Those blasted demons..."

Without her realizing it, the arm holding Isaac pulled him closer to her as she reached the more powerful demons. Equally repulsive as the lesser hordes but somehow more disgusting to her. The only problem was just how many there were, 'Just how big is this portal?'

Isaac seemed to hear her thoughts and shrugged, as if to say 'I don't know, and I don't get it.' Unfortunately, things didn't seem to be getting better as the pages went on. From what she could only assume were walls made of human flesh and blood, to creatures which looked like unborn humans, it was clear Isaac had been through much that not even the toughest warriors Double had seen throughout her many years would want to venture near.

There was some level of skepticism, however. Isaac was a child, children were inventive, perhaps these 'demons' were representations of something else. However, all that did was raise the question; What? If that was the case, and Isaac created these monsters to cope with something, then it was clear the abuse was much, much worse than she initially believed.

Yet she couldn't shake a sickening feeling deep down that these weren't dreams, these weren't creations used to cope with something. These were REAL. Isaac, one way or another, had fought his way through all of this, because his Mother had lost all grips on reality, sanity and sanctity. Every theory she tried to concoct to help justify or simplify these images just raised more pressing, and often disturbing questions. In the end, she found herself faced with the disgusting truth; these drawings were real.

"Isaac, were there any left when you came to me?" She said softly. Isaac thought about it for a moment before shrugging. Double sighed softly. "You faced this horror all on your own, with no one to come to your rescue..."

She tucked his head under her chin and rubbed his back, "You fought well, little warrior, and now it's time for you to rest." Double sighed and leaned back in her seat, "Hopefully with the demon's death the portal is sealed, but I will need to check for myself. I hate to ask this of you, but will you guide me to your old home, Isaac?"

Isaac tensed up a bit and looked up at her with big teary eyes before shakily reaching over to grab the paper he had used before. Double waited patiently as he wrote another message, which he presented to her: 'Promise you won't let them get me?'

"Of course not, Isaac." Double said reassuringly. "I want to ensure those monsters are gone, and nothing can come from them again. I promise, you will be safe while you are with me."

Isaac audibly exhaled, but nodded nonetheless. Double couldn't tell if it was because of trust, or he simply wanted to get this over with. Either way, she commended his bravery.

'Okay, just gotta hope Aeon doesn't come back anytime soon...' Venus but her lip, eyes darting around nervously. She didn't know if Aeon's counterpart had done this or something similar, but she didn't know how her sister would react to this.

"Hey Venus, how's she doing?" Aeon asked, seeming in rather high spirits. "Oh, yeah. That Steef guy figured it all out, he's gonna be fine. I feel great after seeing that! How's little Isaac doing?"

Venus began to look around nervously. Aeon frowned. "Sister, what's... Oh... Ah, yes... This will be good for him... It will help him get the closure he needs..." Well... That went better than expected.

Isaac was still clearly nervous as he stared off into space and rested his head against Double's chest. Double held him close before kissing the top of his head, "I promise, Isaac, I won't let those abominations get near you. I'll send them flying the moment I see them." Whether it was in one piece or many would depend on how tough the demons were.

Isaac buried his face in her chest and let out what she assumes is a light whinper. She smkrks at him, amused. "You worry I am not strong enough, child? Do not fear. I am more than capable of crushing such lowly creatures. I have faced such creatures more times than I care to remember, little one. Each time I emerged victorious while the demons were slain." Isaac looked up at her with tears in his eyes and a pinky held up, the universal sign of asking for a promise.

Double tilted her head to the side, then gave him a small smile and intertwined her pinky with his. She didn't know what this was, but she decided to just roll with it. "Now then... Can you map out the general location for me so I may begin my search?"

Isaac nodded before grabbing a clean sheet of paper for the map. Double frowned as she traced the admittedly simplified path with her eyes. 'Not too far outside the city,' a house on a hill, and surrounded by trees, 'simple enough, no other houses nearby. Prime location for a demon portal, no one would notice until it's too late.'

She took the sheet of paper with a small smile. "Very good, Isaac... It takes great courage to think back to this awful life you've escaped... Soon these creatures will be returned to the fiery pits that spawned them." Isaac wrote another note and held it up. 'Will I go down with them when I die? My mommy said I would...'

Holding him to her chest, she rubbed his head, "Of course not, little one, you are as far from a demon as I have ever seen. I could tell that from the moment we first met." Isaac sighed in relief even as he wrapped his arms around her as tightly as he could.

Double hid her enraged scowl from the boy and clenched her fist slightly. To say something so utterly awful to a little boy... Clearly basic morality was not something these monsters much cared about...

If anything it's probably first to go,' much easier to nudge a human where they wanted them if right and wrong no longer held any meaning. Makes it much easier to move them on to more vile acts. 'Like slashing an innocent child's throat,' a part of her felt that she had ended things far too quickly when she dealt with that abomination.

Then again... did the mother truly deserve to die so painfully? Was she truly at fault for what had happened? Sure, she was weak-willed enough to let a demon take over, but then, what human wasn't? They couldn't help being a pitifully weak species.

Sadly there was no way of telling just how much of his mother was left at the end. It all depended on how much the host resisted... and how long the demon wanted them to suffer, 'Vile creatures...' Unfortunately now she had to make the decision to bring Isaac with her or not, on one hand he could help point the way, but on the other she didn't know how dangerous the house currently was.

Just then, Aeon spoke up once more. "Do not worry over this dillema, Double... The only remaining demons are the lowly trash. They will be easy to destroy. Isaac will be just fine, especially with you by his side."

Double let out a soft sigh of relief, while they were annoying she could swat such cannon fodder aside with impunity. Besides it might be a good thing for Isaac to see the portal sealed with his own eyes, to see the abominations sealed away back where they belonged. They might even be able to find some of his old things if they were still in one piece.

She made up her mind and gave Isaac a serious look. "Isaac... We are going to that house... And I don't want you t worry. I will not put you down, not for even one second. Those beasts will not touch you."

Isaac flinched before looking up at her in shock, "In a way we both need to see this through, Isaac. I need to see to it that the portal is closed, but you... you need to see it shut so the nightmare can end." Isaac was still very scared but he held up his pinky to her once more.

She smiled and intertwined her pinky with his. "Yes, Isaac, of course I promise not to let them harm you... Come. We will leave immediately... The sooner we dispose of this threat, the sooner you will be at peace."

After another brief search through the donated clothing, she found a hooded sweatshirt for Isaac to wear. Unfortunately it was a little big for him with the sleeves falling past his hands and the hem reaching his knees. However, it was warm and would protect him from the lingering rain and cold.

With a small nod, she calmly stepped out the door, reaching for an umbrella on the way out. As they stepped out into the storm, Double opened the umbrella to shield them from the rain and made her way to their destination.

There was always some4thing dreary about New Meridian, and Double could never really put her finger on it. She didn't care enough to look deeply into it, but there was always something that just seemed off. This was further enhanced by today, for some reason. That feeling of disconnection seemed stronger, as if for the first time in her life, Double was seeing some new darkness which was slowly clawing its way up to reality. Was this the work of Aeon and Venus? No, no it couldn't be. There was something off that she couldn't explain, as if something from some other world had seeped through and was infecting their home.

'Hopefully once this is done, things will feel more normal.' Double thought, not totally sure what to expect at Isaac's, but she certainly hoped whatever it was would help put the past behind him.

Thankfully it didn't take long to reach the outskirts of the city with seemingly everyone else driven inside by the storm. Soon with Isaac occasionally pointing the way they arrived at the house, and it was more eerie than she suspected. Although that could have to do with the faint demonic taint seemingly everywhere.

She shook her head at the ominous feeling it brought to even her. The only way a portal such as this could open was... through someone with a lot of self loathing... She looked down at Isaac with a small frown, realizing his low opinion of himself.

She gave him an affectionate squeeze as she stood on the threshold. Isaac looked up at her and she could still see the fear in his eyes, "Don't worry, Isaac, this won't take long." Placing her umbrella aside, she lashed out with her free hand and ripped the locked door off its hinges.

She nodded in satisfaction and entered the house. It was... underwhelming, to say the least. Very basic, very neutral, at least that's how it was until she walked a little deeper. The further into the house she went, the more twisted things became. At first, it was simply overturned furniture and spilled food, but then she began seeing what looked like claw marks raked themselves across pictures of who she assumed were Isaac's parents, leaving them shattered, broken, twisted remains. From there, what Double could've sworn was blood began painting the walls and floor around them, and Double had a bad feeling a good amount of this was Isaac's blood, not the blood of the monsters he vanquished.

"My, this looks far worse than I expected..." Double couldn't help but comment, and Isaac merely shrugged, unsure of how to respond.

Her eyes opened to reveal their blood red glow as she entered the house. Immediately, a large group of demons started swarming, and Isaac buried his face in her side... Then nothing happened. He looked up to see Double calmly wiping blood off her mouth with a napkin.

It took him a moment to realize that they had been given the same treatment as the thing that was once his mother. After giving him a small smile, Double reassured him, "See, these lower demons can't do a thing to me. I also have it on very good authority that they are all that's left here as well."

Isaac teared up slightly and she dried his eyes carefully. "You are in good hands, little one... You are very brave for coming to face your fears... Now I shall put them to rest once and for all." She made her way down to the basement, where the portal awaited.

The bad news was that it was still existing, but the much better news was actually two fold. One, the portal was far to small for anything even moderately powerful to come through, and two, the portal was flickering in and out periodically as attested by the pieces of various demons littered about it. Letting out a sigh of relief Double reached into the bag of sealing tools hanging off her shoulder, "Oh good, this won't take very long," in fact she was a little over prepared to seal the portal.

She simply set everything up, and then the portal was closed mere seconds later, Isaac watching in awe as the source of all his trauma disappears before his very eyes. Double nodded. "Now then... I imagine your personal belongings should be here, yes?"

Isaac looked around, then frowned. Double knew that things didn't look the same to him, and he was trying to understand what was going on around him. Finally, he pointed to a box off in a corner, and Double walked over to it and opened it, a bit confused when she saw what she swore were costumes and wigs in the box. Isaac however, seemed thrilled to see it all again, as if some part of him he long had thought lost was suddenly put before him. Double let a small smile form at his excitement, and decided if this made him happy, she wasn't going to question it right now.

'Well, he did say he had some sort of powers which helped him fight off the demons, is it possible these had something to do with it?' Double pondered to herself as she continued throughout the house, gathering a few things that Isaac pointed too. Mostly just a worn-out blanket, and a picture of whom she assumed was his father. She didn't know if Isaac and his father had a good relationship before he left, and questioned if he wanted this to remember him for the good times, or if he just didn't know him at all.

Double carefully observed the walls as Isaac pointed the way, 'Good, everything seems to be returning to normal.' Demon portals had a nasty tendency to warp the space of whereever they opened, often turning places into twisted labyrinths. She was drawn from her thoughts as Isaac pointed towards a locked door... one with a rather excessive amount of deadbolts and padlocks holding it shut.

She exhale through her nose at the sight. "Of course these foul beasts would be so unnecessarily immaculate in keeping your belongings away from you..." She muttered before sticking out a long tendril-like tongue and devouring the lock.

After dealing with three more locks ,she began to grow impatient, and after shielding Issac, she quickly ripped the door off its hinges before carefully setting it aside. "Much better, now then let's gather your belongings..." her thoughts trailed off at just how much had been shoved into the space, in fact it appeared as if every possession he had was stuffed within.

She tilts her head as she inspects the interior of the cupboard. It seemed to have everything the boy needed. From his clothing to his playthings to his toothbrush and children's toothpaste, it was all here in one convenient little spot.

Isaac seemed happy to see all of it again, and Double let a small smile form on her face as well. It was good to see Isaac wasn't so scarred that he couldn't feel joy anymore, at least he hadn't been hurt that badly. She collected everything and packed it into a bag, before continuing about the small house. She wasn't sure what she was looking for, but she didn't want to leave any of Isaac's belongings here, as she noted she had no plans to ever return here once this trip was complete.

She kept walking, and then heard Isaac whimper and begin shivering, seeming close to crying. Double raised a brow, then saw what Isaac was looking at, a small cross in a corner, and she quickly put together this was most likely what he had made to remember his cat.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Little Isaac." Double said softly, putting his head against her shoulder. She didn't want to make him look at it, and gave it one more look before leaving and heading into the next room. Isaac had been through enough, she didn't want to add more to his pain.

She looked at the bags of items. 'The only problem is going to be transporting all of this to the Cathedral,' Double silently mused as she offered one of the stuffed animals within to Isaac. An idea occurred to her as her eye was caught by the sight of a toy truck, 'It wouldn't be too much trouble for one of my guises to acquire a vehicle.' It was the simplest solution, but also the fastest in their current situation.

Then she got an even better idea. She calmly began gathering the items in her arms, instructing Isaac to do the same. Soon enough, they had all the belongings outside. Isaac looked at Double curiously and she transformed into a moving truck.

His eyes widened when her normal body reformed in the driver's seat even as numerous tendrils erupted from her new form. Most began to quickly and carefully load his things within the cargo area while one carefully scooped him up and placed him in the cab. Double herself smiled as she carefully buckled him in a newly formed car seat.

Isaac blinked, clearly bewildered beyond words (not that he could form words to begin with) but felt reassured when Double patted his head and then headed back to the cathedral. The drive was silent, Isaac looking out the window at the rainy day around them. For the briefest of moments Double felt a pang of disgust and anxiety when she saw the feral woman she had run across walking down the street, however, she seemed completely indifferent, and didn't even notice the truck passing by until it had already passed. Nadia blinked, then shrugged. Just another moving truck.

"Well, that is behind you now, little Isaac." Double nodded as they drove. "Those monsters are gone forever, and they cannot come to our world ever again. At least, not from there. Either way, you need not fear them coming to harm you."

Isaac looked up with a thankful look in his eyes as he hugged his stuffed animal.

As he situated himself comfortably, she noted how babylike he really looked, with his tiny size and his lack of hair. She decided to offer him a bit more comfort and pulled one of his other plush toys from one of the boxes, handing it to him.

Watching him hug his long lost toys closely, she smiled and added a blanket from his things. After tucking him in, she rubbed his head, "You might want to take a nap, little one, I'm going to have to take the long way around to get back to the cathedral." Unfortunately the streets they used to get to the house were too small for the truck.

Isaac nodded his head slowly, nestled into his little comfort zone, then closed his eyes to settle down for a nice long nap. As he slumbered, Double now had the time to think about what had happened so far.

She still didn't know how she was alive, that didn't make any sense. The Skullgirl was gone. the Skullheart was destroyed, yet all these months later... nothing. She had tried to dig into some history to figure out if this had ever happened before, but none of the old tomes said anything about it. None of the old texts explained how she survived. Not even Aeon and Venus knew (or would give her a straight answer.) But that didn't matter as much as it had a few months ago, because now she had a new job, a new duty. To tend to the little boy sleeping next to her. It was an odd task, but one she dared not question due to its origin coming from Lady Aeon herself.

But now, Isaac was safe and sleeping, so what did she need to do next? She genuinely wasn't sure what to do once she got back. Part of her considered moving all together. Maybe taking care of Isaac in New Meridian wasn't the best plan. Aside from the Skullheart, there were some less than savoury charact- what was she saying? If anyone or anything threatened Isaac, they would be dead with in seconds. What did she have to fear?

With no one around, she didn't even bother using her hands to drive as she rested her face in her hands. While she had no regrets taking in her charge, she certainly hadn't expected a child to come into her care after running into her church sans clothes during such a torrential storm. Chased by the insane, possessed husk of his own mother no less!

And now she was the one responsible for raising him, as her goddess requested. It waa a most unusual situation indeed, and she found herself wondering... Would she have willingly adopted this child without Aeon's influence?

She felt an unpleasant twisting in her gut as she couldn't find a definitive answer. The problem was up until he dropped into her life she had never saw herself as the motherly type. It wasn't that she disliked children, it was just something that never came up with just how constantly busy she had been.

But now? Well, she kinda had found herself doing just that. Isaac was here to stay now, and she'd do all she could to make him happy. He had been through more than most humans ever would, and he was so little, he couldn't be older than five. It just wasn't right. And this was coming from someone who saw humanity as nothing more than a parasitic nightmare that served no real purpose. Still, she did wonder how things would be from here on out. Aeon and Venus no longer seemed interested with Mother's plans for the skullheart, and apparently time and time again it was getting progressively worse for them with every attempt.

'But where does that leave me?' Double wondered. She didn't see it as a selfish question, but rather a genuine inquiry.

She didn't even know who or what she was outside of her designated purpose. She was born to serve the trinity, with a complete lack of goals or ambition of her own. Was that truly all she was? A mindless puppet?

Double frownrd and leaned her head back, 'No, that can't be right.' Even if her mission had been her ultimate goal, it wasn't like it was the only thing she focused on without rest. For one thing she had her animals, and regardless of how busy she was she always cared for them without fail. Didn't that mean she had some will of her own? 'Besides, it's not like my original mission exists anymore.'

Yes, for the time being, the skullheart waa out of commission. And judging by Aeon and Venus' talk with her earlier, it appeared that they themselves had all but lost interest in their cause for whatever reason.

From what Aeon described after viewing countless possibilities, there was no future where the Skullheart and the Skull Girl would succeed. Even in the few timelines where they "won"more powerful beings would act to destroy them, and there was nothing they could do to stop them. With one last sigh Double leaned her head back and asked herself, "What do I do now?"

She looked back at Isaac, sleeping soundly in the backseat, and gave him a small, fond smile. "Hmm... You will be my new mission, little Isaac... My current goal will be to raise you as my own and help you grow into a good young man... "

That gave Double an odd feeling. A sense of worth, almost. As if that idea, that direction told her what she needed to know, and now she had a way forward or at least something to do for the time being. She didn't know how things were going to turn out in the future now, but then again, she rarely ever did. And when she did know, things often changed, such was the nature of reality.

"And yet you seem so calm and content..." Double mused, casting another glance back to the sleeping Isaac. He truly had no concerns, no worries, he just... seemed happy. Happy to be with her of all people/things. Double chalked it up to childhood innocence, and the way he saw her after saving his life, essentially. It wasn't hero worship, but the adoration was certainly there.

Reaching back, she gently brushed the top of his head with her hand before tucking his blanket around him more securely. At the moment he seemed far more at peace than when he had first ran into her life, and all it took was sealing a portal to hell and taking back his things. She softly chuckled even as a part of her mind is inventorying the sheer amount of stuff that had been in that closet.

'Seems I will have to make a little more room in the church..."

She idly mused where to put his room as she carefully navigated the poor roads leading back to the city, 'Perhaps it would be best to place him by my office, and maybe a playroom as well?' She smiled and nodded her head, he would be close in case an emergency were to happen. Even if it was so much as a bad dream she could rush to his side in an instant.

It was another twenty minutes, but they were finally out back behind the cathedral. It was quiet, and it had stopped raining, for now. Double nodded to Isaac and picked him up, her body warming and changing about as it set the boxes down and kept Isaac in a comfortable position so he wouldn't be disturbed. The question now was how she would get everything inside... well, she figured she'd take it slow, and work her way through it all. Carrying Isaac in, she set him down on a chair near the back entrance so he could keep sleeping, and she set to moving everything.

She sighed, forming tendrila to carry the boxes underground and deposit them into the church's basement.

Going back up near her office and stopping at a door, she placed her hand on it to begin remodeling, and with a sigh, she made herself comfortable. While being able to remodel the cathedral at will was beyond helpful, it still took time to get everything shaped correctly, but at least most of the rooms were already empty anyway.

She nodded in content as she added the finishing touches to Crona's new bedroom. A small toybox, a little bed from the tiny frame she found, a nice happy wallpaper... She built the room to make it feel like a safe and happy place.

She returned and let out a small sigh to see Isaac still sleeping peacefully, turning slightly, but once she picked hum up, and traces of a bad dream were gone. Deciding he needed a proper sleep, she carried him into his new room and tucked him into the bed, putting the stuffed animals in his arms.

"Mew?"

Double blinked, and normally would admonish the animals for wandering around the cathedral (she didn't want them to escape and get hurt all over again) but the kitten- no, Guppy, jumped up on the bed and curled up at Isaac's feet. Double blinked, then smiled. The nun knew she couldn't separate them, and both seemed to be helping the other in some small regard.

Placing a kiss on his forehead, she left him with a way to contact her. A small bell with a picture of him ringing it and her running towards him beside it.

She smiled proudly at her unnecesarrily detailed drawing and turned to leave the room, opting to find a way to pass the time as Isaac slept. She settled on checking on the animals in their areas below the church.

At her first stop, she was immediately greeted by a swarm of meowing, churring, purring, and mewling felines in their playroom. Double smiled as she gazed around the room, one of the first major renovations she had ever made to the church. A safe haven for both the lost or abandoned pet, and the stray that had never known a home.

Right now, she knew it was past when she normally fed all of them, so they were probably more happy for food then they were to see her. Or, they were happy to see her because she was going to feed them.

"All right, all right." Double smiled. "Settle down everyone."

And so it went for the next twenty minutes. She had to go all over the room, finding the cabinets and drawers where she kept everything, - and remembered that her organization skills weren't as great as she wanted to admit - but soon, all the animals were eating.

Yes, animals were such fascinating creatures to her. Dogs aside, each and every creature on this planet brought her feelings of wonder and joy that her goddesses had always said was 'cute like a little kid exploring a toy store'. While she didn't fancy the idea of being called cute... she just adored her animals.

Several tendrils began to tidy up and refill food and water bowls while making her way towards one cat in a particular. A stray that she had rescued at most a day before Isaac appeared. Double frowned as she gazes at the bandages wrapped around the poor dear's leg.

The cat shied away from her distrustfully, growling slightly as its fur stood on end. Evidently it was not treated well in the past, as it would not let her get close to it even after she had patched up its injured leg. She would have to earn its trust

In some ways, it reminded her of Isaac, a small, poor thing which had been cruelly treated for no good reason. Now, she had to earn its trust in order to best assist it. She set some food down and waited, but the cat was still apprehensive, almost angered.

"Okay, okay..." Double sighed, deciding it needed space, and turned her attention to the other animals. She wondered what could've caused it to become so bitter and hostile, and wondered for a moment if it was possible Isaac would end up like that. She sincerely doubted it, not only was he safe with her, but Isaac seemed more terrified than angered after all he had been through.

Perhaps it would prefer so e different food... Reaching into a cabinet she pulled out a pouch of wet cat food and poured it on a plate. Carefully she approached the injured feline, stopping just out of the reach of its claws. Slowly, she placed the food down and nudged it closer before stepping back, "No one is going to hurt you in this place, little one."

The cat looked at her with its one eye suspiciously before approaching the plate of food, eating it slowly as if expecting something bad to happen and wanting to be alert so it could run away quickly. Double briefly wondered if this is how Isaac had ever felt.

Her mind briefly flashed to how he hid behind a column when she first met him, how he had stayed there until she managed to coax him out. With a sigh, she carefully shooed a few of the more curious cats away from the newcomer as he ate. Idly she wondered how Isaac would react to a room filled with cats and a smile tugged at her lips.

Considering how happy he seemed with the little kitten, he'd probably be overjoyed to be in a room filled with cats. Who knew, maybe Isaac could help take care of the animals, maybe this cat would warm up to him faster than her. These were all things to consider, especially now that she had a lot of free time. Truthfully, she was kinda thankful she had found Isaac, even if he was a human, because there wasn't much for her to do. Double knew she could do any number of things to pass the time, but all of them seemed boring to her, or seemed like a large risk for no reward.

'The stories these humans have written granted me some escape, but even those have grown stale.' Double frowned, still watching the one-eyed cat slowly eating, glaring up at her after every bite. Finally, Double relented and decided to give the cat some space. She made her way back to Isaac's room, and let a small smile form when she saw he was still asleep, Guppy curled up next to him now, breathing peacefully. Double had no idea when/if he last had a decent nights sleep in a proper bed, and was satisfied that he seemed happy now. She was also fine with the fact that if he had a nightmare, she wouldn't need to change her clothes... not that she blamed Isaac for that, she really couldn't. It was an accident caused by a nightmare. She could hold him responsible, but to what end? All it would most likely do was upset him further.

He had a cat before his mother was overwhelmed by that demonic monstrousity. A small tuxedo cat that he named Guppy. Certainly an odd choice to name a cat after a fish, but then Isaac was a very quirky little one with a very big imagination.

It was unfortunate that she had not found so much as a trace of the poor feline. She would have liked to give it some sort of burial, her smile widened as she realizes that was another thing that was her own will. She always went out of her way to give any of the animals she found a proper burial should they pass away.

Then she remembered another detail of the boy's draw-my-life story and scowled as she remembered one of the 'weapons' Isaac had used... The severed body parts of a cat. Their use? They made him cry harder than ever so he could fire stronger tears...

A disturbing set of items with even more disturbing implications. There was only one cat they could have come from to have that affect on him. His beloved pet had been ripped apart by the demons and scattered throughout the twisted space.

She had seen a small memorial he had made for his cat, but had he been forced to use the remains to survive? Sadly, she wouldn't put it past him, considering everything else he had gone through, why not torture him further by taking the one thing that was actually decent in his life and destroying it?

'Lady Aeon, I have to ask... how could you let all this happen?' Double thought, not remembering she kinda had a phone in her head, so Aeon heard her question, and sighed deeply.

"I... I didn't want this." Aeon admitted, her voice shaking somewhat. "But there are things that are beyond our control, and Isaac's treatment was one of them."

"That makes no sense, you and Lady Venus have such power! How could you..." Double began but trailed off, not liking the tone she was using while addressing them.

Aeon sighed. "We... are not as powerful as we previously wished to believe we were... The reality of it all is that... we are mere mortals gifted with power we could never truly know how to use to its fullest potential... It was a helpless situation... The demons slowly killed him over the course of weeks, and all I could do was watch until he ultimately joined us in the afterlife..."

Double's eyes slowly opened into a furious glare, glowing ominously as she gritted her teeth. "May each and every one of your deaths have been filled with agony and terror, you wretched, vile monsters..." She seethed, trembling in anger.

Eventually, her anger faded and just left her feeling drained. Holding on to such anger had no point, after all the majority of the abominations were dead. Some by her own but most of them were dispatched by Isaac, a feat that filled her with pride.

She put a hand over her chest with a warm smile. "Bless you, little Isaac... You've done a great service to this world and destroyed many powerful demons..." Despite his clear trauma, the boy had done such an amazing job...

She patted his head, and he let out a soft, sleepy coo.

"Well, he at least seems to be all right for the moment." Double admitted with a slight nod. She wasn't sure what 'Good' would look like, but she knew 'Bad' would involve demons, blood and Isaac in the condition she found him in, and he wasn't in that, so she was doing okay.

"Yes, thank you for that." Aeon sighed. "I know this is an odd task we have given you, but your diligence and kindness means more than I think you understand to both Isaac and myself. Thank you, Double."

Double nodded her head and gazed down at Isaac, smiling softly. He was something special...

Although his method of attack was... unorthodox to say the least. Even now she couldn't quite wrap her head around how he had used his tears as projectiles. Effective, but still odd even compared to some of the living weapons and parasites she had encountered over the years.

How exhausting it must have been to cry so much, and with such force as to destroy the bodies of those monsters. Then her mind jumped to the ways he would make his tears stronger, from drudging up traumatic memories to sticking toothpicks under his eyelids, and much worse. She realized just how much pain he had caused himself just trying to survive.

What was worse were some of the clearly demonic artifacts he had been forced to use out of desperation. Regardless of their power ,such forces were dangerous for mortals to use. Thankfully there seemed to be no lasting side effects, and he had promptly discarded any that he had during his final escape.

'What future is there for someone who has been through all this?' Double thought before she could stop herself. It was a harsh, cold question and she wasn't proud she thought it, but it was a legitimate question nonetheless. After all Isaac had been through, could he ever reacclimatize into society?

'Yes.' Double thought sincerely. 'There's no reason he can't!' After everything Isaac had been through, and now with her keeping him safe, Isaac's life was only looking up from here on out. Sure, there was a long climb ahead, but... well, Isaac had been through so much, and refused to give up, she couldn't see him giving up now.

Still, she found herself dwelling on all he had been throughl... Horrors that would drive most men insane... (and she would know!) He was so young, yet he had been dragged through hell... And she realized that he spent the entire time crying out of sheer, overwhelming terror and had simply managed to use his fearful sobbing to his advantage.

She was drawn from her swirling thoughts from a soft meow. Blinking in surprise she looks over to see that the injured tom had cleaned his plate, and was carrying it into the room. "Oh, are you still hungry?" A louder meow followed by the cat nudging the plate towards her was her answer.

Smiling and shaking her head in amusement, she led the cat back to the room and placed more food on his plate. "Now this will be your last helping. I don't want you getting to an unhealthy weight." She said softly as the cat started to eat his food with gusto.

It didn't glare at her this time in-between bites, and was more focused on the food put in front of him. Double nodded in satisfaction, and then her thoughts turned to food for Isaac. What was she going to make for him tonight? She sincerely doubted he knew how to prepare any actual meals, come to think of it, she wasn't sure if his body could process an actual meal. She didn't want to feed him baby formula, but she wasn't sure what else to do.

"Aaaannnddd... she's like, worried about food." Venus remarked with a half-smirk. "Just like you were."

"Hey, with everything Issac's been through, I think it was fair my other self didn't get it right the first time!" Aeon said defensively.

"Yeah? Well, like... okay." Venus shrugged. "Whaddya think she's gonna do?"

Thankfully two helpings of salmon delight seemed to have have earned Double some trust. The tomcat was stiff but didn't protest as she inspected his injuries before bandaging them once more, "Good, it appears that you are healing quite nicely. You'll be running around the playroom in no time at all."

Patting his head gently, she tended to the rest of the cats, then proceeded to start taking care of the animals in the other rooms. First she fed the birds their seed. Then gave the mice and rats their food. Then the reptiles, the fish, the amphibians... And she wondered if Isaac would enjoy the animals outside of the cats.

There were certain individuals that she would prefer to keep him away from, such as a certain group of parrots. Double dragged her hand down her face at the thought of those trouble makers, "Where did they even learn to swear like that? It's worse than an entire ship of sailors," and she had heard some pretty colorful language in her time.

Well, for now she was focused on her tasks, before she returned to Isaac's room. The small boy was still sleeping, and Double nodded, deciding she would relax here until Isaac woke up. She didn't know how long that would be, but then again, she didn't much care about doing stuff. She was fine with finally taking some time and resting for the time being.

She thought back to the idea of Isaac seeing the troublesome parrots and sighed. Then again, it's not like Isaac could repeat those words anyway... Though she certainly didn't want him learning to write them. Then she realized that demons were very curse-happy, so he had probably heard a lot of it anyway.

After checking up on him, ahe decided to attend to a few chores around the church. Her thoughts came to a halt as she hears a faint noise coming from above, and it was the sound of a bell ringing. With a soft gasp of, "Isaac," she rushed up from the basement, even using her tendrils to ascend to the higher floor in seconds. Thankfully, her panic ceased when she saw him calmly holding the bell in one hand and her note in the other.

He looked at her shyly and giave her a small wave before looking down at the bed timidly. Double sighed in relief and approached slowly, taking a kneeling position next to the boy and hugging him close. "Yes, dear? What can I help you with?"

Isaac shyly looked away before hugging her back, "Ah, did you just want to see me?" A nod caused her to chuckle, "Well that's fine, I had just finished with the animals anyway. Do you like your new room, little one?"

Isaac smiled and nodded, and Double could tell his response was genuine. She gave the small boy a smile and patted his head. Her worries about him having a nightmare now gone, she wasn't sure what else she should do right now. He clearly liked being around her, but she felt like she could do more. So, once more, (and somewhat awkwardly) she picked up Isaac in her arms and tried this whole 'hugging' thing again. Isaac let out a happy squeak and tried to hug her back, wrapping his arms around her neck. Double smiled softly, feeling a warm pulse flow through her chest. Was this what love was? Because Double couldn't lie, it felt nice. She felt like she was doing this right, this time.

"Did you have a good sleep?" Double asked, and received another nod. "Good. I brought in all the boxes, one of them seemed... odd, it was full of what I believe to be wigs and costumes, were those yours?"

Isaac nods again, and Double nods. So he liked to play dress-up... An unconventional pasttime for a little boy, but as long as he enjoyed it... She smiled. "I see, I aee... And do you like the decor in your new room?"

Isaac smiled brightly and nodded his tiny head. Double gently picked him up, then took a seat on the bed. "I thought you would. Little boys do enjoy this type of decor...at least to my understanding." She looked at the blue wallpaper and hodgepodge of various posters of things she thought boys liked.

A mixture of race cars, dinosaurs, wild animals, superheroes, and space ships covered the walls, 'Although... maybe I was a bit overzealous.' Oh well, she and Isaac could just redecorate at a latter time if he wanted to change anything. Smiling, she pointed to a pile of boxes along the wall, "Your toys are all here, but I wanted to wait until you were rested before going through them."

Isaac perked up and clapped his hands, which brought a small smile to Double's face. "Now then... Shall we open the boxes?" Isaac nodded his head shyly and Double rubbed his head before carrying him over to the closed boxes.

There was a wide assortment of toys, some things Double expected (such as stuffed animals, a small wooden car, and a blanket) and some things she was thankful for, namely, crayons.

'Well, that should help him communicate better.' Double thought to herself as Isaac kept digging through the box. He seemed much more child-like, even since they returned from his home, and Double noted that as a good thing. With everything he had been through, and everything he had suffered, seeing him happy was a good thing to the Nun. It was almost a reminder that he COULD be happy.

Double frowned as she looked at some of the boxes, "Well, she certainly never wanted anyone to open these." Several of the boxes had been wrapped in layer after layer of silvery grey duct tape. Double had rolled her eyes before transforming one finger into a razor sharp claw deciding to just cut off the top of the boxes entirely.

Taking great care not to damage the contents of the box, she looked inside and blinked at the sight of various articles of clothing. "...Goodness me, your family certainly picked some rather adorable outfits for you..."

Everything from shorts to overalls, t-shirts to sweaters, and even some rather adorable footie pajamas were in the boxes giving the little boy a proper wardrobe of his own for the first time in ages. Double smiled and held up a pair for Isaac to see even as tendrils swiftly folded and properly put his clothing in drawers. Isaac smiled and reaches out for the pjs, "Yes, lets get you changed into something a little more comfortable."

Picking him up with a tendril, she opened the pyjamas and then slid Isaac into them, zipping it up his chest and pulling the small hood up so he was encased in the footed onesie. The tendrils set Isaac into her arms, and Double tried holding him in both arms so he rested against her chest. Yes, this felt right.

"Well, you certainly look warm." Double nodded, and Isaac smiled. "I'll take that as you agreeing with me?" Isaac nodded. Setting the small boy on the bed, she picked up some paper and the box of crayons and set them before Isaac. "Little one, I have a few questions for you, and after them, we can do whatever you'd like. Is that fair?"

Isaac nodded.

"Very good. First, aside from your Mother, do you have anyone who may come looking for you? Any friends or relatives?" Double asked. Isaac wrote for a moment.

'No.'

"Hm, so I take it you're alone."

'No.' He wrote again.

"Hm? I'm sorry, what do you-"

'I have you.' Isaac wrote, holding the paper up so only the top half of his eyes could look over it.

Double stared blankly for a moment before reaching over and picked him up, holding him close.

Cradling him in her arms like an infant, she rested his head on her shoulder, "What a lovely thing to say.." Isaac smiled and started to tear up before hugging her neck. Double gently shushed him and rubbed the back of his head.

It was evident that he clearly was suffering deeply from emotional pain. The memories of his awful experiences in that house were haunting him, and he was latched onto her for as much comfort as he could possibly get from his protector.

Double poured out affection for him without hesitation while Isaac soaked it up like a dry sponge. Isaac just hugged her tighter, scared that if he let go, she'd vanish and his escape would only be a dream. Double slowly started to rock her body even as she kissed his tiny head and whispered lovingly to him.

She was beginning to see what Lady Aeon was going on about. He truly was a sweet little boy. He seemed so genuine in everything he had done thus far, especially anything she and him did together, he seemed happy as could be when she held him, as if such a gentle gesture was the greatest gift in the world to him. But considering that he ran in here, abused, scarred and terrifed of his Mother, it made (tragic) sense why he would be reacting this way. Double smiled as she sat on his bed, deciding Isaac needed a bit of comfort right now. After a few minutes, he let go of her, and she sat him on her lap.

"Thank you, little one. That was very sweet of you." Double smiled.

'You helped me.' Isaac wrote, and a few more things fell into place; he was thankful for her kindness, and because to him, she had saved his life. He saw her as both a source of protection and of comfort.

She understood Aeon's affection for this human child. In spite of her own prejudice towards the human race, little Isaac was truly melting her heart, and she actually rather loved the warm feelings he brought out of her.

It was a first for her in many ways as she cared for the child. Never before had she so freely loved a human and received so much love in return. She had never known that humans were capable of such selfless love.

Yes, she had saved him, and had provided for him, but that was not the reason he was displaying this sheer amount of adoration towards her. All of his love came simply from the small things she did. Things like holding him, comforting him, being there for him...

In a sense, this was love. Isaac was an angel, both literally and metaphorically. One small incident which she couldn't hold against him aside, he had done nothing to irritate her, and had done everything she asked without question, almost like he wanted to make her happy. Well, he certainly was.

"Well, little Isaac. I hope you like your new home, because you're not leaving it any time soon." Double smiled, and Isaac let out what she now associated a joyful squeak with. It sounded something like a laugh, or a cry of delight, either way, it was clear he was happy. "You'll be staying here with me for the time being, and I'll take good care of you, little one." She knew Isaac knew all this, but there was something about saying it now that felt... different. As if this was more sincere, more real, more affectionate, or something along those lines.

'Maybe it really is the little things that make life enjoyable,' Double silently mused. The smallest actions seemed to have the biggest impact with Isaac as seen with his pjs. Just having his own clothing back gave him a sense of comfort... a sense of home.

Smiling softly, she took a seat on the bed and holds him close, absentmindedly rubbing his bald little head as she reflected on something else that had happened in his past that made her drop the smile. He really was so starved for love that he would take what he was given... His own (non-possessed) mother literally gave him dog droppings as a birthday gift, which he had actually kept in a little box as it was still something from his mother. She would... need to convince him to throw that away, but that was besides the point.

At least she had managed to wrap that particular box in plastic wrap and duct tape. Closing her eyes, she started to think of what would be good for his birthday... which she just now realized she didn't know when that was. Her eyes slowly opened in a mild panic, thankfully unnoticed by Isaac as he snuggled into her arms.

'I can always ask him later.' Double mused, sitting comfortably on the bed as Isaac rested in her arms. She cast a glance over to the window, she hadn't been paying much attention to the time, and now saw that it was evening. Today had been a big day, at least of Isaac, as he was finally able to put so many of his nightmares behind him, for good. The monsters were gone, ironically defeated by what one could easily (and justifiably) call an even bigger monster. But this monster, as it was turning out, had a heart, and she was finding out herself just how much good a small little boy like Isaac could do for someone like her.

Did he even know when his birthday was? He' was still so very young, too young to fully understand the concept of date, and it didn't seem like a day to look forward to for him... Then she realized that Aeon could probably tell her.

Closing her eyes, Double began to compose a prayer in her mind, hoping that Lady Aeon wasn't to busy to respond. However, before she could even mutter a word, a calendar appeared in her mind's eye. One of the days had been circled several times with red ink and a doodle of a birthday cake had been drawn on it as well.

There was even a small list ot things Isaac enjoyed, particularly his favourite birthday meals and flavour of cake. Double's smile widened. "Ah yes... A very simple matter... Quite surprising this child enjoys vegetables so much..."

Still, if he enjoyed it, she wouldn't stop him. He needed to have a healthy diet, lest his body practically cave in on itself. That wasn't to say she didn't want him to abstain from anything sweet, but she was thankful to know having him eat vegetables wouldn't be too big an issue, if an issue at all. Well, she still had a little bit of time before his birthday, but it was approaching nonetheless.

It occurred to her now that Isaac probably should have something to eat, as humans needed to eat at least three times a day. She debated leaving Isaac in his room to unwind and then bringing up his meal, but she felt like she couldn't leave him here, she wanted him to be with her, and she couldn't say why.

She picked him up and smiled down at him gently. "Shall I cook you some steamed vegetables, then?" Isaac perked right up at that. She smiled. And she thought kids naturally hated healthy snacks.

'Then again,' a small part of her mind whispered, 'he could just be grateful to have anything at all to eat.' She shook her head to banish the angry voice before, as she walked, returning to the list she had been given. The only snag she could see was the cake, unfortunately baking confectionaries was her one culinary weakness and it always seemed to blow up in her face.

And yes, that waa very literal. She shuddered as she remembered that one time she was forced to bake the cake for a wedding that was to be held in the church. She was covered in so much batter she was the catalyst for an urban legend.

The kitchen was even worse off after it had happened with batter on the floor, walls, and even the ceiling. There had even been a perfect outline of herself on one wall where she had futilely cover her face to block the worst of it. Thankfully the cake had turned out perfect in the end, but it still had take taken forever to fully clean up afterwards.

Well, either she could practice, or pay someone else to make it, those were both viable options in their own rights. Double carried Isaac down to the kitchen and held him in one arm as she set a pot on the stove and turned on the eye. Filling it with water, she leaned against the counter and smiled down at Isaac and waited for the water to start boiling.

Opening the freezer, she took out a bag of frozen vegetables and opened it, pouring it all into the pot and covering it. "There." She nodded. "Now, we wait."

She stood by idly as the pot of vegetables cooked and smiled nostalgically as she remembered her earliest attempts at cooking and the destruction they had left behind...

Oh, the trinity had made her life miserable after the fact. Lamia scolded and lectured her like a disappointed mother, Venus teased her about it at any opportunity, and Venus had not laughed that hard since the last time she went out and about in the winter.

'Foul white evil from the skies,' her luck with snow could only be called abysmal. After so many incidents of sliding on random patches of ice only to be trapped in a snowbank, suddenly struck by a falling mass of snow from a roof or awning, or even being covered by the spray of a snow plow she had come to despise the defining trait of winter. In fact she often considered cooking up an excuse and retreating somewhere more tropical for the season, but that was before she had her animals and she couldn't leave them alone for months on end just to escape the snow.

And it was autumn now, so it was just around the corner... She sighed softly and shook her head, remembering that she now had a child, and children happen to enjoy snow very much... Oh dear, this winter waa going to be dreadful...

"You think if we promise to back off a bit, Snow Miser would take it easy on the storms?" Aeon asked, having the same thought as Double did.

"Like, not a chance..." Venus groaned. "If anything, he'd say yes, and then just tone it down so little that like, it wouldn't make a difference. But he could claim it had."

"Urgh, fair." Aeon sighed. "I guess Double will just have to deal with that then, and everything that comes with it." She said the last part with a smirk, clearly enjoying the concept/imagery that conjured more than she probably should.

Double shook her head to try and banish those thoughts, 'No, no I need to think positive thoughts! If I start to dwell on the worst case scenario I'll be miserable before winter even gets here. Who knows, maybe we'll have a mild winter this year and the snow will be light.'

She sighed and smiled down at Isaac, who seemed to have noticed her change in demeanour and was currently tilting his head with a curious expression on his face. She set him in her lap and gently rubbed his head.

"It's nothing important, little one, I just remembered that my least favorite season of the year is just around the corner." He tilted his head to the other side with an unspoken question clear in his eyes. Double sighed and held him close, "I'm not a fan of winter, I always have the worst luck when the snow starts to fall."

He simply blinked, then nodded in understanding. Double smiled and took a deep breath before l staring at the boiling pot as she kept Isaac held close to her chest.

There was something about Isaac snuggling up against her that just felt right. He seemed so happy just by being close to her, and that was something she didn't fully understand. All Isaac was doing was being held close to her, but that seemed to make him happy. Double thought some things over, and then a new thought came to her.

'If Lady Aeon was Isaac's mother in another timeline, is that what he sees me as?' She asked herself. His previous comments suddenly made a bit more sense, as did his overall demeanour. Was he seeing her as his mother? A mother which didn't hurt him? She didn't want to ask, she wanted to let him come to his conclusions on his own.

Controlling her heartbeat she sets it to a slow and soothing rhythm and soon has Isaac completely relaxed in her arms. With a warm, genuine smile Double stretched her tendrils upstairs to grab one of his stuffed animals and a blanket. Isaac let out an adorable sound not unlike a cat purring as he snuggled his toy while she wrapped him in the blanket.

She found herself chuckling mirthfully. Then something entered the room, and she sighed softly as she realized that the little escape artist kitten had emerged again, and this time with friends: a rabbit, a little budgie, and Oreo, all of which were eager to visit their mistress.

The animals let out soft cries when she looked their way and she couldn't bring herself to be angry with them. With an amused sigh, she stretched out a tendril to scoop them up, "I'm guessing you," she lightly booped the cat's nose as they get close to her, "are the ringleader behind this little escape as usual." The cat just let out a soft mewl before licking her finger.

Oreo seemed to be first to notice Isaac, and seemed to look back-and-forth between him and Double, as if asking if this was food or a friend.

"Well, I may as well introduce you all to our new guest." Double remarked. She didn't know if the animals understood her, but they certainly reacted, so she assumed they knew to an extent. "This, is little Isaac. He will be living here from hereon out. "I do ask you give him space, as he has been through much more than a child his age, or any age, really, should've gone through."

Of course, these were animals, and so they had no idea what she had even said, so of course they didn't obey her. All four of them went right up to Isaac and began to express their curiousity.

Despite herself, she smiled as they curiously approached the child in her arms. Without prompting, the child held out his hand for the curious animals to sniff. Double's smile widened as the cat nuzzled his hand.

The cat made himself comfortable cuddled up against Isaac's side. The rabbit lightly poked at his side with her nose. Oreo perched himself atop his head and lightly prodded at his face with his little raccoon hands. And the little bird perched atop his shoulder and lightly nipped at his ear in an affectionate manner.

Double sighed softly, "Since these three have spoiled the surprise I should tell you about the animals under my care." Isaac's eyes opened a little wider to show her that he was paying attention, but they grew wider as she told him about the numerous animals she had taken in over the years. Excitedly he pointed at the kitten before waving his hand around at the room, "Yes Isaac, there are entire rooms full of cats, and bunnies, and birds within the basement."

The news seemed to excite Isaac, and he looked up to her hopefully. Double smiled and patted his head, lowering him somewhat so the animals could get a better look at him and vice versa.

"Later tonight I'll take you down so you can meet the other animals, would you enjoy that?" Double asked, and Isaac nodded happily. "Very well then, later tonight I'll take you down there."

For now, the animals were all crowding around Isaac, all curious as to who the newcomer was, and they all seemed happy to meet him.

"Very good then. I will take you down to see the rest of my pets after you've eaten." Double assured the little boy gently, giving him a gentle pat on the back because she didn't want to disturb the raccoon atop his head.

There was something odd about a raccoon and a little boy bonding like they were, but Double couldn't put her finger on it. Furthermore, she rather liked it, so she had no intention of disturbing it. Isaac seemed awfully curious as to what Oreo was, and the other animals seemed equally curious as to if Isaac was a friend. From what they could tell, yes.

Oreo had finished inspecting Isaac for the time being, and opted to curl up atop his tiny head like a little coonskin cap. Double smiled and gently stroked the raccoon's head. Of course now tne other three also wanted a pet from her as well.

She smiled and took a minute to pet all the present animals, knowing if she missed one of them, they would let her know she had missed one of them. Her attention turned back to the stove and she took the boiling vegetables off of the eye, knowing it was easy to overcook them, and she didn't intend to make that mistake.

Soon enough, Isaac's meal was ready. She shut the stove off and used a ladle to scoop up some of the freshly cooked veggies before setting them inside a small bowl, knowing he needed small helpings for now so his little tummy could adjust. "Go on, eat up." Double smiled and Isaac happily began to eat. From the way his eyes seemed to shine, Double assumed correctly he was enjoying it. He had no complaints about it, and simply seemed to be happy to have something decent to eat for once. She was still astounded that this was his favourite food, though. Just basic steamed vegetables... Not that that was a bad thing, he would at the very least remain healthy and well nourished, so that was good.

He ate quietly, Double once more trying to think of ways to help him communicate with her and others. He could write, so that was an option, and probably what he'd be using for a bit or until she could think of something better. 'Well, he seems happy at least.' Double thought. Soon enough, the bowl was licked completely clean. Double tilted her head with a small smile. "Goodness, someone was certainly hungry..." Isaac blushed slightly. Smiling, Double picked him up. "Now, shall we go and see our animals?" Isaac nodded eagerly.

She roose to her feet and began her trip downstairs. "I understand there is no replacing your beloved cat companion, my dear. However, there are still plenty of cats here for you to interact with, and many other types of pet as well... Your cat will always hold a special place in yout heart, but in time, the animals here will as well..." Isaac gave her a brittle, but hopeful, smile and reached out his arms so he could hug her and Double gladly held him close to return the embrace. Double spent a few minutes just holding Isaac and comforting him, letting him know that everything was okay. Eventually Isaac leaned back from her hold and Double wiped away a few stray tears falling down his face, "Feeling better now, my child?"

Isaac nodded his head slowly, and she saw him trying to convey something through his body language. He did little bowing motions, and she found herself wondering just what this little boy was doing. Then she heard the giggle of Aeon. "That's how he says thank you when he doesn't have any paper available."

"Ah. You're welcome, Isaac." Double smiled. "Come, I think you'll like the downstairs room."

Holding Isaac close, Double made her way down a flight of stairs to what was once an empty room, a room even those who built the cathedral didn't know what it was used for. Apparently, it was accidentally built on top of everything else. Well, Double used it for her animal friends, so she figured it served a purpose. Opening the door, she noted with a small smirk how Isaac seemed to react wit awe and wonder at all the animals.

"These animals come from the streets." Double explained as she entered. "All of them, much like you, sought sanctuary in these walls, and have made good company for me in the past few months. Hopefully they will be as good to you as they have been to me."

He looked around with a wide-eyed, excited expression as he observed the room fillled with animals of all shapes and sizes.

They were mostly felines, rabbits, and song birds, but there was other creatures such as ferrets and the odd turtle. With a flourish Double waved her arm as she presented the room to Isaac, "Everyone you see in here was rescued either off the streets or from abusive owners. In fact it's not too much different from how we met," she lightly booped his nose.

Isaac's eyes widened at this, and he looked over the crowd of animals with a slightly teary look on his face as his own life came back to him. Double looked at him, and she could tell what he was thinking... The boy was empathizing with her pets. Their pain made him sad.

"Aw, it's all right, little Isaac." Double smiled. "They're all happy here, and they're well taken care of here, I see to it myself."

Isaac looked up at her, curiously, his eyes saddened, but changed to listening, and then understanding. Giving his caretaker a nod, Isaac looked back around the room, taking in the animals once more. There was something so enthralling to him, as if he had just walked into a large zoo.

Double kissed the top of his head and cuddled him close, "Never lose that kind heart of your's, Isaac. This world desperately needs people with empathy." Isaac nodded his head and held up a pinky to her for a pinky promise.

She cocked her head to the side, not entirely understanding this gesture. Aeon explained it. "It's a pinky promise. Just a cute little thing children do to establish promises with one another. All you have to do is intertwine your pinky with his." Slightly baffled by this odd ritual, Double complied, looping her own pinky around Isaac's.

While she still didn't quite get it, the smile Isaac gave her made it all worthwhile. Hugging him close, Double kissed Isaac on his forehead, "Now then, we have lots of new friends to introduce you to today." Hoping to start off small, she decided to start off with the songbirds, a group that was mostly parakeets and budgies that had escaped and couldn't find their way home before coming into her care.

Negligence was what it was. Pure negligence. Evidently their owners got bored and stopped paying attention to their birds, prompting them to escape. She reached through the bars and gently scratched her favourite bird under the chin.

The budgie was a bright and cheery little thing that answered to the name Mango, and with their plumage the name certainly fit. With a pinkish red face and a bright yellow body. Holding out a single finger for the bird to hop onto, she slowly pulled him closer to introduce him to Isaac.

The little bird tweeted and tilted his head left and right as he looked over Isaac. The young boy slowly, carefully reached over and gently rubbed his finger over the bird's head. Mango tweeted merrily and gave Isaac a series of friendly little love nips that tickled his nose.

Isaac giave a quite giggle and nuzzled Mango's beak with his nose. As though waiting for a signal, several other birds flapped over to introduce themselves to Isaac. Double shook her head in amusement at the curious and excited creatures as they merrily chirped and sang for the boy.

He smiled brightly as they perched all over him, some on his shoulders and arms, others atop his little head. He smiled as he stood as still as a statue, not wanting to disturb his new friends as they inspected him.

Double began to properly introduce him to each bird as she pointed to them before telling him their names. Each bird would hop into his view as they were called before giving him a nuzzle only to be replaced with a new bird as they stepped aside. Double's eye twitched as she reached the twelfth bird, 'We're going to be at this for a while.'

Still, she felt pride for her collection of colourful avians. They' were well trained and obedient to the point that they recognized their names and how to form a nice, properly organized line. She found it... cute? Yes, it was quite cute.

She let out a quiet sigh while wishing that she had a camera at that moment. It felt like such a waste to her to let a moment like this slip by. Meanwhile Isaac was happily petting birds as they were introduced him.

She heard the sound of Aeon and Venus giggling inside her head. "Aww... He loves his little birdie friends..." Aeon cooed. Venus, meanwhile, chose to tease Double for her taste in pet names.

"You sure pick out some cutesy names, huh, Double?"

Double didn't even think about it as she replied,'Cute creatures should have cute names as well.' Although the number of animals she had personally named was greatly outweighed by the number that had been named by their former owners. A mostly white bird by the name of Marshmallow was one such rescue.

She frowned slightly at the birds name. 'Marshmallow is certainly cute, but if it had been my decision, he would have been named Snowflake... Whitey is a much puffier white bird that would have fit the name Marshmallow better...' The two goddesses were amazed at Double's ability to multitask as she introduced Isaac to the birds while internally rambling about her pets names at the exact same time.

Venus turned to her sister and shrugged, "I guess it makes sense considering she has been running that massive cathedral by herself. You can't do that alone without some serious multitasking ability."Aeon nodded her head while scratching her parasite Khronos under his chin.

The two goddesses watched over their loyal servant as she finished the bird introductions, and Aeon let out a wistful sigh. "How I wish to personally experience the timeline where I am the kne to raise him..."

Venus gave her a sad smile and wrapped her arm around her sister's shoulders, "Hey at least you can see him whenever you want, plus you know that he is in good hands. Double will take good care of him, and we'll be there to nudge her along if she gets stuck." Aeon nodded her head, but still turned to look at a screen she had permanently set to her own timeline with Isaac.

She sighed wistfully. "I no longer wish to destroy the human race. In fact, I would very much like to visit them, and walk among them, at least for a short while... And then I can see Double and Isaac face to face for the very first time..."

Venus gave her a squeeze, "Maybe someday sis, but we are kinda stuck outside of reality at the moment. Can't really go visit them if we can't find the door." The problem was that not even their mother was sure if there was a way back, at least not with the gods ready to drop on them like an angry mountain if they so much as poked their heads on Earth.

"Hmm... I do hate this probation they have put us under. They're so much more reasonable in the timeline where I'm Isaac's mother... Oh, look, Venus! She's introducing him to the fox! She's my favourite!" Aeon cooed.

Double moved on next to Oreo and a reddish-brown fox she had taken to calling 'Cider'. Oreo was completely used to Isaac now, even though they hadn't met more than two minutes ago, but Cider seemed apprehensive. Much like the wounded kitten, Double wasn't sure if she and this particular animal had connected yet, or if Cider only tolerated her because it meant free food.

The fox looked at Isaac and let out a quiet whine. New smells made her nervous. The tiny human was unfamiliar to her.

Isaac looked, and waved to the fox as if that would fix every problem there was. Double still wasn't sure why Cider stuck around, and she would be lying if she said she wasn't nervous about the fox being around some of the other animals, even in a separate enclosure, but from the scars it had when it entered, ti was clear it hadn't had the easiest life. It was either abused by people, or mangled by some predator, and it seemed indifferent to the other animals, either sleeping, or disappearing for long periods of time, only showing up when food was put out. Oreo seemed to be the only animal she tolerated, but even then, it was hard to tell what she was feeling. In a backwards way, Oreo and Cider reflected Double presently, one was cold and cut off, and the other was somewhat awkward, but doing its best to be friendly, and was trying to help someone who had clearly been hurt.

"Hm, if Cider isn't in a friendly mood, don't blame yourself, little Isaac." Double remarked. "She isn't the friendliest of animals on any given day."

The fox let out what seemed like a low growl and approached, it's head low and ears back. Cider didn't bare her teeth, and Isaac seemed fearless towards it. It raised its head and sniffed Isaac from a distance, before turning and walking away, its tail whipping the air. Isaac seemed saddened, and Oreo rubbed up against him in a comforting gesture.

Double smiled sadly. "As I said, she is not friendly... Hmm... Perhaps it would be better to just show you the rabbits, would you like that?" Isaac perked up.

The first to be introduced was a snow white angora and Isaac could only gaze in awe at its fluffiness. Double chuckled as she fed the basketball sized mound of fluff some lettuce, "I had the same look on my face the first time I met her as well. She's even softer than she looks and the only ones that can match her are the chinchillas."

The rabbit finished the lettuce, and looked up at her owner with expectant eyes. Double gently petted the small creature's fur and held Isaac down. "Now, just hold out your hand, and let her sniff it so she can get to know you..."

Isaac slowly held out his hand so he didn't spook the bunny. Double's smile widened as Isaac's eyes lit up with joy as the bunny nuzzled his hand after a brief sniff. Within seconds, the rabbit was making happy little noises as Isaac scratched behind her ears.

Double set Isaac down gently and watched as the bunnies swarmed him and began to curiously sniff at him. The nun clasped her hands at her front and smiled as the child tried his best to make sure every little critter got a turn for pets.

Thankfully the bunnies were much more patient than the birds. They were content to sniff Isaac to sate their curiosity until their turn for cuddles came up. Currently Isaac was petting a pair of twins, one was mostly white with a black spot on his head while the other was mostly black with a white spot on their head.

"Ah yes, Speck and Dot..." Double introduced softly, scratching behind Speck's ear gently. Isaac did the same for Dot, and they were rewarded for giving the rabbits attention with them happily thumping the ground with their feet.

Isaac excitedly clapped his hands as the two began to make happy honking sounds. Double softly chuckled and rubbed his head, "Yes, they are quite adorable when they are excited just like you are." Back in their hidden dimension Aeon was doing her best not to try and jump through the screen to get to Isaac.

Venus herself smiled, she had been a little apprehensive when Aeon first took little Isaac as her own, but had quickly warmed o the little boy's charms. Intentional or not, he was a delightful source of entertainment and of compassion. He had followed Aeon and herself around wordlessly, almost as if he was doing it because it was expected of him. He had been so timid and shy, but also wanted to do whatever was asked of him, which was usually Aeon asking him to wear something, and he seemed more than happy too.

Back below, Isaac was enamoured with the rabbits' fur, softly and gently petting it like he would pet Guppy, Isaac felt the rabbits lean into his petting, and that was a sign to him that he was doing a good job. Usually, if Guppy purred or leaned into his pets, it meant the cat was happy, so he assumed it was the same thing here, but for rabbits.

'He seems... gifted, with animals.' Double mused to herself. 'He's barely met them, and they've already formed a sort of bond. Is it because he's a child? Perhaps, but it feels like there's something more.'

After the rabbits, Isaac found himself swarmed by a clowder of purring cats, finding himself buried under friendly felines. Next, Double introduced him to another of her more exotic creatures, a chinchilla. Isaac could only look on in awe at the cloud soft animal in his hands.

He clearly had no idea what this little furry thing was, but it seemed to captivate him nonetheless. He slowly patted it, feeling the fur push down against his hard, finding out it was very fluffy. He looked up to Double curiously, and then back at the small animal.

"That's a chinchilla." Double said, and Isaac blinked, the word being new to him.

The little mouse-like creature was much shyer than the other pets, and was visibly trembling in the unfamiliar hold. Double frowned as she remembers the condition she had taken her in. Her original owner had no idea how to raise a chinchilla.

For one thing the fool had left her far too small cage in the sun during the middle of summer with barely any shade to speak of. Then they had been forcing the poor dear to stay awake during the day and played with her far too roughly. Double had broken into their house and stolen their chinchilla. She had just put on a ski mask and busted in without bothering to disguise herself. There had been rumours of a blob monster in a ski mask in the area...

Isaac seemed a bit unsure with the tiny rodent, and this pleased her immensely. He clearly had great love for animals, enough so that he was very mindful and cautious about potentially hurting them. "Here... I will show you the proper way to handle her."

She slowly cradled the delicate creature to her chest, "You were doing very well, Isaac, but remember to be very careful when you hold her. Her ribs could break very easily." Isaac nodded his head seriously while she slowly stroked the tiny creature in her arms to soothe her.

A few minutes later, she gently passed the small rodent over to Isaac, who now held her like Double had. While the chinchilla was still nervous, it did seem tad bit calmer when Isaac held her the second time. Isaac was also clearly taking great strives to not harm the small rodent, and clearly wanted to ensure it was safe and happy. Double nodded in affirmation that he was doing it properly, and the little boy smiled.

"You like, ever think about getting a pet?" Venus asked, looking to her sister.

"Yeah, I've thought about it. Maybe a turtle, or a dog, or a lemur, but where are we going to get one now? We can't exactly go anywhere." Aeon nodded.

"Uuggghhh... riiiiight." Venus moaned.

"There, she seems much more relaxed." Double nodded, noting the chinchilla's body language was still nervous tension, but was gradually warming up to the small boy holding her.

The little mouse-like creature nudged Isaac's fingers with her nose, and she smiled warmly. "I adore the creatures of this world... They are so very fascinating... Each one has their own character, their very own story to tell..."

She carefully scratched behind her ears, "Unfortunately for many creatures it's not a happy story to tell. Maybe they just had bad luck in who their owner turned out to be, or maybe they were an idiot who wanted an exotic pet but didn't do the research on how to care for them." That was something she had unfortunately seen more than once, but the worst was when she rescued a lion, a bear, and a tiger that some drug lord had kept in far too small cages as pets. Thankfully last she had heard they were still together and doing very well at the wildlife sanctuary that she had taken them to.

And the drug lord tasted absolutely delicious. His liver went very nicely with some fava beans and a nice chianti... She would have to make sure Isaac never witnessed her feeding on the world's scum though.

Isaac nodded in understanding, probably thinking that this was something he knew about. Double felt odd about hiding some of her actions from little Isaac, almost as if by doing so she was lying to him, and after all she had done to help him, she didn't feel right lying to him like that.

'Still, it can be reasoned I'm lying to him to keep him out of harm's way.' She thought, and nodded. Double could live with that. Sure, she would probably rev3al some of this to Isaac in the future, but he was so little, and he had been through enough, it was better to let him have SOME childhood innocence left.

While it had been more of a spur of the moment decision, and she didn't want to have to clean up blood in the main sanctuary, eating the husk that had been his mother with him mere feet away had been a little much. Even if he had been behind a pillar at the time, she would need to be a little more discreet in the future. While sometimes it was just for the best to make certain individuals vanish entirely, she didn't want him to witness her full monstrous form just yet, or ever if she could help it.

After the hellish experience this poor child had suffered, he did not need to experience anything that even bared a passing resemblance to a demon. And as much as she hated to make the comparison, she herself could come off as quite demonic...

Although she was actually more of an eldritch creature from outside of reality at Isaac's age the differences didn't matter. All he would see is a mass of tentacles covered in eyes and spikes, and he wouldn't be able to equate her to anything other than a demon. She pulled herself away from her thoughts and crouched down beside Isaac, "Why don't you try petting her again while I'm holding her?"

Isaac nodded, handing the small rodent over to Double. Once the Nun took the chinchilla, it seemed to noticeably relax, something about knowing the one holding it, or something along those lines, Double assumed. Isaac slowly petter the small animals, taking great care to try to not disturb it more than he may have unintentionally already done.

"There, that's better." Double smiled. The small rodent seemed much more content, and Double noted she'd need to show Isaac a few things about handling the animals. IT was clear he wasn't acting maliciously, but the last thing she wanted was Isaac accidentally hurting the animals.

Smiling, Double retrieved a bag of dried rose hips from a nearby cabinet with a tendril, "Why don't you try offering her a treat? I think she's earned one for being so good." Isaac smiled as she carefully tapped a single treat into his outstretched hands.

He held it out for the tiny rodent. She sniffed at it for a moment, then tentatively took it from his hands with her little rodent hands. Holding it as she stood up, she nibbled at it slowly, looking curiously at Isaac as she did so.

Double smiled and strokef her head with a single finger, "Now that you aren't scared to look at him, Rosie, this is Isaac. He will be living here at the church with us from now on. In fact he was in a similar situation to you and several others when he arrived here." Rosie tilted her head as Isaac brought a finger close to her before nuzzling it as she contently chewed on her treat.

Isaac let out a happy sound and slowly stroked the chinchilla's head, Double nodded in positive affirmation, wanting to ensure he knew he was doing it right.

"Yes, yes. Just like that." The Nun nodded. "There we are, see? He isn't so bad, Rosie." While the chinchilla didn't seem fully convinced, it was far, far more accepting of Isaac's pets this time.

Isaac smiled brightly with sparkling eyes, and Double beamed in content at how happy he was. That light glimmer in his eyes meant the world to her after seeing how utterly broken and shadowed over his eyes were when she first saw him.

It was still faint, but the fact that it was there at all was a genuine miracle. Double slowly held Rosie out to him, "Now then, why don't you try holding her again? She knows you a little better now."

Isaac slowly held out his hands, and the chinchilla clamberex on, studying him closely as he kept her carefully cupped in his palms. He smiled at her, and then she started to climb up his arm, and eventually onto his shoulder.

Rosie settled down onto his shoulder and let out what sounded like a tiny sigh of contentment, clearly okay with this new person.

"My, you seem to have a way with all manner of creatures, Little Isaac." Double mused, and Isaac tilted his head, clearly not fully getting what she was getting at. "Oh, don't you worry about it, dear. It's nothing."

Isaac nodded and sat where he was, looking around the room as Rosie occasionally moved slightly, trying to get comfortable.

Isaac's smile widened as Rosie started to nuzzle his cheek while making happy squeaking noises. Double felt a warmth grow in her chest as that spark in his eyes started to burn a little brighter. However, she was snapped back to reality by an insistent meow followed by its feline owner wrapping around her legs.

Double sighed in exasperation and looked down at the demanding feline with a disapproving frown. "Honestly, why is it so difficult for you to just wait your turn?" She said sternly. The cat responded with a very whiny meow.

She scoffed as she stared down at the feline, "I was down her only a scant few hours ago." Even so she still reached down to scratch the needy feline under their chin. As if waiting for their cue the rest of the clowder began to close in on her and Isaac.

Double exhaled deeply in exasperation. "Come now, you know very well it stresses out Rosie when you swarm like this." She scolded. The chinchilla in question squeaked softly in agreement, standing on her hind legs and holding Isaac's cheek with her paws.

Isaac carefully placed one of his hands protectively on the chinchilla as he looked at the encroaching felines. Frowning, Double quickly launched a tendril to retrieve something, "That's enough, all of you wait your turn or else." She raised her newly retrieved spray bottle high for all to see.

All the cats (minus one, which Double really didn't understand, and honestly believed it was either brain damaged, or simply liked to laugh at the face of God) backed up apprehensively, all knowing and fearing the power of the fury rain. None of them liked it, it was an attack that was so subtle and quick, that none of them could possibly avoid it, so they all collectively backed away. Aside from that weird one which simply walked forward and rubbed against her leg.

"I don't get you." She admitted.

"Meow."

"What ARE you...?"

"Meow."

"Fine." Double sighed, reaching down and scratching the confused kitten behind the ears. It purred happily and leaned into the contact.

Isaac tilted his head at the spray bottle and Double gave him a smile. "Cats despise being wet." Isaac nodded in understanding, remembering the time Guppy got caught in the rain.

When his eyes grew sad, Double could easily guess his thoughts, and smoothly scooped him up in her arms. Holding him to her shoulder, she patted his back "Shh, it's ok Isaac, Guppy is in a much better place now. To to run, climb, and play to his heart's content."

On the other side, Aeon and Venus exchanged glances. "So uh... which one of the cats out there is Guppy, anyway?" Venus asked. Aeon pointed out a nearby window.

"That one." There was a small tuxedo cat playing with a low hanging tree leaf outside.

"Aww." Venus smiled.

"Yeah, I kinda wish I could send him back... Isaac misses him so badly..."

"And his Mom killed him?"

"Pretty much, yeah. She believed some God was telling her to kill him and Isaac." Aeon frowned, clearly disgusted by those memoires. Venus blinked and shook her head, she knew Isaac's life was messed up, but... wow.

"In every timeline, does Isaac suffer so much?" Venus asked, somewhat curiously, but mostly wanting to know if Isaac ever got a happy ending.

"Most of them, yes." Aeon sighed. "In one I save him, in others he's saved by a demon or a ballerina. Somewhere exists a world where he was loved by his mother, but this sadly isn't one."

Aeon smiled softly. "But the overwhelming majority of the timelines, he is saved and loved..."

Venus smiled as Guppy lazily batted at the leaf with his forepaws, "Good, don't interrupt the moment, but let Double know that Guppy is doing great." Aeon nodded,."

He was kind of a shoo in since he died trying to protect Isaac. He even fought off what I'm pretty sure was a possessed dog in the process."

Aeon nodded her head and smiled out at the cat. "One day, you two will be reuninted, Isaac... Guppy is right here waiting for you." Back in the living world, Rosie seemed to catch on to Isaac's sadness and gently nudged him with her nose.

Isaac blinked away a few tears before turning his head to look at her and gave her a tiny smile. Double placed a kiss on his forehead before brushing away his remaining tears, "It seems like you've made a new friend." Isaac turned his head towards her and his smile got just a little bit wider.

Double felt a sense of warmth and relief upon seeing that. Something about Isaac's smile was so reassuring, as if it was always genuine, and couldn't be fakes, therefore, whenever e smiled, eh was genuinely happy. Or something like that, Double found she was having trouble putting into words what exactly it was about Isaac's little reactions that she enjoyed so much, but she also didn't feel a need to question what made her happy. Especially if Isaac was happy, she had a feeling Aeon would want it that way.

'If this is what guardianship over little Isaac will be like, I think I'm rather looking forward to this task.' Double mused.

She nodded with a smile and gently scratched Rosie behind her ears. "Your friendship will last many years, my young friend... You will befriend many of the creatures in this room, and many more will come...and go..."

Isaac wasn't totally sure what Double was getting at, but her words felt reassuring nonetheless. There was something about the way she spoke, the calm tone, or the wisdom that seemed to come from every word, but Isaac listened intently, nodding and accepting her words as truth. Double had no reason to lie to him, not that he knew that, but regardless, everything she said had a soothing, wise mentor feel to it.

She was a woman of the church, after all. They always knew way more than other people did... They had the wisdom of their lords and protectors after all. Though he did wonder who the three pretty ladies on the staining glass windows were...

He wanted to ask Double, but at the same time, he was enjoying the animals, and her presence, so he didn't feel any big rush to ask. Double meanwhile, simply sat back and let Isaac interact with the chinchilla, keeping an eye on the mass of cats who all wanted attention/affection. If there was one thing that could be a little annoying about cats, it was that they could be very needy, and not because they genuinely needed help, but because they believed themselves to be above all. Granted, they were also really cute, so Double didn't mind in the slightest, but still.

She made sure not to take her eyes off them for even a fraction of a second. This was an easy task as she simply formed a third giant eye on the back of her hear as she gave most of her attention to Isaac and Rosie.

The little boy seemed rather relaxed, seeming content and happy wit where he was now. Double smiled, his happiness was contagious, the animals seemed to be in better spirits just by being around him, it was like he had some sort of magic about him.

"Well, you seem rather happy." Double smiled, and Isaac nodded. He signed something, and then they both realized neither could understand what Isaac was signing. Double frowned, noting she'd need to figure out a way he could write down what his gestures meant so she could learn what he was saying.

Isaac was trying to convey that he was happy, but he didn't quite know proper sign language, and as such had no idea what the proper way to do it was. So he was just sort of waving one of his arms about.

Double understood the jist of it though, and smiled at Isaac in return. By now, Rosie seemed to want to return to her cage, and climbed onto Double's hand. This allowed the small chinchilla to relax somewhat, and allowed the mass of cats to finally meet Isaac, and by 'meet' it meant more 'bury him alive under fur and curious sniffing'. Isaac didn't mind in the slightest, he loved cats, so having a bunch of them all around him? It was great!

He let out several squeaks that were meant to be giggles as the purring felines covered him. Double smiled as she set Rosie back into her cage gently. She then stood by idly and clasped her hands in front of herself. Maybe it was because he was a cat person, maybe he smelled like food, or maybe it was because he was offering what all cats wanted and would fight for; attention, but all the cats seemed just fine with Isaac. Most of them were simply looking to be pet, and Isaac was more than happy to do that, even if it was a little hard petting the swarm of cats while practically buried under them. There were a few that kept their distance though, particularly the grumpy tom cat she had fed earlier that day. She let out a sigh through her nostrils. Oh, would that cat ever be open to being shown affection?

She wondered if Isaac would be able to reach the cat in a way she hadn't, but since it wasn't around, she didn't want to go try and force it to meet Isaac. Besides, he clearly had other things he was focused on, namely the pile of cats. He seemed right at home among the furry animals, and they all seemed right at home with him. She smirked to herself and shook her head. 'Any of those fools who say cats are incapable of love simply don't understand the proper way to interact with one... If treated with respect, they are very loving pets." Case in point, Isaac was now practically pinned to the ground, as a mound of fluffy, purring cats curled up all over him, essentially making a fur-blanket for him. Double knew she should pick him up at some point, but he seemed far too happy to disturb, plus she had a feeling Aeon would like the sight of her son(?) happy and buried under a pile of cats.

Aeon was watching the whole thing, and she was actually in tears at the sight of her happy child surrounded by kitties. "He's just do cute, it's not fair, I wanna hug and cuddle my little baby boy..." She whined. Venus smiled sadly, putting a hand on her sister's shoulder. Aeon had at one point (or was it another timeline, she couldn't remember) had been willing to give up all her power, her immortality, everything, just to be with Isaac, and she could tell her sister here was thinking the same thing. Unfortunately, since she was gifted that power due to... well, being killed, there really wasn't much she could do to act on this desire unless someone wishes for it on the dragon balls. But hey, she would unite with him when he died, as morbid as that was.

Also, she had a feeling Lord Beerus, Shenron and that other figure who used to hang around with the Z-Fighters would probably try and interfere with someone wishing her back. They weren't exactly huge fans of her or her family, and unlike them, Venus, Aeon and their Mother lacked the true powers of the other deities. Something they had learned in countless other timelines... so all she could do for now was watch her son with great interest, ensuring everything went as perfectly as it could for him.

Double was a very efficient caregiver. She was gentle, patient, attentive, and logical. Yet for some reason, she didn't seem to truly love Isaac yet. Which didn't make sense to het. Isaac was so loveable, even the emotionless Double should not be immund to his sweetness. Maybe it would just take more time, Aeon understood that motherhood didn't just... happen. Well, okay, it had fo her, and in more than a few timelines she had seen it had, but for Double, it kind of made sense. She wasn't used to love, or affection of pretty much any kind, aside from devotion and servitude. Still, Isaac seemed to be helping in some regard, he was helping bring her to a better place. She frowned to herself, feeling slightly bad for Double. She had never been taught about the emotions all sentient life experienced. As such, she didn't know how to deal with most emotions. Anger, she had forced herself to overcome, yet she had never shown happiness or sadness or fear or any of that...

Now that she thought about it, they had essentially made her that way. She was made to be a weapon, a tool to insinuate the next Skullgirl, and not much else. She was made to find victims, to get them to accept the power of the heart, and then wait until the next cycle to do it all again. She was never given a chance to have her own agenda, her own desires... Until their most recent skullgirl was defeated. That was when she discovered her buried love for animals and started keeping them in the cathedral. She wasglad to see their creation pick up a hobby. Still, she did feel a little bad knowing aside from talking to Double, they were effectively unable to do anything to assist her in any really meaningful way. They were cut off, and now left to deal with their choices and the consequences of their risks, and more importantly, their failings.

She decided that their punishment was more than deserved, as they were genuinely awful people that had done awful things to good people. Ever since that had become apparent, she had been harbouring such self loathing... Venus was somewhat indifferent, but she had come around quickly as well, but it took Mother far, far too long to finally let go of her plans and accept reality. Ironically those whom forced her to see this were those who existed outside of and controlled reality, but that was beside the point. Actually, it kinda was the point, as their power outclassed her's at every turn. Even a mortal teenager one of the Deities was merely friends with was powerful enough to give them trouble... 'Maybe I should just watch little Issac for now...' Aeon told herself, looking back to their reality.

Back below, Double sat next to the cat-pile Isaac was trapped under, occasionally reaching over and petting one of the cats, all of whom seemed to have had the same idea at the same time; sleep. Isaac was lying down among the crowd of kittens with a big happy smile, letting out the occasional silent giggle as the sleeping cats purred happily. Double had to smile at least a little at the cute sight. "Hm... one moment, dear." Double remarked, walking off for a second, then returned, slipping a small pillow under Isaac's head, letting him get more comfortable under his cat-blanket. "There we are."

Double wasn't sure what to do now... she didn't exactly have a job, per say, and she was done with her usual routine, so usually she'd go read or rest or something, but right now, she wasn't sure what to do. She wanted to ensure Isaac was safe and happy, and finally decided that waiting here was good enough for her. After all, waiting was what the overwhelming majority of her life consisted of, so what was the issue in waiting around just a little bit more? She stoor by vigilantly with her hands clasped together, watching Isaac rest. He didn't fall asleep, but he was clearly enjoying himself. It was about another hour before the cats all began to drift off to do... nothing, if Double was honest. They were cats, they didn't really have massive daily plans. The fact they had decided to meet Isaac was already a massive shift in their usual routines.

"Well, little Isaac, you seem to have had a big day." Double remarked. Isaac squeaked in response and reached up to her with his tiny hands. Smiling, she bent over and scooped him up gently, holding him up against her shoulder. "Yes, you have made many new friends today, haven't you?" Isaac nodded with a smile, and Double felt that warm feeling deep within her chest once more. She didn't fully understand it, but it felt nice... it was a warm feeling that she felt surrounding her, and from what she could tell it was surrounding Isaac as well. She figured it may be time for Isaac to go to bed, so she carried him over to his room.

She gently patted his back as he rested against her shoulder. He was getting sleepy... He had had a very big day, and even his naps hadn't been enough to fully ease his tiredness. But he really wanted his new caregiver to stay with him... Double wasn't telepathic, so she didn't pick up on this, so she put him to bed, with Guppy curling up next to him and she patted his head gently. "Good night, little Isaac." She smiled, before turning the lights out and leaving the room. Meanwhile, Aeon was screaming her lungs out into a pillow.

"Uh, Double?" Venus spoke up, getting the Nun's attention.

"Is...is Lady Aeon screaming?" Double blinked, hearing the muffled screams in the background.

"Yeah... like, maybe you should stay with the kid." Venus remarked. "I think he- hold on." She stopped, and Aeon heard something hitting something else. "Keep it down!" Venus yelled, then returned to Double. "Yeah, like, stay with the kid, okay?"

Double tilted her head to the side. "Very well... Why is Lady Aeon's reaction so powerful, if I may ask?" Venus shook her head and let out a deep sigh.

"For the first few months, he's gonna have nightmares if you're not there. You're basically his mom now, so only you can keep them away.

"Oh." Double blinked, that not having occurred to her for some reason. She knew Isaac was going to have nightmares, but she hadn't expected them to happen immediately, still, she guessed that made some sense, and returned to Isaac's room, sitting next to his bed. "Sleep well, little Isaac, you're safe now." She said quietly.

Isaac had been wearing an expression of anxious, timid fear that quickly changed into relief and joy at the sight of her return. He clapped his hands tiredly and reached up towards her before sleep overtook him. 'Okay, that was adorable.' Double admitted to herself, a bit surprised she admitted to it, but still, she could admit that something was cute. Her mind wandered back to what Venus had said, that essentially she was Isaac's mother now.. was that true? Sure, she was taking care of him, and helping him through all this, and showing him affection, and feeding him and- 'Huh, I really am his Mother, now aren't I?' She realized, blinking. 'But... no, I'm not. I'm just taking care of him, that's all.' Aeon continued screaming into a pillow.

"Ugghh... give it a rest, Aee." Venus groaned. "She's new to this, we didn't make her to be a mother, we made her to be a weapon, what do you expect!?" Aeon kept screaming for a moment, then said:

"My Isaac deserves better!"

"That's not your Isaac." Venus said flatly, then realized that was probably the wrong thing to say. Whoops. Aeon drooped and buried her face in the pillow. "Heeeeey... Come on now..." Venus tried to put a hand on her sister's shoulder. Aeon let out a muffled "Hmph!" and turned away from her. Venus smiled. "Want me to make you some cupcakes?"

"...Yes. With sprinkles." Venus smirked, and headed off towards the kitchen area of their home-prison-thing. Aeon cast a glance around the room, seeing the timeline where she was Isaac's mother, a timeline where the Medici girl was the little black-haired-boy's mother, and one where herself, Venus and Mother were talking to... Never mind. Since it wasn't related to Isaac, she didn't care.

Back below, Double took a moment to check, and nodded when she saw Isaac had fallen asleep. His soft breathing and closed eyes were hints, but she wasn't used to the whole 'sleeping' thing herself, and now had one question on her mind: 'What now?' She thought. She wasn't the bed, so she could get up and move about, but what was she supposed to do now? Isaac didn't seem to be having any bad dreams, but what would happen if she left? Would he then have bad dreams? How did this work? Lady Aeon and Lady Venus had made it clear that they wanted her to stay with Isaac, so she couldn't really go anywhere... Perhaps if she just lay down next to him in the bed... Nodding her head, she carefully slipped under the covers next to him.

She was surprised when Isaac seemed to immediately turn over and snuggle up next to her, as if she was a life line in a storm of darkness only he could see, and she was the only thing that could save him. But when she thought about it, she kind of was, at least in some small regard, she was this child's lifeline now. 'Well, might as well ensure that lifeline is secure.' She thought, wrapping an arm around Isaac and pulling him slightly closer to her. Isaac let out a squeak and nuzzled in closer to her chest. She watched over him as he slept soundly in her embrace. He was very very small... He fit so snugly into her arms, it was like a stuffed animal.

Double felt content, this was a feeling she kinda wished she had felt before, having this little ball of warmth held close? She liked it, it brought a sense of feeling to her she wasn't sure she had ever experienced before. Plus, Isaac was happy, so she was doing her duty. The way she saw it, there were two good things to come out of this new position she found herself in. She opened her eyes just a crack, allowing an ominous red glow to shine down on the sleeping boy so she could see him better. He looked so... peaceful, sleeping soundly in her arms and clutching at her habit with his tiny fists. He was such a gentle little boy, it was clear all he wanted was someone to show him some affection, and now, that's what she was doing, right? Right. She looked to Isaac, then looked up at the ceiling thinking to herself. Well, she was here now, Isaac was holding onto her and asleep, so there wasn't much she could do or go. Maybe she could just relax for a time, rest for a little bit and tend to Isaac should he need it.

She had never slept before. Did that mean she was incapable of doing it? She wondered what it was like to sleep... To just let her body totally relax for a few hours and quietly drift off into unconsciousness... Hmm... Perhaps if she tried... She lay back and closed her eyes, letting her mind drift off, she surrendered herself to the sort of darkness that consumed her once her job was done after the Skullgirl's defeat, she let herself breathe peacefully, trying to figure out how to best 'sleep' she finally gave up, deciding her body would decide when she slept, it was an oddly human thought, but it was what it was. If Isaac could drop to sleep so quickly, so could she. About an hour and a half later, and she was still looking up at the ceiling with her eyes closed.

'Stop... stop thinking, just relax. Let your mind go blank.' She told herself, now beginning to feel, well, tired. Ah... so this was what humans felt like when the need for sleep began to overtake them... She would be lying if she said she enjoyed the feeling, but she imagined it would make the sensation of sleep just that much sweeter. Then, she felt darkness surround her. At first, she was apprehensive, but then realized this was sleep, and let herself peacefully fall into it. She had heard that humans and ferals would see things while they slept, be it though dreams or nightmares. Double wondered if she would experience either of those things, and let herself drift off to sleep, Isaac snuggled securely next to her.

It was a surreal experience for the two goddesses, watching Double sleep. She had never slept in any of the timelines either one of them had ever watched. In fact, they were wondering if she ever had the capability of sleeping. Still, Aeon cared more that Isaac was safe and sound, and nodded her wordless approval at the sight of the tiny boy curled up next to Double. He was sleeping, and he seemed more than content, so she didn't have much to say about it. She wished it could be her next to Isaac, this her, not the her from another timeline, but she knew sadly that wasn't an option right now. But so long as Isaac was safe and cared for, she'd accept that. She smiled down at their creation and let out a soft sigh. "I love watching him sleep... He looks so... at peace.." She rested her hands on her cheeks. "Seeing my child in the arms of other women... It's almost as if I'm being cheated on." She joked.

"What?" Venus blinked, confused.

"...shut up." Aeon muttered, the feeling somewhat deflated.

Double soon was fully 'asleep' for the first time as long as she could remember, Isaac held securely at her side... things were okay. Time seemed to lose all meaning, and then everything faded to black. And yet she felt... wonderful. Completely rested and refreshed. Sleeping felt rather nice, if she were to be entirely honest. Hmm... Perhaps she should try sleeping more oftdn, it might make her happier in the long run. The next thing she knew, she stopped feeling anything. It was a bizarre feeling, but her body didn't seem to respond to her mind, as if it had shut down completely while she was left to try and figure out what was- oh, right. Sleep. This was still a new feeling to her, and she wasn't sure if she was doing it right or not.

"There's no wrong way to sleep, Double. Well, unless you wake up feeling sore, that's always a sign you did it wrong... Just ask Aeon here, she keeps falling asleep right there in her gaming chair. That is murder on the back."

"I know..." Aeon groaned, then blinked when they didn't hear a response. "Double?"

Again, no response.

"Double?"

"Oh, right. She's sleeping." Venus muttered, realizing something.

"Seems she really enjoys it." Aeon noted. Venus chuckled. Aeon frowned. "Dear sister, I pray for your sake you aren't about to make another joke about me being lazy."

Venus just gave her a weird look, it was one that was clearly one of smug satisfaction and understanding. Aeon muttered something inaudible, and looked back to the timeline where she was Isaac's mother, a timeline where the two of them were currently sitting under a large tree on a picnic. F4rm the look in her eyes, it was clear Aeon was both overjoyed, heartbroken, and jealous.

Isaac certainly kept her more active and out and about in that timeline... In this current one that she was stuck in, she spent the majoritymof her time indoors. Sure, she could take charge and fix that, but she was too... lazy... Damn it... '...well, now what?' She wondered. Double and Isaac were asleep, so aside from watching them sleep, there wasn't much she could do. As much as she wished she could, she couldn't enter Isaac's dreams. Even if she did, he wouldn't recognize her. A fact which still somewhat depressed her, even if he was being cared for.

She let out a sigh and looked over at her game console. Maybe she would play a game for a while... Umbrella was recently added in and she had been meaning to see what she could do. That umbrella of hers always intrigued her... It did surprise her that the game kept getting updates, but she wasn't complaining. It gave her reason to come back and keep playing, and that was more than enough for her. Still, she kinda hoped she'd show up at some point in the game, her or that blue fox who was a legend when it came to the game...