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Sublime Awakenings	By : Kailean Category: Comics > Squee! Views: 1478 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Squee!, JTHM, or Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from these works. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 24
- 25
- 26
Sublime Awakenings: Chapter 25

Pepito took a nervous breath as he descended the stairs in his basement, pulling Todd behind him. He held his hand tightly in case he fell down, though his state was already showing signs of improvement from that morning. His father had just delegated him the task of researching and managing most of the Shmee situation, which was the most responsibility he had ever had. He found that a little scary, but he couldn't let Squee know that.

Squee looked around in confusion, and relief, at the washer and dryer, the old furniture and boxes of stored stuffs. “Pepito, this...is a normal basement.”

“Of course. I showed you purposefully when we were younger. Normally, to reach Hell alive, you have to astral-project there. Our basement has a strong connection to Hell, but Hell isn't a material place. It's more like a state of mind.”

“Okay, now I'm really confused.”

Releasing Todd's hand momentarily, Pepito pulled an old mattress against the back wall down to lie flat on the floor. “Sit with me.”

This did nothing to lessen Squee's feeling of confusion. Shaking his head in puzzlement, he followed his friend onto the mattress, dropping to his knees in the middle before falling back onto his butt and tucking his legs beneath him. “Stranger and stranger.”

“Heh. You're not even through the looking glass yet, Amigo.” The half-demon sat in a similar position, facing his friend, and extending his hands palms up. “Now, hold my hands.”

“Kay.” As he put his own hands into slightly warmer ones, Todd couldn't help but notice how nice they felt...and how odd this was. “Are you sure this is the path to Hell?”

Pepito smirked. “This? Two guys on an old mattress holding hands?” He paused to hold the other's hands tighter, rubbing circles on the upper sides with his thumbs. “Oh yeah.”

Fighting a losing battle against his growing blush, Todd rolled his eyes at the other's joke. “That's not exactly what I meant.”

“I know. Alright, seriously, you know how everything that exists is potentially a wave or a partial...energy or matter? Well, the spiritual is the energy side. Energy doesn't travel through the dimension of time, which is why souls are immortal for the most part. There are different ways to perceive the universe: with our more material senses or with the imagination, which has a physical counterpart...but that's not important right now. Basically, the five senses are mostly used to perceive the matter side of reality and the imagination, in sensitive individuals, can easily be used to perceive the spiritual side. The astral plane is the spiritual side of the universe. It's the same as the material universe, just, from a different point of view.

Because the astral plane is not contained in time, infinite possibilities exit all at once from every temporal reality. This means that anything one can imagine exits on the astral plane. When we imagine them, we perceive them with our creative genius. So, thoughts and feelings are translated into actions, things and places...which are like the vibration of waves. Getting to Hell, or any other spiritual place, is a shift in perception, driven by imagination. Understand?”

“I...think so. But, how am I supposed to get to a specific place there if I don't really know what I'm looking for?”

“That's what the hands are for.” Pepito have them a short squeeze for emphasis. “I can help you get there, and then we can use the All Seeing Eye to research your situation.”

After his curiosity was mostly sated, Squee's fear of what they were about to do rose to the surface of his conscious again. “Do we really have to?”

“We really need to. We need to know as much about Shmee as possible.”

“Alright.” Squee took a deep breath, resigning himself to a scary fate. “You won't leave me alone there, right?”

“I won't. I promise. Now, relax and close your eyes. Breathe deeply, inhaling through your nose and exhaling through your mouth. When you can feel my essence in your hands, you need to wait long enough to recognize it. Envision our linked hands as a spiritual link. As long as we don't let go, the link is maintained, and we will be in the same place.”

Pepito continued to verbally walk Todd through the process until he was ready before taking him on a short trip through the astral plane.

“Okay. You can open your eyes now...or your astral eyes, if you will.”

“Wow. This is...” It was kind of elegant, in a dark and creepy sort of way. But, at least he didn't see anyone being horribly tortured. Actually, it didn't have much in common with the descriptions he had read about at all. “Hell?”

“Yup. In fact, this is the centro psíquico of Hell. And, you'll notice, it is neither on fire or frozen.” Pepito stood, retaining his hold on the other's hands to pull him up as well. “Most of what is written about this place is just Christian propaganda.”

He smiled at Todd's preoccupation with taking in his surroundings before gently pulling him toward the pedestal in the center of the room. “This,” He released one of the hands to gesture to it. “Is the interface for the All Seeing Eye.” He looked around at the mostly bare room in disappointment. “I guess Father likes to stand around in here, commanding it dramatically.”

Squee watched as the Anti-Christ closed his eyes in concentration, leading a plush, black couch to materialize just behind the pair. He barely had time to register its presence before Pepito flopped backwards onto it; their joined hands making him do the same. He gave the other a slight awed look. This was the first time in years that he had been witness to his powers.

“That's better.” Shifting to make himself comfortable, Pepito opened his free hand to receive a dark gray remote that could have belonged to a TV except for its strange buttons. An index finger pressed the power button, and a flaming, eye-shaped ball of energy flashed to life directly above the pedestal. He pressed another button, and the Eye grew foggy before clearing up to reveal a long list of names arranged by time period, then alphabetically. It looked a lot like a digital cable TV guide. “Let's seee...I think we'll watch the 'Todd's Life Channel'.”

Todd watched in interest as Pepito once again closed his eyes in concentration, the cursor moved quickly to the correct time period, scanning through names so fast that he could not make them out as they passed. He pulled his legs onto the couch, sitting Indian styled as it finally stopped moving on his name.

“Do you remember when you got Shmee?”

“I've had him as long as I can remember.”

“Hummm. This might take a while then. Should we start at conception, baby shower, or birth?” They probably could have used Todd's connection to Shmee to find the information more easily, but he wasn't sure what consequences that would have. A being of energy might actually be aware of someone touching their history. What if that somehow incited Shmee to seek the boy out? What if it deepened the connection that the entity had forged?

Squee bit his lip in thought. “I doubt there was a baby shower. Maybe...conception?” Actually, birth seemed more likely, but he didn't want to pass up the chance to gain possible insight into the reasons for his parents’ hatred of him.

“Alright. Conception it is.” The half-demon smiled wickedly as his finger hovered over a button.

As realization dawned, Squee's eyes widened in considerable horror. “Wait!”

Pepito looked to his friend, raising an eyebrow in question.

“Not conception. Can we start when they find out about the pregnancy?”

Disappointed that his plan had failed, Pepito sighed. “Fine. Ready?”

“Yeah.”

“Lights.” A third of the torches lining the curved wall of the tower went out. “Interface.” The Eye flashed again, and the vortex began to spin. “Eh, you know the rest.”

----------------------------------ASE Broadcast---------------------------------

The scene opened on an average college dorm room, apparently shared by two young women. A pretty, young brunette sat on the twin bed on the right side of the room, hugging her legs to her body. Her head was bowed onto them, and a low sobbing could be heard.

There was a soft knock at the door.

The young woman, who looked to be eighteen or nineteen at most, looked up with big, blue eyes that were blood-shot from a lack of sleep and consistent crying. She made a visible attempt to control her breathing and wiped away her tears, leaving mascara streaks that she was unaware of, before calling out in a straggled voice. “Come in.”

Almost hesitantly, the door opened to reveal a black-headed young man, who could have been a few years older than the woman. His slim glasses reflected the light that was shining through the dorm window. “I came here as soon as I hung up with you. What's wrong, Jen?”

“Wrong?”

“I can see that you've been crying.”

Her hand rose to her face, as if expecting to find more tears before she realized what must have happened. “Oh.” The hand fell back to her knee. “Yes. I- I have to tell you something. Mark, you should probably sit down.”

His face flashed with momentary dread before he could force on a mask of compassion, which wasn't very convincing. He stepped forward to take a seat at the foot of the bed in a slight daze, running into a pile of nursing text-books, which his foot sent tumbling over, on the way.

“Remember that frat party last month? The one with the pirate theme where we both had too much to drink?”

“Yeah. What about it?”

She met his fearful, questioning gaze with a sullen expression. “I'm pregnant.”

Mark instantly scooted further away from her, as if she had announced that she carried a highly infectious plague for which there was no cure. “Pregnant?! Are you sure?”

At his reaction, Jennifer looked as if she might break down in tears again. She swallowed thickly before speaking. “Yes. I've taken three home-tests. They all came back positive. Then I went to the doct-doctor…” Her voice broke near the end, and the statement was followed by a few uncontrolled sobs.

“Damn.” Mark examined the bedspread, which he seemed to find exceedingly interesting at the moment. “Well, at least it's still early. You can make an appointment at the local clinic. I have some extra money in the bank if you don't have enough.”

“What?”

“If you're afraid of being recognized, I will drive you to a clinic in another city. If you do it on a Friday, you can be back in class by Monday or Tuesday.”

“Mark, I am not having an abortion! I can't!”

“No, what you can't do is have a kid right now! You're a freshman in kollege! I don't have my degree yet either! What am I supposed to do? Drop out and get some blue-collar job to support a family that I never fucking wanted!”

“I don't know. I just know that I can't kill it.”

“Well, fine! Then you can put it up for adoption, but what are your holy-roller parents going to think when they notice your huge stomach?”

“They said that...that I am no longer welcome in their home. I...I have to drop out of skool at the end of the semester or find a way to support myself by then because they won't give me anymore money.”

“WHAT? You TOLD them already! What the Hell were you thinking? Were you trying to ruin both of our lives?”

“Were you trying to ruin our lives when you convinced me to drink at that party? What about when you said that you loved me?”

“OH! So now this is all my fault?”

Her scowl softened, and she looked down again. “No.” She waited a beat before raising her head, a look of resolution on her tried features. “It's mine. I'm the one who knew better. I'm the one who knew it was wrong. You're just...”

“Just what, Jen? What am I?”

“A nonbeliever.”

He released a harsh sigh. “Don't start that crazy religious shit of yours again.”

“You don't understand.”

“Oh, I understand that you use self-induced delusions to cope with this big, bad life. Well, where is your God now? Are the ghosts going to pay your way through kollege? I know! Why don't you go find a fairy to wish that thing inside of you away!”

“Shut-up! Don't make fun of me, Mark. God is where he's always been. And this 'thing' is our…punishment. We have to bear it with as much...grace...as possible. Killing it would just make matters worse.”

“Punishment, Jennifer? You think God is punishing us? If he wanted to punish me, he should have at least had the decency to give me a deadly STD! Then I could just die, instead of living my whole life as a miserable failure!”

“Get out! Just...get out.”

“Jen. I...I didn't mean that. It's just...I'm really not ready for this, and neither are you. To throw away our lives for just a few cells...it's so stupid.”

The woman lowered her head to her knees once again, letting long hair hide her face. The head jerked with sobs every few seconds.

After standing in silence for several minutes, Mark finally spoke in a flat voice. “I have a class.” When he received no response, he exited the dorm room, leaving his girlfriend to her sorrow.

--------------------------------------End ASE Broadcast----------------------------

Both boys continued to stare at the Eye long after the scene ended.

Squee shifted slightly, trying to loosen Pepito's, now very tight, grip on his hand. “See what I mean about the baby shower? So not going to happen.”

That seemed to pull the other out of his thoughts, and he loosed his grip a little. “You're related to a lot of assholes, Amigo.”

“Yes, I am. You should meet my Grandpa Hatey.”

“Hatey?”

“That's not his real name, just what everyone calls him behind his back.” His tone suddenly changed from informative to slightly angry. “He ate my kitten.”

Suddenly, Pepito's grip on the other's hand tightened again. “He...ATE...your…KITTEN? Why?” Of the Eleven Rules of the Earth, harming animals for nonessential reasons was his biggest pet peeve, probably because he was so close to his dog, Woofles.

Squee cringed at the other's reaction. “Cause he's old and crazy. And an asshole.”

“His name is Castil, right? Does he live in this city?”

The All Seeing Eye flickered like a candle in a breeze as Pepito's anger nearly made him lose his concentration.

“Oops. I'll ask again later.” The Anti-Christ took a moment to calm down, and the Eye soon regained stability. “Okay, let's fast forward a bit.”

-------------------------------------ASE Broadcast------------------------------

An obviously pregnant Jennifer sat in a church pew, half way back from the front, on the far right of the nearly empty church. A statue of the Virgin Marry stood directly to her left, facing the pews. She stared at it wistfully as tears rolled down her cheeks.

“May I help you, my child?”

Jennifer jumped at the gentle voice that was suddenly so close before turning swiftly to see a salt and pepper-haired priest with soft, gray eyes sitting by her side. “I-uh. Where did you come from?”

“Oh, I'm here quite frequently. This was my parish before my…retirement. You look like you could use an ear, and though my hearing’s not what it used to be, mine is yours for the talking.”

Placing a hand on her swollen belly, the young woman looked down shamefully. “I just got married two weeks ago.”

The priest nodded in understanding. “Have you confessed this, my dear?”

“Yes.”

“Then I'm sure that the Lord has forgiven you.”

More tears fell from her eyes, and she hiccupped. “I'm not so sure.”

“What makes you say that?”

“I think there's something wrong with the baby. More wrong than what's wrong with me.”

“And what would that be?” he asked patiently.

“I...sometimes I see things...things that other people don't see...things that human beings aren't meant to see: solid shadows, shining beings, people who radiate color. I hear echoes of pasts that I didn't know existed. It used to happen at times when I was a kid, but my parents told me that it was wrong and I was afraid of it. So, I taught myself to ignore it, and it worked, mostly...until the pregnancy. I can't make it stop anymore. It seems like every day it gets worse. I think that God is punishing me.”

“I highly doubt that. Of course, the pregnancy is a natural result of your sin, and it is God's will. As for the rest, I have seen cases such as yours before. Some people do see such things, and, when they do, their children are more likely to see them as well, suggesting that such abilities are genetic. Perhaps the child you carry possesses that same trait, which it obviously lacks control of at this stage, and that is making the abilities stronger in you while you carry it.”

“It still sounds like a punishment to me. Why would God create such a trait in humans?”

“God's reasons are not for us to question or to know. I do not know why God, in his infinite wisdom, allowed this trait to enter the human gene pool. I do, however, have a theory as to how it happened. Are you familiar with Genesis 6:1-4?”

“You'll have to remind me.”

“‘When men began to multiply on earth and daughters were born to them, the sons of heaven saw how beautiful the daughters of man were, and so they took for their wives as many of them as they chose. Then the Lord said: “My spirit shall not remain in man forever, since he is but flesh. His days shall comprise one hundred and twenty years. At that time the Nephilim appeared on earth (as well as later), after the sons of heaven had intercourse with the daughters of man, who bore them sons. They were heroes of old, men of renown.'” After the quote, the priest paused momentarily for effect before continuing.

“Now, in the Old Testament, the phrase “sons of God” consistently refers to Angels. Though Matthew 22:30 indicates that angels do not marry, just as at the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage, it does not say that angels cannot marry. It is also referring to the angels in Heaven, not the fallen angels that the origin of the Hebrew of “Nephilim” would imply.

In the apocryphal Book of Enoch, and also Jubilees, the origin of the Nephilim is connected with fallen angels, particularly with the Grigori or Watchers who were assigned to observe the humans after the original fall. It is said that a high-ranking angel, Samysza, lead a sect of rebel angels to earth, where they taught humans righteousness for centuries. Eventually, these angels were drawn to some human women, whom they instructed in the forbidden arts of magic and conjuring. The result of their mating was the Nephilim, who inherited some angelic abilities from their fathers. Though the generations of Noah's ancestors were 'pure' of Nephilim infiltration, for which God spared him from the flood used to clean the Earth of the Nephilim, it seems probable that his daughter-in-laws were not. Furthermore, some of the Nephilim were allowed to roam the earth, tempting men and women, until the Last Judgment.

I have come to believe that such traits as you have described are a result of the mixing human genes with those of the fallen Watchers.”

Jennifer continued to stare at the priest with hollow eyes. “You mean, I...you think that I'm...”

“That you are descended from the Watchers, yes.”

“But, my parents are normal.”

“Sometimes these things skip a generation. The trait is probably recessive, and it has probably dissipated in much of the human population over such a long period of time.”

“No. I can't be what you say.” She looked away from the priest, to the Virgin. “I don't believe you.”

“Believe what gives you comfort, my dear, but, to me, your kind shine like a strobe light in absolute darkness. This ability, this child, doesn't have to be a curse. It could be a blessing, if you make it one.”

Her hand instinctively went back to her stomach. “But, I don't want it.” She looked back to the other, but was surprised to find no one there.

-------------------------------End ASE Broadcast-------------------------------

There was more silence, lasting longer this time.

Pepito unconsciously moved closer to Todd so that their legs were touching before speaking in a soft voice. “Amigo, are you okay?”

Retaining a shocked look, as if he had yet to digest the information, Todd spoke carefully. “He was...”

“A ghost.”

“So my mother has the same…issues…as me. Do you think his idea is true?”

“I...It would make sense. It would explain a lot about you. Would you be upset if it were true?”

“I...don't know. That would mean that everyone who can see this stuff would have the same trait, right?” Even though he knew it was silly, there was a strange kind of comfort in knowing that he wasn't the only one, and that maybe there was some sort of reason for the way his life had been.

“Perhaps. I think I should have a talk with Father about this. It could be relevant.”

“Okay.”

“Are you alright to continue?”

“Yeah. Sorry. I'm paying attention now.”

Pepito breathed a sigh of relief. At least Todd didn't appear to be anywhere near as traumatized by what they had just witnessed as his mother had been. He used their linked hands to pull Todd even closer, wishing he could break the link to put his arm around the other, before deciding to skip to the next most likely scene.

-----------------------------------ASE Broadcast------------------------------

The scene opened on Jennifer Castil in a sterile, white delivery room. She was lying down with her legs locked in holsters on each side of the bed. Her face was red and, once again, streaked with tears, this time obviously from pain. A nurse in a blue uniform injected her with something, probably a painkiller.

Mark stood at the foot of the bed with a video camera and a disgusted look on his face. When a doctor told his wife to push, he nearly passed out, definitely not finding anything “graceful” about “bearing” their burden.

“Congratulations, it's a boy. Mr. Castil, would you like to cut the cord?”

“Thanks, but I'll pass.”

The doctor looked slightly taken aback, but seemed to chalk it up to an uneasy stomach, despite the harsh tone. After performing the task himself, he handed the newborn over to the nurse and left for his next appointment.

When the baby was finally placed in Jennifer's arms, she looked down at him in slight confusion. His eyes were a deep blue, like most Caucasian newborns, and a tuft of soft brown hair covered his head. Her hand moved his blanket aside for a moment as if to make sure he wasn't hideously deformed. The mother released a relieved sigh, and began to withdraw when the baby reached out a tiny hand to hold her finger. For a moment Jennifer's eyes widened in fear, but when nothing bad happened she gave him a dopey smile. “Todd. His name is Todd. Todd Michael Castil.” As the nurse took down the name, she continued to talk to the baby in a hushed voice. “You're not a monster after all, are you? You're just...different. Like me.”

Pepito sped through the parts in which Todd was not with his mother, though he was still on the lookout for the bear. Though Mark displayed a complete lack of interest in their baby, Jennifer and Todd seems to form a bond during the first two days at the hospital. And then it happened.

A tall, decrepit nurse with a slumped posture that made her look as if she were carrying a bag full of stones entered their hospital room. She pushed a cart with trays of food up to the bed before quickly unloading Jennifer's meal. She looked down at the baby in the nearby crib. “I had a son once, but he died in a hideous implosion.”

Jennifer looked up from a book she was reading, into the gleaming, reflective lenses of the gray-haired older woman. “Oh! I'm so sorry.”

“Yes, well, that's the way things go, isn't it?”

“I...ummm…hope not.”

“No hope. Only doom. You'll see.”

“Oh.”

The nurse turned to go, but stopped beside the crib. “Almost forgot. Randomly selected children have been issued one stuffed bear by the hospital.” She dropped a new, brown bear with a large smile and one tooth into the baby's crib.

-------------------------------------End ASE Broadcast-----------------------------

Pepito paused the screen. He rewound the last bit, and played it again. “Miss Bitters!? She gave you Shmee?”

“And now she's my teacher again. What do you make of that?”

“They're working together somehow. But why? And why you? That was...more intentional that I expected. How would they know about...your genetics?”

Squee slowly shook his head. “I don't know. Maybe...this really is going to sound crazy…but maybe there's some kind of group that has been around for long enough to find people like me and wait for them to have children. But why would they help Shmee? Is he...the only one? He didn't seem to have any interaction with anyone else when we were together. But...I guess he could have done something like we're doing now?”

“I don't think so. Father thinks that he was trapped in that body until Johnny destroyed it. And since he is made of energy, like a soul, there wouldn't be a difference between astral projection and actually leaving the body completely.”

“Oh. Oh, yeah.”

“There may be a group, but if he couldn't leave the body, why do they help him? And how did he get fused with the bear to begin with?” Pepito sighed loudly. “So many questions. I think we need to subdue Bitters.”

Todd gave him an unsure look. “Subdue Bitters? How?”

“Come on, Squee. Do I really have to say it?”

“Yes.” He had to force back a humorous smile. “Pleeaasse?”

“With my super Satanic powers, because... This is a job for The Anti-Christ!”

Both teens erupted in laugher.

“Are you happy now?”

“Yes. I think we're still going to need a plan, though. You know, because from what I remember, your adventures tend to end in death. And dead people are hard to question.”

“Todd, think about where we are right now. Where else would Bitters go?”

“I don't know, but if she is associated with Shmee, couldn't it be possible that she has some alternative?”

“It's unlikely, but fine. We'll take her alive. So, are we done here?”

“I guess. But...do you think we could look at something from a few weeks after my birth? Just...to see if Shmee's really what made things...the way they are.”

“Yes, but...you're sure you wanna see that?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Okay. Let's try a month.”

---------------------------------------ASE Broadcast------------------------------

A middle-aged woman in a dark purple dress suit sat behind a wooden desk, looking across it at the couple occupying two chairs. Both Jennifer and Mark appeared fatigued: dark circles lined their eyes. Jennifer shook from too much caffeine and too little sleep

The woman adjusted small, round specs on her eyes, glancing over their paper work on her clipboard. “So, Mr. Castil. You say that your wife is suffering from what you believe to be postpartum depression?”

Mark looked irritably from his wife to the councilor. “Yes, as a matter of fact, I do.”

“Would you mind giving me a more detailed description of her symptoms?”

“She doesn't sleep, she's miserable and she's afraid of the baby.”

The councilor gave him a disappointed look before looking quickly back to the file and turning to his wife. “Mrs. Castil...Jennifer, could you tell me how you feel about your new...son, was it?”

The young woman raised her head to stare at her with crazed eyes. “Yes, Todd is a boy.”

Mark rolled his eyes at her short and dazed response. “Would you just tell her already, so we can get this over with?”

“Mr. Castil, please be patient. Situations like these are never easy for the mother. Now, Jennifer, how do you feel about your son? Do you enjoy spending time with him?”

Jennifer slowly shook her head in the negative. “Something is wrong with him. He...they're always near him, around his crib, on the street when I took him out in the stroller. I hate being around him, because I know they'll be there, and the way he looks at me...he can see them too.”

The older woman's brow rose in worried confusion at this information. “They? Who are 'they', Jennifer? What do you mean, 'he can see them too'? Is this something that only you and your son can see? Are 'they' out to hurt him?”

“I...I don't know. Different things, I think. They appear in different forms. Some of them are more scary that others. Some of them are like the things I used to see as a child, but some of them are new...worse. Other people, most other people, can't see them. Mark thinks I'm crazy. That's why he brought me here. My parents...they told me when I was young that those things come from the Devil...”

“I see. So, you've seen these kinds of things since you were a child?”

“Yes. But, I was able to stop seeing them, for the most part, until the pregnancy. Even then, there weren't as many of them, and they weren't as frightening as after we brought Todd home.”

“And why do you think that is?”

“I think that he attracts them. He gives them power or something,”

“So you don't think they want to hurt him?”

“N-no. I don't think so. They're hardly ever aggressive toward him. It's almost as if they like him or consider him to be one of them or something. It's...unnatural.”

“Mrs. Castil, have you ever been diagnosed with bipolar disorder or schizophrenia?”

“No.”

“Is there a history of any psychotic disorder in your family?”

“Not that I know of.”

“Okay. If neither of you have anything else to add, I'm going to refer you to a psychiatrist who is qualified to diagnosis cases like yours. From what you've told me, this sounds more like postpartum psychosis than postpartum depression. Postpartum psychosis is treated as a medical emergency because of the risk to both mother and child, so I highly suggest that you do everything in your power to resolve this as soon as possible.” The councilor took a moment to look up a number in her computer before passing it over to Mr. Castil. “Here. Call this number tomorrow morning to setup an appointment. The doctor will already be familiar with your case by then.”

Mark pocketed the paper, sporting an oddly gleeful smile. “Will they take the baby away?”

“Excuse me?”

“The baby. Will they take it away? You heard what she said. She's clearly not fit to raise a child.”

“Not to worry, Mr. Castil. I'm sure that is a last precaution. The doctor will probably prescribe some anti-psychotics and anti-stress medication. Most women who experience postpartum psychosis recover, and raise healthy enough children.”

“Damn it! Fine! Let's go.” Mark guided Jennifer out the office door with his hand on her back a little too forcefully, letting it slam behind them.

--------------------------------------End ASE Broadcast------------------------------

The All Seeing Eye once again clouded over.

“Alright, Amigo. I think that's about all we need for now.”

“But Pepito...”

“No Todd. You've seen enough of those uncaring morons, and if I have to keep watching them I'm going to kill them in a very slow and painful way, which I would rather not do because I don't know what the social system would do with you.”

Squee sighed in acceptance. “Alright.”

A brief silence ensued before Pepito broke it in a small bout of anger. “Why in the name of all things unholy didn't they ever try taking the bear away?”

Casting his gaze down, Todd answered in a soft tone. “Because it kept me occupied so I didn't bother them as much. I'm kind of...glad they didn't though. Then I really would have been alone.”

Pepito gave the hand he was holding a little squeeze. “Don't be sad, Squee. They don't deserve you. And neither does Shmee. You don't need them. Pretty soon things will be different.”

“Thanks...I think. But I'm fine. I've known that they hate me for a long time. It's actually kind of nice to know why.” Todd raised his head to shoot Pepito a weak smile before continuing in a more upbeat voice. “So, what now?”

“Now, we have a sleepover that contains lots of science fiction and even more snacks. I still owe you ice cream.”

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Notes:

-The Eleven Satanic Rules of the Earth belong to the Church of Satan. I wasn't intending to have much theology/religious philosophy in this fic at all, but the larger a role Pepito has, the more it's going to be there. Plus, Johnny died, so Senor Diablo is involved. Obviously, they're both Satanists, so I did some research on Modern Satanism (Church of Satan and First Church of Satan, plus reading the Satanic Bible) as well as more traditional and historical forms, parodies of Satanic cults, etc. I'll cite any direct references, but some of it will pop up in their general approach to life without direct reference. This is where it gets kind of offensive (to Satanists) because I also have some cliché horror movie stuff mixed in, as well as ideas from some Christian writers and cosmological stuff from eastern and pagan religions. Probably, some people won't know the difference. I apologize in advance, but really, Anton LeVay helped make Rosemary's Baby, and if this is offensive, that should be too.
Modern Satanic Influences from part one:
-Mr. Satan's thoughts about the moral difference between indulgence (seen as healthy) and compulsion (seen as unhealthy and weak)
-Pepito's thoughts about Elize, in relation to how guest should be respectful in another's lair, and if they're not, they should be destroyed.

-The explanation of astral projection is a mixture of physics, Starhawk's concept of “starlight vision”, William Blake's beliefs about the nature of the imagination and probably a few other things I've picked up over time. Oh, and astral projection here is based on the "phasing model" as opposed to the "separation model".

-Quote of Genesis 6:1-4 is from the New American Bible.

-The origin of the Nephilim:

www. gotquestions. org/sons-of-God. html (remove spaces after periods).
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Sublime Awakenings