Call Me Mother

**(We open up on Julius, lying on the couch. Mercy is at work, so he's alone.)**

**(The doorbell suddenly rings, and he goes to get it.)**

**Julius Redemption:** Who's there?

**???:** Don't you recognize me?

**(Julius unlocks the door.)**

**Julius Redemption:** No-

**(The door slams open, and a woman with eyes red from tears, floor-length black hair, and pale skin walks in. Julius's eyes widen.)**

**Julius Redemption:** A-Ach-!

**Achlys:** Will you not call me...*Mother*? *\*a grin appears on her face\**

**Julius Redemption:** Wh-what are you-?!

**Achlys:** I came to visit my son! My beloved, handsome little *parasite, sucking the marrow from my very bones-* Ahem.

**(She notices a silver wedding ring on Julius's left ring finger and smirks.)**

**Achlys:** And you've even gotten married without my knowledge.

**Julius Redemption:** How...how are you even here?!

**(Achlys looks around the living room, she sees several photographs of him and Mercy together, their wedding photo and a small framed picture of Mercy's pregnancy test with a positive mark on it. The frame has the words, the happiest day, engraved on it. Achlys scowls.)**

**Achlys:** And you didn't even tell me that I will be expecting to become a grandmother. Why didn't you tell me, my little parasite?

**Julius Redemption:** I-I'll call the police if you don't leave-

**Achlys:** I am a *goddess*. What do you expect the police to be able to do? What do you expect *anyone* to be able to do?

**(She smirks.)**

**Achlys:** Now, if you don't mind...and even if you do...I will be taking you home.

**Julius Redemption:** Wh-what do you mean by tha-?

**(Achlys suddenly lunges forward and grabs Julius's arm. Both disappear in a flash of light. Meanwhile at the mental health clinic, Mercy, 2 months pregnant, suddenly feels something strange, she quickly grabs her things and heads straight back home. When she arrives, almost crashing the car into the garage door, she runs inside to see that Julius is gone and some of the photographs have scratches on them, she picks up the framed photograph of her pregnancy test, which has been shredded and the frame was broken. She quickly teleports to Olympus to seek help from her mother, Eleos. Meanwhile Julius and Achlys arrive in a dark realm that is filled with nothing but mist and cries.)**

**Achlys:** Don't you remember your childhood home, Julius? How you've suffered and grovelled for all those years.

**Julius Redemption:** What do you want with me?!

**Achlys:** Ever since you've been involved with that spawn of Eleos, you've become different...not the sad little boy i gave birth to.

**Julius Redemption:** That's because you've stripped everything from me! But she helped me get them back and more! You don't control me anymore Achlys, I'm not your puppet!

**(Julius whips out his pistol ( a wedding gift from Branwen) and attemptes to shoot Achlys only for her to send spider-like arms made of pure darkness at him, forcing him down and it begins to slowly take away the light Mercy has brough back to his mind. Meanwhile with Mercy, she arrives at Eleos's palace and is pacing around nervously while trying to figure out what to do to help her husband.)**

**Mercy Redemption:** This has Achlys written all over it. But I don't think it's only Julius that she's after.

**(She touches her abdomen, Eleos is in shock.)**

**Eleos:** She's possibly trying to lure you to destroy what ever happiness he has. And that includes the happiness that he'll get when he becomes a father. Mercy, my dear, be careful. Who knows what she'll do to you.

**Mercy Redemption:** I understand mother. But this is something I have to do.

**(Mercy teleports to Achlys's realm and to her shock she sees Julius trapped in acage with the darkness eating away at his mind.)**

**Mercy Redemption:** JULIUS!

**Achlys:** Well if it isn't my 'daughter-in-law'.

**Mercy Redemption:** Let him go!

**Achlys:** I'll let him go on one condition.

**Mercy Redemption:** Anything! Please! But don't hurt him or take away the light inside of him!

**(Achlys swoops down from her throne and Julius is freed from his cage.)**

**Julius Redemption:** Mercy?

**Achlys:** Get rid of that spawn of yours.

**(She points at Mercy's abdomen)**

**Julius and Mercy:** What?!

**Mercy Redemption:** You sick monster! This is your grandchild!

**Achlys:** As long as it brings misery to you both! In fact, I don't even think it's my grandchild if it's from you!

**(The dark spider-like legs lunge at Mercy, hoping to strike her abdomen and cause a miscarriage when a wall of Rune stone blocks it. Mercy and Julius look behind them to see Midnight, Yue, Shinigami, Hanabi, Corona, Aira, Belledonna, Saaya, Mirî and Ebony standing there.)**

**Belledonna El:** You will not hurt our friends!

**Ebony Scar:** Just like old times eh?

**Corona Time:** Just like old times.

**Mirî Irkalla:** Ready guys?

**(They all activate their glyphs and the sealing portal appears. The energy chains wrap themselves around the goddess of misery and promptly drags her in to the portal to the Dark Realm. But she's having none of it and continues to struggle.)**

**Midnight Darkness:** Hold it....Hold it....

**(Achlys continues to struggle as Aira's vacuum and Mirî's energy chains draw her closer and closer into the portal. As she is almost inside the portal, she see Julius holding Mercy tight, she scowls and throws a spear of pure darkness at Julius, but Mercy pushes him down and blocks it taking the hit for him just as Achlys is sealed away in the dark realm. Julius looks up to see that Mercy has been impaled in the abdomen and bleeding, she falls to her knees as the spear disintegrates into dust.)**

**Julius Redemption:** NO! MERCY!

**Mercy Redemption:** I'm fine Julius, I'm immortal....but...I think...

**(She places his hand on her abdomen)**

**Mercy Redemption:** They're gone...

**(Julius holds his wife close to him and they both begin crying. Shinigami walks over to them and puts her hand on Mercy's abdomen.)**

**Shinigami Mikoto:** You're wrong, it's still there and alive.

**Mercy Redemption:** But how?!

**Yue Liang:** It's simple really, my wife/life partner is a doctor, but the spear only pierced your liver. But you're not out of the woods yet. come on, let's get you patched up.

**(They teleport to the hospital in Londust where Serenity works and the spear is removed and her liver is successfully treated.)**

**Julius Redemption:** That was a close call babe. But at least you're safe and so is our future. But she was still my mother, yet she never loved or cared for me.

**(Mercy smiles and rubs her slightly bulging abdomen and smiles. She takes her husband's hand and places it on her abdomen.)**

**Mercy Redemption:** I know you're gonna be a great dad Julius.

**Serenity Mania:** Uh guys..I have some news about your pregnancy. They're triplets...congratulations!...I think...

**(Julius's eyes almost popped out of his sockets as he falls out of his seat and faints. Mercy is simply shell-shocked. )**