Man, I can't believe how many reviews I'm getting. Crazy, man. Crazy. But I love it!
Um, some parts of this are a little disturbing, but sue the devils, not me. It was all their idea. oh, and in one of my other stories, Int eh Spider's Web, i say that Jenai used to wrok for Taj-mere, before he was a sinner, just so you know!
Chap: Apostles and Devils
Aion smirked as he watched the couple walked into the garden shed, their new home. He'd seriously thought about leaving them a house-warming party, demon style, but had rejected the idea. This was simply too curious to disturb just yet. It would need careful monitoring.
He pulled away from the scrying glass, dismissing his pet eagle after rewarding its efforts. It flew off to its aerie on the other side of the complex, a few molting feathers shed in its wake. The devil leaned back in his chair, stretching his arms out as he shifted on the couch of the great room. The great room was spacious and filled with windows with a gorgeous view of the skies of Eden outside them. Couches and end tables were scattered throughout the room, resembling the lobby of some grand hotel. A fine bar, completely stocked at Jenai's insistence, was off to one side.
He cracked his knuckled in anticipation. "What to do with this information?" He glanced over at Shader, and was startled at the sight.
She was frozen in place, staring at the glass even though it was blank. Her wide green eyes were huge in shock, and her fingers were clenched together. "Shader," he called, waving a hand in front of her face. "Eden to Shader?"
She nearly went airborne, she jumped so high. "Yes?" She shook her head to compose herself. "Yes, Lord Aion?"
"You seem greatly troubled by our new lovers. You weren't pining away for Chrono, now, were you?"
"Huh?" Her face scrunched incredulously. "Powers be, no! I'm just, surprised?"
He looked at her over his glasses. "A question for an answer? You know I hate that."
"Well, it's just that I've never heard of anything like this before," the inventor muttered. "I didn't think humans and demons could marry, let alone copulate."
"They had assistance from Jenai's old boss, if I'm not mistaken," Aion said. "The geas created a simulation. Humans cannot produce the pheromones needed to incite breeding in demons."
"Not in the usual quantities needed," Shader corrected.
He jerked around to look at her. "You mean that humans can make pheromones?"
Her ears twitched at his surprised tone. She flicked her tail back and forth as she spoke. "Well, of course they can. Most living creatures on this planet make some form of pheromones in differentiating strengths in their daily interactions. Humans have always produced them, but are no longer consciously influenced by them. It's more on the subconscious level now. Like how to tell if a potential mate had different immunities to certain diseases than the other person has. They might not notice it happening, but it still does in a big way."
"So a demon with a good nose could pick up the scent?"
She nodded. "It would be extremely subtle, like trying to tell the difference between apple types by scent. Its all apple, but one is just slightly different from the others."
"But it is possible," he murmured. "That it works for demons as well as humans is now obvious. Chrono always could smell sweets cooking a mile away. I suppose the same principal applies for human pheromones." He stroked his chin in thought. "Shader, what are the possibilities that Apostle genetic coding is linked in families?"
"Hmmm. Around forty to fifty percent, I'd venture to say. You suspect that the girl could carry some of the Apostle factor?"
"Not just suspect," he answered. "I'm almost positive. Do you remember that delightful little toy that you gave Chrono, that watch? Didn't you calibrate it specifically for Mary Magdalene and Chrono's use?"
"Yes, now that you mention it," the cat devil frowned. "In truth, I'm not quite sure why it worked for this Rosette Christopher. But if she does carry some of the Apostle factor in her genetic code, that would explain it," she said. "I had to compensate for the extra pull of astral that Apostles create. The girl has lived so long because of this pull. I'd always thought that she was supposed to have died three years ago from the drain, but now I understand why she's still alive."
Aion smiled. "A human and demon hybrid would be interesting to see by itself. But a cross between a devil and an Apostle should be most intriguing."
"I thought that it was biologically impossible for our species to interbreed," she said.
"Normally, you would be right. The so called half-demons of human lore are nothing more than fetuses with legion injected into them. The resulting creatures are never fully stable. But a true cross-breed might very well possess some very interesting qualities that could prove useful to our cause."
She cocked her head, thinking of the possibilities. "What sort of qualities are you looking for?"
He went quiet for a moment, almost making Shader think that he simply wasn't going to answer her before he spoke. "I would want for them to have all the strength and power of a demon, all the beauty that we are heir to. And the immunity to those wretched religious idols humans are so fond of." He nodded. "As much as I despise their weakness, humans do have something I would wish for any hybrid. A soul. One that can die and be reborn over and over, never truly dying. Immortality for a devil, finally obtained."
She nodded at the thought. It was said that long ago, devils and humans were given the choice to either have a spirit and live extremely long lives, or to have a soul and be reborn over and over again. The devils chose long life, the humans, a soul. Demons soon learned that long life was scant comfort on death. After death for a devil, there was nothing. No afterlife. Not even memory. Just oblivion.
"Be sure to keep an eye on them, Shader. If they succeed in creating a true human-demon hybrid, we just may find ourselves with a new companion here in Eden," Aion said with a light smile. "Its been so long since we've had any young children on board."
Shader twirled happily at the thought. "Oooh, I can't wait! We can make a little room and a crib and all kinds of little stuffed animals"---
He shook his head as he walked off from the child-happy maniac he called his chief scientist. Pacing down the hall, he headed out to one of the many balconies tracing the outline of Eden. The devil breathed the cold high altitude air with an appreciative sigh. It was so peaceful up here. It made it so easy to forget al the things that had happened over the last seventy years.
He glanced off to the perch where he and Chrono had fought for the life of the Apostle Mary Magdalene. He shook his head. Why had his comrade chosen to protect that mortal? He just hadn't understood that there was no other way to save Mary. Once Pandemonia had possessed the girl, it was kinder to kill her. The demon queen would have eaten Mary away, bit by bit, until there was nothing left but a soulless husk of a girl with a devil inside.
He was amazed that Chrono and Mary had lasted as long as they had out in the American wilderness. Her Apostle factor was all that had held the demon off. But it was still kinder to kill her in the end. He knew Chrono would realize that someday.
But now this new business. How could a human and a devil mate? It was unthinkable! After all, not only did certain pheromones and scents need to be present, but both partners had to be of equal strength in spirit. They would be fighting each other for dominance, and surely the girl would have been killed by such a struggle. But she obviously had not. How was that possible? Was it the result of her slight Apostle factor? The efforts of that blasted Order, some kind of new technology to supply the girl with strength or astral of some kind? Or could that soul of hers have played a part in it?
Human souls were notorious for creating all kinds of havoc with any sort of magic or energy unless they were carefully controlled. Perhaps the contract had enhanced some kind of energy? Somehow?
He shook his head to clear it of such thoughts. But he kept coming back to the question Shader had asked. 'What sort of qualities are you looking for?'
He had been truthful in his answer, just not complete.
'It is the human mentality that I would also want for them to possess. There would be no hive structure, no Queen that would demand a sacrifice of strength for the race to survive. There would be no breeders, no pair torn apart by conflicting scents. No one would ever suffer like we have suffered. No one would ever be forced to bow to a simple scent ever again.
'No one would ever be forced against their will like I was ever again.'
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