Must… stay… awake…
Must… stay…
Must…
"Ah!" I yelped, forcing my eyes open. I was doing perhaps the most childish thing a child can do. Waiting up for Santa on Christmas Eve. I know, Santa, really, but the thing is… on earth, he's fake… here… he is very real. And I'll be damned if I don't see him with my own tired eyes… ugh, being four sucks sometimes… get so tired so early… it's barely ten thirty…
“I know you exist…I need to see you once…” I yawned, wishing I could drink soda or something to keep me up but I can’t.
I think the worst part about this is waiting with nothing to do to pass the time. I was sitting on the couch, the tree was up and bright with its lights and decorations. Milk and cookies were placed and ready, stockings up. Various decorations all around. Not a present under the tree. Same as the years prior… At first I thought mom put them there on Christmas Eve, but some of the gifts I got were things I wanted and never told a soul.
“Just…want to see you once…to know that you do exist…” I yawned, not wanting to pace around cause I might cause mom to come down and force me to bed which I wouldn’t have much fight to stop.
I tried to pass time by thinking. Wondering what school will be like when I start that. Remembering books, movies, songs. Maybe I can make some friends…
I sighed, looking back at the fireplace. There was no logs or ash. Just the metal log holders, ashes, bricks and a glowing orb of light- wait what?
“Uh…hello?” I asked at the new sudden glowing orb.
The orb floated towards the center of the livingroom, then grew and flashed. I was blinded for a bit. Agh… “Ho, you should be in bed.”
…
I rubbed my eyes, looking up and seeing… large belly, red suit, big white beard, and… a dogs head? Santa?
“Uh…hi there…Santa?” I asked.
“That’s me.” He laughed. “Am I not what you were expecting, child?”
“Well…considering this is the first time I’ve met you…I shouldn’t be surprised you can look however you want given your…probably a cosmic level entity.” I chuckled…before yawning. “Ugh…I wanted to see if you were real cause…of where I originally came from…”
He chuckled more. “I am not any of those things little one. I am but one of many Santa’s across infinity.” He said, picking up the milk and cookies.
“Good…good to know cause…back on Earth you…most likely were never around…” I yawned again, still trying to stay up at the fact I’m actually talking to Santa…or at least, one of them.
“Oh child, you should go to sleep. You’re too young to be up this late.”
“B-but…I’m meeting Santa…” I said. “But…are the cookies good? I…baked them with mom…”
“Yes, they’re delicious Mike.” He smiled, snapping his fingers as the stockings began to inflate and fill with small toys and candy… woah…
“Awesome…” I said, feeling my eyes blur at how tired I was. “And…I’m glad I did a good job…” I yawned and laid down, seeing what I wanted and…hearing what I needed.
I fell asleep hearing Santa snapping their fingers.
…
…
…
“Mike?” I woke up and saw Mom leaning over me. “Did you stay up just to see Santa?”
I sat up, seeing the stockings still stuffed with small toys and candy and all kinds of presents under the tree… that wasn’t a dream!
“Y-yes…I did stay up and I did meet Santa.” I yawned. “He…said the cookies were delicious.”
“Heh, you cutie.” Mom said, giving me a kiss in my head. “Glad you met one of the Santas from the Santa Guild.”
“Santa Guild? There’s an entire guild of Santa’s?” I asked in awe.
“Yes. They give gifts to children across the multiverse and beyond.” Mom said. “You’re uncle Nicolas founded it.”
“Was he a Saint?” I jokingly asked.
“Technically.” Mom said, picking me up and carrying me into the kitchen. “Now let’s have some Christmas breakfast. Peppermint chocolate chip pancakes and strawberry milk!”
“Yay!” I cheered happily. “My favorite christmas breakfast!”
“Heh.” Mom put me in a chair, quickly made me a cup of strawberry milk then got to work making the pancakes. I sat eager and ready to eat then open presents-
Knock-Knock-Knock!
“Huh… I wasn’t expecting anyone…” Mom said, quickly slithering out and over to the door. “Yes- Oh my gosh! Mom?!”
Mom? Wait, my grandma?!
Mom quickly slithered back into the kitchen, with her was a pony lamia, all white body and scales but she had almost neon blue hair. “Hey there little fella.” The new naga said to me. “I’m Gleaming, you’re grandma.”
“Grandma!” I cheered. “Merry Christmas!”
She chuckled and picked me up into a hug.
“So, what brings you here mom?” Mom asked.
“I hear you’ve been back for four years, with a new baby, and you didn’t visit.” Grandma said, squeezing me more. “I am offended young lady.”
“Mom, last I heard you were vacationing with Cript in the Void.”
“You can visit the Void.”
“Not with a kid, I'm not taking a child there!”
“Oh you keep thinking of it like the old Void before Pain took over.”
“Pain’s scary, why go there?” I asked.
“Her void can be nice sweetie, it can actually be very beautiful when you look around.” Grandma said, giving me some kisses on my forehead.
“So did you come to spend Christmas with us?” Mom asked.
“Yes and of course I bring presents.”
“Presents!” I cheered in childish glee.
“So, what is my little grandson eating today?”
“I was about to make peppermint pancakes with chocolate chips.” Mom said.
“Oh I’ll help.”
“Mom, if I let you help you’ll make a whole buffet.”
“So? My little man here is part Lamia, I'm certain he can eat his weight and then some.”
“I mean… maybe but he’s still very young…”
“Oh come on, don’t you remember when I first brought you into the Family and you ate the whole table of food and then some.” Grandma laughed.
Wait… mom is like me?
“I was already in an adult body mom…”
“Wait…you're like me?” I asked Crescent.
“Oh… yes.” Mom said. “Like you I was once a person who was just… trying to do good and… had a hard road… lost some… It was a long time ago, I’ll tell you another time baby.” Mom said, patting my head.
“Sorry for bringing up bad memories…” Grandma said.
“It’s alright mom. I do wish my past was different, but I enjoy my life now. I have you, Cript, King, Heart, my… heh, many kids, and now this little baby!” Mom added, tickling me and making me laugh.
“Mom happy makes me happy!” I said in between my laughter,
“Awe, cute.” Grandma said, giving me some more kisses before putting me back in my chair. “Come on Eclipsa, let’s get cooking.”
… Eclipsa… that’s mom’s real name? Wow I am learning a lot today…
Mom and grandma got cooking and I smelled pancakes, eggs, sausage, bacon… ham, turkey, pork roast… mashed potatoes and gravy… casserole… I’m sorry, is that a whole roasting cow?!
Also did the kitchen get bigger?
“Uh…kitchen bigger?” I asked in confusion.
“It’s all magic sweetie, the house is as big as we need it to be.” Mom called out from stirring a… bathtub sized soup pot…
Wow she was not kidding about Grandma cooking up… a buffet…
“Who else is gonna visit?” I asked. “A lot of food is being made…”
“Just us.” Grandma said. “You are part Naga honey, you are capable of eating much more than you appear to be able to.”
“He’s a little young for a biology lesson mom.” Mom called out.
“I’m technically twenty six mentally but eh.” I thought to myself. “That’s cool.”
“So I have to ask, who’s the father of their new body?” Grandma asked.
“Oh I uh… grabbed a random sample from the…” Mom stuttered.
“Really?” Grandma said. “Huh… I’m actually surprised. Thought you would have asked King for that.”
“I thought about it but they have a lot of stuff going on and you know they would drop it all to help raise a child.” Mom replied.
“True. That wolf has a lot of work and little free time.” Grandma agreed.
“Uh…Princess?” I asked, thinking that would be the person they’re talking about. “Fluff potato is busy?”
“Yes, that’s King. Princess is the name she uses while on the clock. Despite how she appears back on your Equis, she’s all across the multiverse. We all are. We’ll be talking to you and millions of other people across dimensions. It’s taxing mentally after a while which is why you always see us napping sometimes. Why keep the extra body alert if there’s not much going on.” Mom said.
… wat?
“Uh…huh…” I said slowly. “That’s…new.” I said, trying to think of how big things were now.
“You don’t worry your adorable little head about that Mike.” Grandma said, bringing me a… tray, piled high and overflowing with plates and bowls of food in front of me. Woah…
I felt myself drooling at the massive amount of food. “All for me?” I asked, lightly pointing at myself.
“That there is plenty more.” Grandma said with a nod as she went to make another tray.
I picked up a fork and began to eat-
..This is the best thing I have ever tasted ever…
“Mike, come on, Kindergarten is gonna be fine.” Mom said, trying to keep my wiggling body in her arms as she was taking me to… well it’s not a car, it’s more like a… spaceship… thing.
“I doubt that…what if I make a bad first impression or people treat me differently because you're my mom?” I asked nervously.
“Mike, everyone in your class is gonna either be a cousin or half sibling or have some relationship to you as a child of our Family. All their parents are either the same as me, or quite possibly also me.”
I paused, looking up at mom… weird… multi body omnipresence stuff… agh that gives me a headache…
“I’d like to not think of how huge things are cause it gives me a headache.” I whined.
“Well either way this is a great chance to make friends.” Mom said, getting me into the ship and putting me in a seat and buckling me in.
“Alright alright…” I sighed. “Jeez…so many things I have to relive…puberty’s gonna suck.” I groaned.
“It will definitely be different with your new body.” Mom said.
It didn’t take long for us to get to the Kindergarten, it was a large building with all kinds of varying species both adults and children. Mom dropped me off an an attendant lead me to my classroom where there was all kinda of species of people. Some looked human or humanoid, others were unique and mishmashed of species like me.
I took a seat at a desk and sighed.
“And here we go…twelve years of who cares, possible bullying, and learning thing’s that will ultimately mean nothing after high school…” I thought to myself bitterly.
As I was sitting here, I got the distinct feeling someone was watching me… I looked around, seeing nothing-
“Hi!”
“Ahh!” I yelped at the sudden appearance of a… She had blonde hair, long and flat, wore a long white gown and had two fluffy wings on her back, the feathers were bright pink and a glowing ring over her head…
“What’s your name?” The little angel asked me… literally…
“Uh…hi there…my name's Mike, or…well, it’s also technically Coyote Starrk if you know who that is…it’s weird.” I said sheepishly. “What’s your name?”
“Alex.” They said, suddenly next to me. “You look fluffy.”
How did they…?
“Uh…you wouldn’t happen to be related to a mare named Pinkie Pie would you?” I asked, finding her energy vaguely familiar to that pink ball of caffeine and sugar.
“Nope.” She said, now on the table again and rubbing my head. “Your fur is very soft.”
Head pats! Nuuu~, my tail is betraying me again. “Uh…why are you so…like this Alex?” I asked slowly, not wanting to sound mean or anything but this was just…a lot all at once.
“Like what?” They asked, now scratching my ears- Shit…
As I was at their mercy suddenly a toy car flew through the air and smacked Alex in the head. “Ouch!” They yelped as another pink winged angel with short cut hair and halo flew over next to her.
“Alex damn it stop petting every canine like person we meet!” The new person said with clear annoyance.
“But Mike is fluffy!” Alex defended.
“That’s not an… ugh you…” The new person face palmed. They then looked over at me. “Sorry for my brother’s lack of personal space…”
… Wait brother?!
“It’s uh…it’s alright, and also brother?” I inquired. “Uh…” I motioned to the more feminine looking person.
“Oh they like having their hair long and wearing dresses.” The new person stated. “I’m Fiona, Alex’s sister.” She stated, shaking my hand. “And yeah, everyone usually confuses us. We’re used to it.”
“Fiona gets called a boy a lot.” Alex said.
“Yeah…” Fiona rolled her eyes.
“Right…so Tomboy,” I pointed at Fiona. “And Femboy…” I motioned to Alex.
“Wait… you know what those mean?” Fiona asked. “You’re reborn too?!”
“Yes I am.” I nodded. “My mom is Eclipsa…I don’t know who my dad is but they are a wolf at least. My name is Mike by the way.”
“Our mother is Wrath, and our dad is named Jefferson. They’re both angels but mom is an Angel of Death and dad is a Cherub.” Fiona said. “And it’s so nice to meet another reborn person here. Alex is uh, not so… not the best conversationalist…”
“I noticed.“ I chuckled. “Honestly slightly thought he was related to Pinkie Pie due to the pink wings and high energy.”
“No, we just got that from dad.” Fiona said.
“Dad’s wings are super fluffy!” Alex said.
“He likes fluffy things.”
“I can tell.” I chuckled. “So, glad to know that I have some other reborns here…still worried school will be as boring as I think it’ll be.”
“Well, Kindergarten will be normal from what mom tells me, same with most of first through third grade but she says fourth and fifth start helping us fund what we want to learn and are talented at, middle school will teach us how to expand on those skill and any other useful information and knowledge we want to learn, and then ‘high school’ is optional.”
… wait what?
“Uh…what? I thought it was just straight K-12 and it was going to be a whole lot of boring?”
“Pst, this isn’t earth. Or even earth-like. Family has their own ways of tackling education.” Fiona said. “They wouldn’t use a broken educational system that teaches the essentials in the first few years then teaches you nothing but filler.”
… Huh… Maybe this school won’t be so bad…
“Okay…so this is going to be a lot better than what I imagined.” I said honestly.
“So, how old were you before getting picked up?”
“Well, I was…twenty two at the time.” I said. “Twenty one when I got pulled in by Genie for some of this nonsense.”
“Huh. So you ended up in one of Genie’s games? Yikes.”
“I mean…better than putting a bullet in my head at a convention…” I muttered, the dull ringing of a gunshot always haunting me, even after being ‘reborn’ as I rubbed my temple.
“Yikes… Well, that makes… Hmm… Suicide or Cancer… which is worse…” Fiona pondered.
“It sucks either way.” I shrugged.
“Fair. But I didn’t get sucked into one of Genie’s games… Well, what was your earth like?”
“Eh, the usual fair. No magic cause boring, but apparently we were haunted by quasi dimensional depression demon’s that want nothing but murder and Nightmare finds that weird and concerning.” I said honestly.
“Huh. My world had some magic, and demons.” Fiona said. “Other than that I guess it’s the same for yours, lots of tech and such all around but nothing else major or note?”
“Nah…just your standard Earth and all it’s nonsense…only thing major was my…girlfriend back home…”
“Oh, I guess since you ended up in Genie’s game you left her behind… Sorry.”
“I mean, there’s a weird thing though…there was mention that there was two Arrancar’s in the Zebra lands, which is weird…also, I have sneezed a few times cause for some reason anime logic might actually be true and someone is talking about me.”
“Hm… I think you watch too much anime…” Fiona said. “Because that sounds rather dumb when you say it out loud.”
“And me explaining my entire situation would sound dumb when said out loud.” I said honestly.
“Fair. So, wanna stick together? I could use someone with an IQ in the triple digits to talk to for a change.”
“What’s IQ mean?” Alex asked.
“It means how smart a person is Alex, and sure, I’d like to have a friend.” I said readily.
“Cool.” Fiona said, taking a seat next to me. Alex shrugged and took a seat on the other side of me.
“So, this is our house.” Fiona said.
I had been going to school for a few months now and Mom got a playdate with Fiona and Alex at their house. I was not expecting their house to be fucking Laputa from Castle in The Sky!
“I get lost all the time.” Alex said.
“Yes… Yes you do…” Fiona sighed.
“I mean…considering your ‘house’ is technically the size of a small island nation I can see why.” I said honestly, even though Alex is an actual child compared to me and Fiona, this place was fucking huge.
“Well, it kinda has to be.” Fiona said, fluttering their wings out. “Flying and all. Lots of large rooms, halls and space to fly inside and out. Can be a bit creepy at night but all in all isn’t that bad. Just a lot of rooms we aren’t allowed in.”
“Gee, sounds like those are the Golem rooms.” I rolled my eyes. “Wish I had my Arrancar powers so I could fly, but still too young for them…or technically being alive…well, no Quincy’s exist…ugh! Hate trying to wrap my head around trying to get my previous powers back in a brand new born body.”
“We can help you with that.” Alex said, flying up and grabbing my hands and actually pulling me up. “Come on, my room’s this way.” Alex said, flying with me towards their room. I was actually surprised how fast they could fly. I felt the wind make my eyes tear up and I was eventually placed down in a large room, lots of blues, whites and pink with a large floating cloud above and various toys all around the floor. “Here we are!”
“Yeesh Alex.” Fiona said as she caught up and landed next to me. “Wait for me to catch up next time.”
“Sorry!”
“Surprised how fast you are.” I said, lightly brushing my fur so it wasn’t so windswept.
“Yeah, Alex is faster than me. Mom and dad say that’s a sign that when our abilities develop, Alex is more likely to become an Angel of Death like mom.” Fiona sighed.
“Yes, cause speed means death apparently.”
“So what are we playing?” Alex asked.
“Go grab your board games and we can pick one.” Fiona said.
“Okay!” Alex said, flying up and to the cloud above.
“That can give us about ten minutes before he comes back.”
“Energetic ain’t he?” I chuckled. “But yeah…powers haven’t come back in yet and I’m slightly annoyed…”
“We don’t develop powers until we’re ten. Though I’m amazed you aren’t using any of your biological abilities.”
…my what?
“Uh…what kind of abilities should I have? Cause I’m a wolf and a snake hybrid…”
“Correction, you’re a wolf naga hybrid. With biology like that you technically would be on a similar biological spectrum to Floof Noodles, but you have legs so maybe you’re more one of the sibling species?”
… Floof Noodles?!
I couldn’t help myself as I laughed at the name. “F-Floof Noodles? Who came up with that?”
“From what I read, King.” Fiona stated. “Hmm…” They said as they began circling me. “You said your mom got a Sample so you don’t have a traditional biological father…”
“Yes, cause they said that if it was King, or Princess as I know them, they would have dropped literally everything and been with me since the day I hatched…also, was this just like a cute pet name that stuck or was this serious?”
“I don’t know, but Samples come from one place, the Family’s Life Archive. Basically anything organic to ever evolve or be created in the multiverse, they have a genetic library of their species on file. Or rather, in storage.”
“Alright, so what ‘biological abilities’ do I have besides having better senses than normal humans and being physically stronger than humans?”
“Well, your mother is an Equis Naga. Biologically that means you might have their basic two stomachs. One digests, the other holds. Can you unhinge your jaw?”
“I…did learn that for a christmas breakfast when Grandma showed up…” I said sheepishly.
“I see. Can you do it?” I nodded, managing to more easily pop it off now that I’ve had practice. “Hmm… That’s about… a bit bigger than my head…” Fiona then grabbed my upper and lower jaws and stretched them wider. “Wow that’s way larger than I expected.”
I pulled my mouth back and popped my jaw back into place.
“And why did you want to check that?” I asked, lightly rubbing my jaw from it being mildly sore from the pop.
“If you just had only your mom’s naga based biology you’d have about the same or smaller jaw unhinge space. But you naturally open wider and the muscles and skin in your mouth and likely neck are far stretchier than expected, so you might have a sibling or cousin species of Naga as your father. This narrows you down to just the Naga and Affiliated species. And yes that narrows it down a lot.”
“Well, that’s good to know.” I nodded. “So besides having a bigger jaw and a second stomach, what else is special about me?”
“Well we don’t know if you have a second stomach. Depending on the species, you could have up to five.”
“Huh…” I said. “Might have to ask mom about all this now.”
“Coming back!” Alex called out as they floated down, carrying many boxes of board games. “I brought all our favorites!”
“If Mental Instability is there Alex I swear to the All Makers…” Fiona said, almost growling.
“I’ve experienced enough mental instability for my taste.” I said carefully.
“It’s a game that self diagnoses your mental state based on your movements and such.”
“If only that existed back home, would have helped a lot.” I huffed.
“You wanna know what?” Mom asked.
“About my biology and what’s special about it.” I answered. “Cause Fiona brought up about when my powers come in and why I haven’t ‘used my biological abilities’ yet.”
“Oh, well I guess I should explain that.” Mom said, picking me up and taking me over to the couch. “So Mike, as you know you don’t have a traditional father, your fathers DNA came from the Life Archive.”
“Yes, Fiona did bring that up.” I nodded. “And the Life Archive is the culmination of all life that’s ever been yes?”
“Yes. It houses the DNA of every species across every reality. This included the DNA of species not yet in reality yet and those that are long since extinct or that were removed from reality for… safety reasons.” Mom said. “Your fathers DNA came from the species known as Diacorium. More commonly known as Death Wolfs. I figured it was fitting given the circumstances.”
“Death Wolves…jeez, just have you be some form of Dragon with horns and I sound like a Death Metal mascot.” I chuckled. “But I’m technically a…Floof Noodle with legs…seriously, was it a joke taken seriously or what?” I asked, still finding that name adorable and silly.
“Heh, it was a nickname. We took a while creating an official name and… well, it ended up sticking. It was the first race King and I made together… The old fashioned way~” Mom said, seeming to… reminisce…
“Ew~.” I stuck my tongue out at mom remembering getting laid….”Ew! I can smell your arousal mom!”
“Heh, well technically I wasn’t there but King sure made up for it later. Anyway, the point is the Floof Noodles are a mix of Dire Wolves and Equis Nagas. The Death Wolves are a cousin species to the Dire Wolves King is, so you’re like an alternate variation of the Floof Noodle, only… less Naga, more… death.”
“Neat.” I nodded. “So what special thing’s can I do?”
“Well as a mix of my species and the death wolves, you do indeed have three stomaches. I checked when you were born. One is the basic hold and storage of prey and objects. The other digests but your third stomach is linked to your digesting stomach. Checking I learned you can swallow a prey whole and on top of digesting their bodies, your third stomach digests their soul.”
… I EAT SOULS!?
“I…mean, technically I could eat souls when I was an Arrancar, mostly because I’m still a Hollow which eats ‘spirit energy’...but I didn’t think living creatures could eat souls.”
“Some can. As a result, when you eat a soul you don’t just get stronger, you gain all the life that soul has lived and could have lived, as well as all the memories of every life that soul has ever lived. This also applies to things like magic and blessings and powers unique to that soul.”
“Huh…” I said, trying to wrap my head around that. “That’s…wow.” I blinked.
“There are limitations however. Your soul devouring stomach can not digest the souls of Gods or Demi-Gods, but it can digest the souls of angels, demons, and other weaker celestial beings. Sans anyone in the family, so if you get freaky with your winged friends later, no worries.”
I blushed.
“Mo~m! She’s my first friend here!” I whined, lightly pawing at her in embarrassment.
“Or her brother. You are never too old, or young, to see what you enjoy~” Mom teased.
“Mo~m!” I whined even harder.
She laughed. “Hey, when you’re older I’m only gonna tease you harder.” She chuckled. “But, as far as other biological powers go…” Mom snapped her fingers, a small portal opening and when I looked through it…
I saw people. All kinds of people walking down a street. I smelled… something. Something odd… like, ripeness? Some were very ripe, others… not…
“Death Wolves can smell when someone is going to die, be it natural or unnatural. Their feral variations are often used by gods to hunt and slaughter, and the intelligent beastial counterparts are often enslaved and forced to gorge on their masters enemies.”
“Oh…” I muttered. “Enslavement is not cool…Wolves being used for Death is a well known thing…and a lot of people smell…ripe…”
“Lot of people die in a day. Normal mortals either never notice or ignore it. But, we can see and know their lives. Birth to death. Our Family archives it all in the Library of Existence. This is one of the many things we do for the whole multiverse, and no one will ever know.”
“Just like my brother told me…sometimes, when you do a good job, nobody notices it was ever done to begin with.”
Mom nodded. “As a Death Wolf you will naturally be drawn towards those whose life is coming to an end. Oftentimes finding a Death Wolf following you around is an omen. But I will warn you now, when you can not resist the lure of another’s death, no matter how hard you fight, then it means this person is going to die by your hands.”
"Oh…I…I don't like that…" I said nervously. "Killing Nightmare is one thing…murdering a random person is another…"
“Heh, it’s not like that Mike. Rarely are these incidents random, often times historically the victim is someone the Death Wolf has been enemies with for a long time. Like a rival Alpha, or in the case of the the sentient ones, their slave master and demonic masters during rebellions and uprisings.”
"That makes sense." I nodded. "And…thankfully it is not like that…"
“With luck the only people you’ll be ending are those three nasties back on Equis.”
"With luck…" I sighed. "Really hope it'll all work out…I want my life to be better, not suffering again because of those jerks…"
“Don’t worry baby, you’re going to have an amazing life.” Mom said, giving me a kiss on the forehead.
To be continued...