Chapter Text
Draxum held her gently in his arms- she's more fragile than her brothers already. Perhaps not to the extent that of his second experiment, but fragile nonetheless.
She's a Diamondback terrapin, and it shows on her shell with that little black spiral pattern. She has a light blueish green skin/scale tone, very unique compared to the ones that came before her. Her eyes are a dark yellow that looks sort of muddy, that's an ugly color. But he can't find it in himself to call any part of her ugly, because she is cute. Adult brains are designed to see newborn babies as cute. Her marks are a dull yellow as well, but a much more pleasant color because it's lighter. He managed to combine all of the patterns of brothers on her body.
She's wrapped up in a blanket, soft blue. He's always liked the colors yellow and blue together, it reminds him of the popsicles he would get from witch-town in his youth. Therefore, nearly all of the baby items he has for her are blue.
He didn't have enough hatchling stuff from his last four creations, so he had to buy new ones. It has been two years since Lou had taken them. If they're still alive, then their ages would be 2-4. Perhaps the snapping turtle would already have some serious force behind his kicks. Maybe #2 is already extreme intelligent, or #3 is already smooth talking his way into extra treats from his caretakers. What are their personalities like? It's been so many years since he's seen their little smiles at a bottle or a warm blanket fresh from the dryer (he always made sure that it wasn't too hot for them first, but they always loved warm things). They loved their baths too, and it was the only time #2 would giggle....
Wait, where was he? Oh right, he had to buy her all new baby items. After Lou Jitsu had taken his creations, he threw out all of their items in a fit of rage. When it was finally time to rebuild, he got her new things with no emotional strings attached.
She wiggles around in his arms, looking up at him with big muddy eyes. The soft lighting of his lab makes it so that she doesn't have white highlights to her eyes at the moment, but they look joyful either way.
She makes faint spit sounds as her tongue loops around her mouth, experimenting with sensations and movement now that she's alive. She can move now, something she couldn't do in the egg. Babies like to wiggle and throw their developing limbs around, and even if she is docile and weak, she is no exception. She's been out of the egg and in his arms for just four hours, and those hours have been amazing.
She hatched while wailing and sobbing, like all babies do. He had to help her out, just like the rest of his creations so long ago. Thankfully, she's a turtle and not a human baby, so straight into the bath she went to wash that gunk and grime off of her. She seemed to enjoy the bath seeming how she spent a solid 10 minutes contently sitting in there while he took newborn assessments.
Yep, sitting. She hatched from a rather large egg and already has the neck and head strength to hold herself upright when assisted. Her shell was leaning against the wall of the sink, and he had a hand on her just in case, but she was sitting up nearly independently. Despite being a newborn, she's about the size of a 6 month old. She's nearly the size that his first ever creation was at the time of his hatching!
Ever since then she's had all of her measurements, weight, and vitals taken. There is no gauge for what will and won't be normal for her. However, she seems to be doing perfectly fine so far. She's responsible and cried at the start.
Now she's settled snuggly in his arms, nuzzling up close to his elbow.
Draxum hopes that she grows up as strong as the start is going, because she is already so far ahead of a newborn. She's strong, reactive and joyous so far.
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Draxum had edited her genes further then he's ever taken any genetic experiment before.
There was barely a part of her that wasn't edited and adjusted- she was fully optimized in every way. She's perfect on a genetic level and a true show of his own genius. It's not showing yet, because she's just a baby. But looking at her genes, her code, what makes her tick? It's stunning even to himself.
Her joints are bendy, but he took more precautions than he did with #4. She'll be nearly as fast as him too, with a hopefully similar built. He wants a compact and small fighter, but a mighty one. If he has it his way, which he likely will, she'll be more of a dodger than a strongman. To support the jumps and flips she will be doing, she has extra cushioning in the soles of her feet. Not unlike elephants.
Her eyes are going to develop very good vision- minus the color blindness. It was a trade off he was willing to make because it's pretty hard to code in both full view of the color spectrum and stellar night vision without something going wrong. Red and green aren't that important anyway, it's a fair trade. This one can't breathe out of her cheeks like #2 was able to, but she will move as silently as he could.
She didn't inherit much from #2, because he didn't really bother to try and force tactics to her brain. It was too much stress for her and there was admittedly already a lot of edits before giving her those traits even crossed his mind. BUT, she got the eye patterns of #2. He wanted each of the other creations to be carried on within her in some way.
She didn't as many traits from #1 as she did from the others, but she certainly develop his appetite with age. She's already so big for her age! She will have his strength, but a bit more compact. She will also have his exact fat-to-muscle cap. He wanted her to have spikes too, but they didn't work out the way he wanted it to.
She will be strong, fast, silent and hopefully obedient if he has any say in the matter. But not to obedient- he doesn't need her getting killed over anything stupid for "the sake of the mission".
He needs a war machine, not a daughter. He can't afford to become attached to her, no matter how much care or how much time he spends on her. (He's made this mistake before)
He will have to send her out on missions as a child, make her fight to destroy humanity and claim it for Yōkai. Make the world a place where she can freely go out and feel the sun on her skin, pick surface flowers and feel the real rain. Watch the stars twinkle and the planets go around.
He himself has always wanted to see the planets, even sneaking topside as a child to catch a glimpse of them. But humans have polluted their own sky, ruined their own view of what they could have.
He saw maybe 4 stars among the bright lights, and that was after traveling a far distance from the major cities. No constellation, no galaxies and no planets. When he takes over the earth for his own kind, he will remove that. Stop the light pollution, use magic to remove the actual pollution and see the planets. Give them back to the creatures that had it stolen from humans. How many animals with short lifespans have never seen the stars and never will?
#5 will free the sky for everyone, as his right hand woman. They'll find her fellow warriors and free them from Lou Jitsu. With the power he has given her, built into her, they'll be unstoppable.
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The nursery is only half finished, once again because he didn't use the room he used for his other creations. That door has long since been bolted over. It will forever remain like that as long as he is the one who lives here.
The room that's set aside for her isn't cute or fancy, but it's functional. There's long dresser-like set of shelves with a changing table on top of it and plenty of room for baby supplies under. And it's already fully stocked with everything he could think to get.
There's a crib, plain grey with high bars to prevent escape shall she have the same hyperactive nature that #4 did. From the way she's wiggly already and can sit up? It certainly won't be long until she can crawl.
He sets her down for a moment, and goes to heat up a bottle. Because of the human DNA in her veins, she needs a concoction similar to formula but with more greens. It's a mix of a smoothie including kale, carrots and pure protein. Mix in some human baby formula with that and you get what her diet will be for the next 6 months. He isn't exactly sure if the bottle needs to be warm, but there is human baby formula in it and he doesn't exactly know enough about the chemical makeup of it to trust it lukewarm or cold.
He pops it into the warmer thing next to the changing table, she's still in his left arm, tucked into his cloak and chest. She's trying to look around, staring at everything she can. The movement of the ceiling fan seems to interest her, and maybe she would enjoy those baby mobiles? He imagines her grabbing at cartoon images of the stars and planets hanging over her head.
The bottle finishes warming, and he takes a seat on the floor. There's not exactly a chair or anything in here yet, so his back is aginst the wall as he lays her down in his arms. The blanket is slowly taken off of her tubby little infant limbs and tucked into his cloak pocket. This leaves so her shell on his arm and then skin-to-skin. She latches quick, seemingly hungry from the effort being born. The room is silent except for the small sounds of her suckling and the occasional sigh from himself.
It's pleasantly warm in the nursery, unlike the unpleasant light grey walls and grey carpet. It matches the rest of his home, but certainly isn't the place to put a child to last. He'll have one of his gargoyles paint it later, something more suited for a child. Maybe a cloud theme? Blue walls and painted on clouds. Huginn likes coloring things, right? Maybe he would do a good job.
When she's old enough to have an opinion, she'll get to decide what colors and themes she wants. She may not even find earth themes appealing at all.
She finally finishes the bottle, or at least she is done drinking. There's still maybe a few teaspoons left in there, but she's made it clear that she's not in the mood. Unlatching and squirming to free herself from the nipple, even lightly smacking his hand to get him to release her from his evil grasp.
He sits her up, pressing her plastron into his chest and lightly smacking her back to make her burp.
In the very short time he had his other creations, he learned quite fast that they needed to be burped after every feeding. #3 epically got very fussy if not properly burped after he ate. #1 was an absolute force of nature and somehow managed to escape any discomfort while not burped. #4 could become reasonably fussy and well.... #2 never ate from a bottle while in his care. Thank god Lou jitsu took him when he was getting very close to being able to bottle feed. There's a good chance that he adapted in his care.
Back to #5, she burps for him rather fast, letting out a sleepy little yawn right after.
He puts his hand on the side of the crib, pushing himself up and place #5 into her crib. She seems a bit shocked to be laid down, because this may be the first time since the egg that she hasn't been in his arms. It takes a few moments for her to realize that she's secure in the crib and settle down, eyes closing and mouth opening to breathe better.
He still has the baby blanket tucked into his pocket, so he takes it out and places it gently over her. It's breathable, so it's not as if she can suffocate with it. She's a mutant and a turtle, so hopefully she'll be fine. Whatever, hopefully she doesn't die. That would be a tragedy.
"Shhhhhhhhhh," Draxum whispers to her, "Go to sleep." Those may have been the first words he's spoken in hours, so it feels a bit weird to say. He leans his elbows on the high bars on the crib, wanting to watch her sleep for a while. That would be weird to say about anyone but a baby.
She falls asleep, breath going even and relaxed. That didn't take as long as he assumed it would be, she makes her way to dream land rather fast. There is a chance that he spaced out though, either way it feels as if it happened in nearly no turn at all. Her soft plastron rising and falling with every breath, even rate. She looks very innocent, sitting there bundled up. It's hard to imagine her fighting for enemies and saving the earth, when she's just a little bundle of flesh and new experiences. Those fists are gonna free the earth one day.
He slowly drags himself off of her crib, leaving the door wide open so she can be heard. It's getting late... he should have his gargoyles keep an ear open for her.
That'll be Muninn's job for tonight.
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It's her second day in this life, and Draxum has been waking up every 4 hours to come feed her during the nights. He's been wearing her in a baby carrier under his cloak for the rest of the day.
She needs a bottle every four hours. Yōkai children are rambunctious and stupid things, and mixing that with turtle and human cannot be any good. Aren't human children known for finding stupid and dumb ways to end up dead? Hopefully her turtle DNA manages to override the human urge to perish.
That begs the question, how many human ailments is she susceptible to? Because the sobbing coming out of her little body does not communicate simple hunger. Babies really are very loud about what they need... he can't wait until she learns basic speech.
Back to the situation at hand, she's currently getting her second bottle of the night. Turtle Yōkai need food every 12 hours as infants; while she isn't a Yōkai, it seemed like the best reference. From the research he's done on human babies, they need food every 2 hours. It makes sense that she's somewhere in the middle, even if he must admit that her being slightly closer to human makes his eye twitch.
She also smells.... rather unpleasant at the moment. Great, another diaper change. Whatever, she was going to wait for feeding time to be over. He gave her thick skin for a reason. As much as he wants to make this the job of one of his right hand men, he has decided to do as much as he can with this creation by himself. For some reason, the loss of his other four experiments made him rather affectionate.
Draxum remembers the months after they were taken by their awful DNA donor. He was being weirdly lenient with how many times Huginn and Muninn were allowed to perch upon his shoulders. There was also the incident where he had a tiny bit too much of that mead he got from that octopus's shop. By the time he was back to himself, his evil servants had taken photos of him sobbing while hugging a pillow to his chest. They didn't show him until a week after, they felt sorry or something. He had never felt more embarrassed.
They called those experiments of his "sons" for a few weeks before he snapped and yelled at them. That just to happened to have been the day where he finally threw out their things and bolted up their nursery door. Bless their hearts, they're sweet and all. But they are far too kind and sentimental for the jobs that they signed up for and the cause they are a part of. He might have also had a part in that, considering how permissive he was in letting them declare themselves "uncles" while the young warriors were still in beta.
The stress of his main plan of attack on the humans did a number on his psyche for a few weeks.
After all, he had almost a year and a half of planning snatched away before he could blink! Any self respecting scientist would be heartbroken after all of that. He had handcrafted every single part of those experiments. The 3-1 months (depending on when they were born) that he had with those kids were far too joyous. He will never stop regretting that. Maybe if he had stopped celebrating and doting on those four, he could have tightened security on Lou Jitsu to prevent him escaping with the boys. Maybe if he had guarded these kids a little more, they would still be with him.
Not to mention that they're gone. And with all of those medical things they'll need. #1 needs a lot more feedings and calories than any normal newborn hatching would need, and how would the rat know that? He wouldn't. Does he know that #2 is weak and sickly? Does he know that #4 might have joint pain or that there's a possibility of #2 having Williams syndrome as he grows older? No. Can't have known any of this.
What if Lou Jitsu managed killed one, or is still in the process of killing one, because he didn't know? What if he never figured out how to care for their specific conditions that he knows they'll have?
He has plans for #5 to help him reclaim the surface while solo. But in the best world he can imagine, she would manage to find and reunite with her her kin. Something not even Draxum had managed to do no matter how much effort he put into it. She would find a way through magic or an incident or something else and reunite him with the rest.
Then they could join the plans again! Even if they never get trained for battle, they were made to fight. It would take maybe six or so months before they're in fighting shape and ready to rid the earth of humans. Free the entirety of Yōkai kind and let them see the stars and feel the rain.
Needless to say, the creation of #5 was an anxious process. Having her in his arms feels nostalgic in the worst ways, and the best ones. It's hard to put into words.
He needed his two assistants to help more when he had four ones to take care of. Now that it's only one he can give her his full attention. He wants to be the person doing everything this time, from diaper changes on late nights to holding her when she eventually gets sick. Sure, the gargoyles have been keeping an ear out for her; but they were instructed to get him when she starts to cry.
After she's been cleaned and fed, off to bed she goes. Blanket still wrapped around her squishy body, except for one hand that refused to be tamed. It's in a loose fist by her muddy yellow eyes, thumb poking accidentally at her cheek.
She nearly scares herself by the fact that she's poking herself! It's funny to watch, until an attempt to move it away from her face ends with it falling a bit too close to her eye for his comfort. He reaches into her crib to intervene, moving the appendage away from her face and out to the side.
That yellow gaze looks shocked, before she lets out a happy baby squeal. Her legs kick up as she giggles in that choppy little way that babies tend to. #4 used to do the same thing every time they played peek-a-boo.
"Did I free you!?" Draxum asks, poking her developing knee for emphasis. "All better?"
Her smile only grows wider, hands flapping once as her legs kick again. She's clearly wide awake now and happy now. Tummy time is something that human children need, right? So their heads don't deform. She was born out of an egg and doesn't have those skull plates made to squish like they do. Then again, being on that shell of hers must be boring.
He picks her up, aware that he's not sleeping until she sleeps.
The carpet in her nursery isn't the softest, but scales will help prevent her from getting uncomfortable. He lays down on his stomach too as well, thankful that he's in sweats and a night shirt rather than his usual bulky cloak. She gets placed right in front of him, on her plastron.
"Ah!" She babbles, trying to hold her head up. "AhBaBa"
"Oh yea?" Draxum responds, kneeling and reaching up for a moment to grab one of the toys he got her from the dresser thing. There's a few that she hasn't seen yet, but he decides to play it safe with her loveey. It's a small blue blanket square with an elephants head in the center. A stuffed animal- not a design on the thing. Almost like the elephant has a dress on. It's a pleasant greyish-blue.
He leans back down and puts it next to her head, watching her eyes find it and her smile reach those tubby cheeks. "Babababbaba!"
"You're welcome," he answers, grabbing the toy. By now her face is already being held fully upright by her arms, leaving the perfect opportunity for a game of.....
Draxum hides his face behind the loveey, having it unfold and cover his face. Then he suddenly drops it down into the floor below, "Peek-A-Boo!"
Her eyes go wide, a hand instantly reaching out to come and grab at him. She manages to throw off her balance in the process of trying to grab at him. Parental instincts kick in fast, letting him put a hand under her chin when it falls onto the carpet. She would have been perfectly fine, probably. It was just a few inches.
Her eyes grow teary within seconds, lip wobbling. He is instantly sitting up and pulling her into his arms and to his chest.
"WHAAAAAAAAA-"
Once the waterworks start, he sighs and rocks her side to side with a small and comforting bounce. "Shhhhhhhh...." he whispers, running a thumb up and down her soft-scaled head. One hand is cupping her cranium and the other is holding her upright and on his chest. She seems to enjoy being attached to his chest, from her usual reaction to the baby carrier. "It's okay. You're okay."
She seems to get over her that pretty fast, wails calming down to hiccups and sniffles. Now she's just looking up at him confused and questioning.
"You done?" He asks, lifting her up to be eye level for a moment, "I'm pretty done too..." He lets out a sigh, "Bedtime?"
He gets up and sets her down in the crib, watching her stare at him with this offended little face at him daring to set her down for sleep when she's clearly happy receiving attention. As soon as he sees that mouth open ready for a cry, he's instantly swooping her back up and sitting down on the ground.
He leans against the wall, right where he usually feeds her the bottle. She lays down on his stomach, flopping out on the floor and closing her eyes. He can sympathize with her feelings at the moment.
Maybe Draxum can just rest his eyes for a few minutes.....
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He wakes up when it's time to go back to work, strapping her onto his chest to start another day of work. There's a crick in his neck and his legs are stiff but he can't find it in his heart to regret spending the night holding her, because she looks so content in his arms.
He tries to stand up, and she looks up at him with the most irritated expression ever seen on a baby.
She gets strapped to his chest anyway for a day or work, and off to the lab she goes. She instantly spits up as soon as his pen hits paper for the first time.
She's an evil little shit, that's for sure.
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