[Raynin]

 
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Time: December 11, 2017...  9:30 PM
Place: Las Vegas, Nevada… Location: Gothika and Darknyss's Apartment...
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It's a rather chilly night for Vegas at this time of the year.  Everyone's getting ready for Christmas, and the city is lit up with more lights than usual as decorations have been hung, Christmas lights have been strung up, and everyone is in the holiday spirit as the stores have switched their music to Christmas carols and songs.  But for the members of Blood Legion, their minds aren't on Christmas, but are instead. on the news that was dropped on Dmitri and Gothika only about a week ago, that Gothika is indeed pregnant.

She'd used a number of pregnancy tests since she'd found out, and they'd all come back the same.  Positive.  She was sitting in the living room with everyone around her as she held up the pregnancy test, looking shocked.

"I can't believe it!!  I was told that after everything that had happened to me by my maker, that the chances of this happening were slim to none, but... But..."

Just then, Uncle Pinky shakes his head and pats Dmitri on the shoulder.

"Hey Big Man.  I don't know if you want congratulations, or if you're ready for all of this.  But wow!  You must've really been putting it down for this to happen so fast!!"

Gothika's stomach roars out and she doubles up in pain, holding her stomach.  Her fangs rip out from her gums with a force so strong that red actually splashes from her opened mouth onto the carpet and coffee table.  Dmitri strokes her back and holds out his arm to her, but she shakes her head, making a face at his wrist.

"No.  Dmitri, please...  No offense, but just no."

Dmitri looks over at the vampyric doctor who has been looking out for Gothika since the news was dropped on her.

"Explain why she just turned down the opportunity to feed?  She's clearly starving!  She's already dropped five pounds in the last few days!  Shouldn't she be gaining weight?"

Gabrielle walks over and reaches into her pocket, pulling out a bottle of red and hands it to Gothika.  Gothika sniffs the top of the bottle and growls hungrily before she upturns the bottle and starts to drain it dry.  She even starts tapping on the bottom of the bottle to try to get the last drops from it, and swiping her finger along the inside of the rim, sucking her finger for the dregs from the bottle.  Once the bottle is completely empty, she pouts and whines a bit, but the roaring of her stomach has quieted down to a low rumble.  Gothika hands Gabrielle back the bottle, her bottom lip hanging down almost to her chin.  Gabrielle sighs as she puts the bottle back in her pocket.

"It's as I suspected.  Lady Damia is having pregnancy cravings.  Her appetite has changed.  She is craving human blood."

Gothika frowns and looks towards the kitchen.

"But we have lots of bags of it in the fridge, and I can't even touch the stuff."

Gabrielle puts her hand on Gothika's shoulder.

"Let me be a bit clearer about the situation.  You are craving fresh human blood.  This was provided by my donor only about an hour ago.  She knows how much I like to have a little sip to calm my nerves after a particularly hard patient.  Don't worry.  This is completely normal.  The babies are just wanting their nutritional needs."

Gothika frowns and looks up over her shoulder to Dmitri.

"What are we gonna do?  I can't hunt.  It's not something that I can do.  Willing donors, I'm okay with, but with as hungry as I am right now, I'd end up hurting the person I'm feeding from."

Gabrielle takes a deep breath and lets it go slowly.

"The council has a feeding network set up for situations like this.  They may be a rare situation, but there are still those of us who can have children."

Gothika frowns and sighs heavily.

"So, then how does that work exactly?"

Gabrielle sits on the couch beside Gothika and reaches into a bag, pulling out some paperwork and hands it to Gothika.

"Essentially, it would work like a milk man used to work.  You come in, spend the day at the facility and your daily needs are measured.  If your appetite changes throughout the pregnancy, you'll come in for re-evaluation, and your new feeding allotment is updated.  Three times a day, you'll receive a delivery.  I think this will work out well for you, since you'll no longer be really travelling for work.  The bottles are vacuum sealed, like the one I gave you just now.  They are fresh draws, so you don't have to worry about any anti-coagulant, which is more than likely the reason why you're not able to drink the bagged stuff."

Gothika sighs and shakes her head.

"I don’t know if I can do this for nine months though!"

Gabrielle lifts her eyebrow and looks at Gothika.

"Nine months?  Who said anything about nine months?"

Gothika sits forward and frowns.

"Well, isn't that the usual amount of time it takes for a woman to have a baby?"

Gabrielle chuckles and shakes her head.

"For a human, yes.  Nine months is the standard.  But you're not a human any longer Lady Damia.  Most vampires have a shortened gestational period.  Three months is the longest recorded gestation for a vampiric child.  But your children come from royal genes.  Royals have the shortest gestational period of them all."

Gothika's jaw drops in shock.

"What are you saying?"

Gabrielle takes a deep breath and lets it go slowly.

"Let me ask you something first...  The day that I came to the gym to check you, you were feeling ill.  How long had you been feeling ill?"

Gothika shrugged and looked up at Dmitri before she spoke.

"I'd been nauseous and couldn't really eat anything the day before, but that was the first day I'd gotten sick."

Gabrielle nods and smiles.

"I see.  So that means that my calculation of your conception date is correct.  At the time that I first checked you, you had conceived no more than three days prior."

Gothika's jaw dropped and she shakes her head.

"No freakin' way!"

Gabrielle pulled out a book and started to flip through charts, making comparisons.

"I would say that by the end of the week, you would be on par with being about three to four months pregnant."

Gothika looks over at Raynin who leans forward in the arm chair she's sitting in.

"We have a match at the end of the week.  Is this going to be safe?  Should we call our bosses and let them know that Morganna's going to have to wrestle in Damia's place?"

Gabrielle smiles and shakes her head.

"No, you should be able to wrestle just fine.  I don't think that there will be significant physiological changes until the following week."

Gothika looks down at her stomach, putting her hands over her belly.

"But they're so fragile, aren't they?  When Zatanya was pregnant, she had so many complications.  Hell, if she sneezed too hard, the doctors were afraid that she would lose little MJ."

Gabrielle closes her books and sets them aside.

"We vampires are made of a lot tougher stuff than humans.  Especially when we're about to bring a new life into the world."

Gabrielle reaches over and lifts Gothika's shirt and places a hand on her stomach.  Gothika's six pack looks even more defined due to the weight loss.

"There.  You see...  It's already started."

Gothika frowns and looks at the stomach again.

"What's started?"

Gabrielle pulls out a stethoscope and starts to unravel it as she speaks.

"When a vampire is with child, their body prepares it for the hardships that the mother will face while pregnant.  Vampires are predators.  We generally have to fight with our prey to get a meal.  So, when pregnant, a vampire's body will start to build up defenses to protect the fetus.  It starts by a hardening of the abdominal muscles to form a protective barrier around the fetus.  And even though your belly might swell, it won't swell much, even with triplets.  Most vampires don't even show when they're pregnant.  That's another of the body's defenses for the baby.  But right now, your stomach muscles are hard as a brick.  You should be just fine wrestling, and even if you take some hard shots, they shouldn't affect the babies."

Gothika rubs her stomach and looks over her shoulder at Dmitri.

"What do you think I should do?  These are your children as well."

Dmitri grins like a kid on Christmas morning.

"Yes they are, aren't they.  But I can't make this decision for you.  This will be your last chance to perform for the Sin City Wrestling Universe.  I for one don't want to be the one to tell you know.  Besides, Gabrielle says it's ok.  And you're facing off against Orchid and Song, which means that you're going to have one spectacular match.  Besides, you know you can't let Raynin down.  She's your partner, and she's counting on you to be there for her."

Raynin lifts her eyebrow and shakes her head.

"Don't try to guilt trip her into doing it for me, Vamp boy.  I know what Damia is going through.  She's worried about these babies, but it's ultimately her decision."

Gothika takes a deep breath and lets it go slowly.

"I want to protect my little ones.  But if Gabrielle says that my body is already doing it for me, then I'm going to go out there and wrestle my ass off!  This is what I live for!  And with this being the last episode of Climax Control, there's no way in HELL I'm about to sit on the side lines and just let everyone else go out there and have fun!  The minute I signed on the dotted line of my contract, I made a promise to you, to Mark and Christian, and to the fans of this company to do my best and be the best at what I do in that ring!  So, if Gabrielle says it's okay, and she's willing to submit the paperwork to Mark and Christian, letting THEM know that it's okay, then I'll be there for that match with bells on!  And we will show Orchid and Song why we are and always have been the most dominant tag team in this company!"

Raynin grins and nods.

"Damned right we are!"

Gothika nods and sighs softly.

"So then it's settled.  At Climax Control, The Angels of The Fallen are going to step out into the ring for one last time in a tag team match, and when the dust clears, and the referee has finished calling the match, it will be OUR hands that are raised in victory for the final time.  The FoShan Elders will just have to settle for knowing they helped in providing us with the most epic way to close out the show."

Gabrielle clears her voice again and holds up a finger.

"Well, I'd also suggest that you guys go shopping for clothing of all sizes pretty quickly for the children."

Gothika frowns again, looking at Gabrielle confused.

"Why all sizes?"

Gabrielle clears her throat.

"Well, I did say that the gestational period is extremely quick for vampires.  So, I'd say that you will more than likely have the babies before the end of the year."

Dmitri's eyebrows go up in shock.

"Say what?!"

Gabrielle nods as she goes through her books and charts again.

"Oh yes.  I told you that the shortest gestational period was a month.  But at the rate you're going, you should beat that record by a few days at least.  Your day walker genes are affecting their growth rate in ways I've never seen before."

Gothika looks like she's about to faint, but Gabrielle puts a steadying hand on her knee.

"There's more.  Vampire children have a shortened growth period as well.  They will go from being a baby to being full grown in a matter of weeks or months depending on who their parents are.  Royal children tend to grow much faster than the others.  And for you...  Who knows.  All we can do is wait and see.  But I'm so excited to be a part of this journey with you."

Diamond walks over and hugs Gothika tightly.

"We ALL are.  I'm so happy for you!  I know what you went through the first time, but this time it's gonna be different!"

Gabrielle's ears perk and she looks up, her eyes searching for answers.

"First time?"

Gothika nods and swallows thickly.

"Yes, I've been pregnant before, and I lost the babies.  I was pregnant when my maker turned me.  But he did some weird experiments to me, and the babies came out... wrong.  One aged from birth to death in a matter of minutes, and the other was so deformed, it couldn't survive."

Gothika swallows and shakes her head.

"If I'm going to have to go through all of that again...  I just couldn't do it!"

Gabrielle takes Gothika's hand and pats it gently.

"I think that what happened was, when your maker turned you, the vampyric enzymes affected your unborn children because they were human.  These children will already have the everything they need because you and Lord Dmitri are both vampire.  They will not have to go through the stresses of being turned.  They will be purebred.  Even more so because thanks to the samples I was able to get from both you and Lord Dmitri, I was able to find out that you both come from vampiric origins.  You are both royal born.  The council will be truly pleased about this development."

Gothika grabs Gabrielle's wrist and looks at her with a look of unbridled fury, her eyes blazing an almost neon ice blue.  Her grip is so tight that Gabrielle starts to whimper in pain.

"You will not tell the council a thing!  We will tell them in our own time!"

Gabrielle struggles against Gothika's grasp, but she's too strong.

"Please Lady Damia!!  You're hurting me!!"

Gothika increases her grip and Gabrielle yelps at the pain.

"I'm just trying to stress how important that it is that this be kept to only those we want to know on the council."

Dmitri strokes Gotihika's arms gently.

"Beloved, did you forget about all of the cameras?  The council will know as soon as this is aired on television.  We cannot keep this a secret."

Gothika drops Gabrielle's wrist and puts a hand to her face.

"Oh my...  I'm... I'm so sorry!  I'm never like this!  I'm so out of control... AND I'M STARVING!"

Gabrielle rubs at her wrist gently and shakes her head.

"It's alright.  I understand completely.  The need to protect one's offspring can be dangerous at times.  It's even doubly so for vampires.  Let's get you all set up for the deliveries so we can..."

The doorbell rings suddenly, and everyone looks at the door.  Gothika sniffs, and gasps as she catches a familiar scent.

"Michael?"

Diamond walks over to the door and opens it slowly.  Standing on the other side is Michael Argento, Gothika's ex-boyfriend and ex-blood doll.  He's looking much like his original self from when he first came to the Sin City Wrestling.  He looks around with a sheepish blush and runs a hand through his hair.

"Um, hey.  Can I come in?"

Diamond turns around and looks at Gothika who nods, and Diamond pulls the door open so Michael can enter the front room.  She closes the door behind him, and he jumps a little as the door shuts a little hard.  He clears his throat and looks around the room.

"Hello everybody.  I know this is rather unexpected, but I was watching the show last week, and I heard what happened.  I just thought I'd stop by and say congratulations and bring a little something for the babies."

He holds out a small gift-wrapped box and Dmitri comes over and takes the box, holding out his hand to Michael.  Michael looks down at the outstretched hand, then shakes it slowly.  Dmitri nods and smiles.

"Thank you for this gift, and the congratulations.  Please, make yourself comfortable."

Dark Tiger pulls over a chair from the dining room, and gives Michael a bro hug, before moving back to pick up Darknyss from the chaise lounge and put her on his lap after he sits back down.  Michael clears his throat and looks at Gothika, then frowns.

"You're not eating."

Gothika looks around nervously and tugs at her t-shirt collar.

"How can you tell?"

Michael smirks and cocks his head to the side.

"We were together for a very long time, Mia.  You know I can tell.  Is it the babies?"

Gothika sighs and pouts and nods.

"Damn!  Is it that evident?"

Michael smirks and shrugs.

"Maybe not to everyone else, but I know every inch of you.  So to me, it's very evident."

Dmitri growls low in his throat, and Gothika covers her stomach with his hand.  He looks at her and she smiles at him, which stops his growling and he turns back to Michael.

"Was that all?  Did you just come to give us a gift?"

Michael sighs and shakes his head.

"No, that's not it at all.  I had a feeling that I was going to be needed, so I came.  I know that you don't want to feed from other people, Mia.  I know how intimate it is for you, and how hard it is for you to stop once you've started, but, I've come up with a solution that can stop us both from going back down the slippery slope, but keep you fed."

Gothika starts to shake her head, but Michael holds up his hand.

"Please Mia... Just hear me out.  I know that I was wrong, ok.  I know that once I start, I can't stop with the biting... But..."

Michael pulls down the collar of his shirt and reveals a small port that has been put into his chest about his collarbone.  He sighs heavily.

"They had to put a pic line in me while I was in the hospital.  I had to have a lot of meds and things put in me during the recuperation and rehab, but...  I asked if I could use this for having blood drawn, and they said it's how they do dialysis, so it can be used at any time for blood to be drawn.  I know you say you don't need me, but... I want to help.  And if I can donate for the cause, then I'd do it gladly for all of the drama I put you through.  You don't have to bite me at all, but please...   Let me help."

Gothika looks at Dmitri who slowly nods and she turns back and nods too.

"Ok Michael.  You can donate for me."

Michael grins and walks over and plants a kiss on Gothika's forehead.

"Thank you for letting me do this for you."

Michael moves to hug her, but Dmitri's arm is in the way, and he just pats her shoulder instead.  Gabrielle picks up her bag and smiles at Michael enthusiastically.

"Well, if you're ready to do a donation, the mother to be is quite hungry right now.  Let's go get her some dinner, shall we?"

Michael follows Gabrielle to the kitchen, and Gothika looks at Diamond who nods and follows them out. Gothika shakes her head slowly.

"This just became one huge clusterfuck."

Dmitri hugs her and she sighs, sagging against him as the scene fades out.


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Time: December 15, 2017...
Place:  Las Vegas, Nevada Raynin's apartment…
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Everyone had been all in a tizzy about Gothika and the babies.  Even she had been.  But deep in her heart, she was troubled.  All parts of her were troubled.  From Numbers three to Seven Hundred and Twenty-Three, they were all troubled.  They were troubled because she was lonely.  Even the Other was troubled and had been moping around the crystal maze, attacking a random Number half-heartedly.  Finally, she knew she had to do something, because the way she was feeling was just not right.  She was not supposed to be mopey and weepy like this.  She was the strong one.  She was the Rebellious one.  She was Raynin!!!...  But right now, all she wanted was her Teddy Weddy Snuggle Bear, Angel.

Every time she was with the other Angels and they were with their guys, getting all lovey dovey, huggy wuggy, and cutsie wootsie, it just threw back up in her face that she was not with him right now.  And that was all she really wanted.  To know that she was the only Angel who was without her chosen mate was heart breaking.  With Despayre leaving, she knew that she was going to have to say good bye.  She thought that she could handle it all, but it was harder than she could have imagined.  All she wanted to do right now was just be with him, but she knew that he was so far away.  She looked at her phone and all of the unanswered messages that she's sent and her heart just fell.  So, she did the only thing she could do with all of the pent-up anger and aggression that not being with him was causing to build up in her.  She was channeling it into training.

The other Angels could sense the change in her. They'd seen the extra muscle that she'd been bulking up with, and felt how much harder she was hitting during training. They also noticed how much faster she was moving.  

She was moving about in the center of the apartment, on the hardwood floor portion of the huge flat where she did all of her solo training.  Her feet were bare, as she liked them to be as she moved through her kata.  She went from strike to punch, to block to kick, all with control and precision, almost like a machine.  She spoke softly as she moved.

"The Elders of FoShan have said that they are at the pinnacle of what their school of training has to offer.  And yet, that is something that we Angels can never say.  Because we never stop trying to become better than what we once were.  There's no such thing as a pinnacle for us, because what we are striving for is ever changing.  Like water flowing from one point to another, we're always becoming more than we once were.For the last show of Climax Control, Orchid and Song shall meet defeat at the hands of the Angels of the Fallen.  Because we cannot hit the newest heights without going over previous hurdles.  And the Elders have always been a hurdle we enjoy going over.  Who knows.  We may even show you a new pinnacle which you can strive for."

She continues to move, the camera following her body for a few moments as it slowly fades out.

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<hr size=1 color=silver>>…  END OF FEED  ...

***  Word Count, 5000  ***  
 
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