Iris Bloom:

Simone’s Notes:

The doctrine is based on a passage in the nativity narrative of the Gospel of Luke, that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was "overshadowed" by the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:35), and reached its final formulation in the fourth century in the context of the debates which characterized the church following its adoption as the State religion of the late Roman and early Byzantine empires. From a theological perspective, the doctrine of the Virgin Birth showed Jesus' divine and human natures at once united, paving the way for all of humanity to be united with God. Polls indicate that contemporary belief in central tenets of the Christian faith, including the Virgin Birth, is highly variable among both the clergy and the laity, in all branches of Christianity. Nevertheless, the belief in the Virgin Birth remains central to Christianity, and those conservative Christians who continue to hold it, do so as a supernatural event outside the laws of science. Although they believe in the Virgin Birth, Muslims do not call Jesus "Son of God", rather "Servant of God". In the Qur'an, Jesus is consistently termed "Isa ibn Maryam" - a matronymic - because, in Muslim belief, he had no biological father.

“I’m home sweetheart!” Jakob called as he entered the apartment from visiting his sister in Mecca Hall Institution on Christmas Eve. Riza came forward and kissed her boyfriend on the lips romantically. Happily surprised, the mouse kissed back. He lightly put his arms around her. When they broke away, the couple looked deeply into each other’s eyes. Riza was smiling at him sweetly. “You’re under mistletoe!” she pointed out. Jakob looked up to find that the whole ceiling of the front door was dark green with the kissing plant. “Oh, I see!” he called. The mouse couldn’t help but smile at his love. This merger of Christmas and Hanukkah was working perfectly for them both. The Christmas-Hanukkah tree was decorated with menorahs, dreidels, Stars of David, and angels. Riza and Jakob played with the dreidel with sexy “prizes” attached to it. They had given each other presents for eight nights. Hawkeye was still trying to get use to the taste latkes. (Jakob let her slide on that one. “You don’t have to eat it if you don’t like it.” he told her.) The lt. even went out and bought her boyfriend a menorah to add onto the tradition. “So, how’s Naomi?” Riza spoke up. Jakob went serious again. “She’s fine.” the mouse replied. “I was four today in her eyes.” The lt. felt bad for asking now. His sister was still a sensitive subject for him. It was always in his eyes. She felt sorry for him again. “It must be hard for him around this time!” she thought. So, Hawkeye decided to change the subject.

“Tomorrow’s Christmas!” Riza reminded him. Jakob’s eyes lit up again. “Really now?” he asked. The lt. nodded sweetly. Her boyfriend’s cheeks became a lightly candy red. “I have my best present for you then!” Riza added on. “Really?” the mouse asked in excitement. Riza lightly kissed him on the cheek. “Does that answer your question?” she asked seductively. Jakob didn’t answer and kissed back in lost rapture. They were on the coffee table in the living room about to shag when his cell phone rang. “Jakob, *Kiss*” Riza spoke up. “Please don’t *kiss* answer that *kiss*!” “But what if *kiss* it’s an emergency *kiss*?” her boyfriend asked. “Please *kiss*!” Hawkeye begged. “But I have *kiss* to answer it *kiss*.” Jakob replied. Then, he climbed off of her and answered his phone. “Hello?” the mouse asked on the phone. “Ginny?” Riza watched in silence. The boy’s face became somber. “Just calm down, Gin,” he told her. “I’ll be right there!” Then, the mouse turned to Riza. “I have to go,” he called. “It’s Kate, she has serious stomach pains. They are at the hospital now!” His girlfriend quickly understood. “Okay,” she said. Jakob smiled at her nicely. “Don’t worry,” he promised. “We’ll pick up where we left off when I get back!” Then, he kissed her lightly on the lips and headed out the door.

Jakob found Mikey, Hunter, and Ginny in the waiting room. Gin was a nervous wreck. The mouse looked at all of his friends. “What happened?” he asked. “Is Kate in labor?” “No!” Ginny forced out while trying not to cry. “She just started complaining about bad stomach pains she had been having since morning! I thought that it was labor too, but she told it wasn’t! I don’t what it is! I just don’t know!” The girl finally broke down crying. Hunter comforted her. “There, there,” he said softly. “It’ll be okay!” Ginny just cried on his lap. Jakob quietly took a seat next to Mikey. All they could do at the moment was wait and hope for the best.

In the apartment tea room, Syd was smiling to himself. Ivy noticed his face as she looked up from playing on the piano. “What are you so glad about, eh?” she asked. “The poison is finally taking its affect!” he replied. “About time. The girl had a minor cold and had to take cold medicine to get better.” “Oh,” Ivy said happily. “I see!” The boss kept grinning. “You know what that means, yeah?” “We can all finally go home!” Ivy replied. “Exactly!” Syd called. He noticed her smiling. “What is it?” the deity asked the bird. Ivy kept smiling at him. “Why be chomping at the bit to go home so suddenly?” she asked in a pandering tone. “Stay for a while!” Syd raised an eyebrow at her. “And what exactly are you implying?” he asked her in the same tone as her. The woman kept smiling at him. Then, she moved in close to him and kissed Syd on the lips lightly. The boss kissed back and lightly pushed her onto her back.

Outside, Yasmine heard the conversation. She had never thought about leaving Steven, Paul, and Malachi before. The hunter began to wonder if it was all true. Well, there was only one way to find out. Yas made it all the way back to Syd and Ella’s apartment. She knocked on the door. “Coming!” Ella called out. Yas waited with a lump in her stomach. She looked very pale. The door finally opened. Ella saw her friend’s face. “Yasmine?” she asked. “What’s wrong?” The hunter looked too sick to speak at first. This was really hard for her. “I have to ask you something!” she yelped out at last. Ella listened in silence. “Is it true that after the baby dies that we all disappear from this realm?” the hunter forced herself to ask. Her friend saw what her problem was. “Come inside,” Ella said softly. “We’ll talk about it.” “Alright,” Yas said as she nodded softly. Then, her friend walked her into the apartment and lightly closed the door behind her.

“I heard Syd talking about it with Ivy,” Yasmine said as she was sitting on the couch in the living room. Ella handed her some water to help her cool down. Yas drank it up quickly. “So is it true?” she asked in worry. Her friend’s face became worried. She never wanted to tell the hunter like this ever. But, the deity had no choice but to tell the truth now. “Yes,” Ella said at last. “When Ai-Oni’s baby is killed, every deity vanishes from the living realm.” Yasmine looked close to crying. Her friend put her hand onto her shoulder. “I am so sorry,” she whispered. “But what will I tell my boys?” the hunter whimpered out. “You won’t have to.” Ella murmured. Her friend looked up at her. “What do you mean?” she asked. Ella smiled at her softly. “They won’t remember you at all and Malachi will disappear with you,” she replied. Yas tried to smile a little bit. It wasn’t the greatest news. But, it was a little helpful. Ella lightly put her arm around the hunter. “My advice is,” she picked up again. “Don’t think too much about and try to be close to Steven for the last time. Okay?” Yasmine nodded. Ella smiled again. “Good,” she replied. “Need some more water?” Yas nodded. “Coming up!” her friend replied. Then, the deity headed to the kitchen to get the woman another glass.

At the hospital, Kate was in the room by herself. The girl remembered what happened perfectly. She had woken up with complete stomach pains. Kate knew that she wasn’t in labor at all and was afraid for the baby’s life in case it had gotten up to that point. That had given Ginny so much of a panic attack that the den mother rushed her pregnant friend to the hospital in a rush. “Ginny,” Kate thought. “Sometimes I’m so glad you worry about me so much!” She looked around in silence. The doctor was standing over her with a chart in his hands. “Oh good,” he called. “You’re awake.” “Doctor!” the girl called out. “What happened to me? Is my baby going to be okay?” The doc quieted her down softly. “It’s okay, it’s okay.” he said. “You seemed to have some sort of poison in your baby’s blood. It was lucky that you had so cold medicine last month or else it would’ve been dead.” Kate looked at him with big eyes. “WHAT?!?” she asked in shock. The doctor quieted her down again. “Don’t worry,” he replied. “The main thing is getting the baby out before you die. The baby’s toxic levels are at an amazing high. If it stays in there any longer, you will die. We have put antidotes to block the poison off for the time being. Once the baby is born, we will try to resuscitate if you decide to.” Kate sat there and slowly took it all in. “So I choose to let the baby live or die?” she asked. “That’s correct!” the doctor replied strongly. The girl didn’t know what to say at all. “Uh… well…” she said uneasily. The doctor smiled at her kindly. “I’ll give you time to think about.” he told her. “Okay.” Kate said with a slight nod. The doc turned and left her.

Kate could feel her head swimming with confusion. She could decide whether or not to have the baby resuscitated or not. But what should she do? The girl was caught in a battle when she heard a shuffling noise. She looked up quickly. “Ginny?” Kate asked softly. But instead, she saw Nyious. The girl was slightly afraid of him. Even though she believed him to be an angel, Kate still feared him. The soldier could sense her fear. “Aw, Kate,” he said softly to her. “What’s wrong?” “N-Nothing!” the girl said quickly. “Nothing at all.” Nyious smiled at her sweetly as he walked over to the bed and sat down. “There, there, Kate,” he said gently. “It’s okay. I won’t hurt you. The young mother-to-be just kept quiet. The soldier deity just kept smiling at her.

“I heard about the baby,” he spoke up again. Kate looked at him palely. Nyious lightly took her by the hands. “Kate,” he told her in strong and gentle voice. “You must let the baby live no matter who tells you otherwise!” The girl was slightly confused. “What do you mean?” she asked. “You must let the baby live, no matter!” the “angel” repeated. “Promise me that!” Kate didn’t know what to say at first. Then, she nodded uneasily. Nyious smiled at her kindly. “Good Kate,” he murmured softly. “You won’t regret it, I promise.” Then, the “angel” lightly kissed her on the forehead. It was strange, Kate always felt safe around him. She couldn’t explain why. “Now, get some rest,” he whispered to her. “You and the baby need it for the surgery.” Then, Nyious quietly walked out the door. With those words in her head, the girl was asleep in minutes.

Outside the hall, Nyious ran into Yasmine. She was glaring at him coldly. The soldier just smiled at her lightly. “Well hello there!” he greeted her with a false sweetness. Yas looked like she wanted to kill him. “Drop the angel act!” she snapped. “What did you tell her?” The soldier just shrugged at her. “Just not to kill the baby,” he replied. “Why?” Yas was even angrier. “You know what will happen if she lets the baby live!” she snapped. Nyious just shrugged again. “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” he replied. “All 300 of the incubi and succubi will be free again.” The hunter tried not to cause a scene. “I know what you’re thinking,” he said. Yas said nothing at all. “Why are we doing this? We only want to open the all these humans’ eyes to their sexually again. Is that so wrong?” “Yeah!” Yasmine barked. “When it involves an innocent girl!!!” Nyious couldn’t help but to titter at himself. The hunter caught in a rush. “What the hell is so damn funny?!?” she snapped. The soldier turned to her smiling. “I know what this is about,” he spoke up. “You’re about because you have to leave your precious family behind if this baby dies. Deep down inside, you want this baby to live! Don’t you?” Yasmine rushed forward to hurt him. Nyious blocked her in a rush by grabbing her by the wrists. “You know,” he said. “I liked you better when you were driven into madness by your ex!” Yas was fighting to get away.

They paused short when they heard a slight shuffle. Yasmine and Nyious looked up saw Ginny staring right at them. She was bringing Kate some light food for lunch. The bag fell out of her food and straight to the floor. Her face was pale with terror at the truth. Both deities became suspicious. Nyious let go of the hunter and sped to the blonde Catholic girl. He violently pinned her up against the wall. Ginny was filled with fear in a deep rush. “How much have you heard?!?” he snapped at her. Gin was scared for her life. “N-Nothing!” she stammered out. “Don’t lie to me, girl!!!” the soldier snapped. “HOW MUCH HAVE YOU HEARD?!?” Ginny stood there in complete fear. Afraid of what he could do to her, she cried out, “Everything! I heard it all!” Nyious grinned at her as if he was going to harm her badly. “Nyious let her go!” Yasmine shouted out. The soldier looked at the hunter. He smirked at her crossly. “And why should I?” he questioned. Yas didn’t have to think of a reason why. “She’s Kate best friend!” she spoke up. “She is only here to check on the girl! Just let her go!” The soldier smiled again. “Very well!” he hissed. Then, Nyious freed Ginny from his grasp. The girl fell to her on the floor. “Good day, ladies!” the soldier called. He left them gracefully.

Once he was gone, Yasmine rushed to Ginny. “Are you alright?” she asked. Gin looked up at her in deep fear. “I-Is it all truth?” she questioned at last. “I’m afraid so,” Yas said softly to her. A pause came between the women. “Hey, listen,” the hunter spoke again. “I need you to go in and warn Kate about the truth. You got me?” Ginny nodded quickly. Yas smiled at her. “Don’t worry,” she guaranteed. “I’ll see to it that he doesn’t hurt you at all!” The girl nodded again. Then, the hunter helped her to feet and handed her the bag. She saw Ginny off as well. Yas felt both relief and sorrow for what was coming next.

Kate had woken up from her nap when she saw Ginny at the floor of her bed. She noticed that her friend was looking worried. “Gin-ny?” the girl slowly asked. “What’s wrong? Is there a problem?” Ginny quickly grabbed her by the hands. “Kate,” she spoke up. “We need to talk.” The girl looked at her in concern. “Okay,” she said slightly confused. Her friend drew in a deep breath. “It’s about your baby,” she said strongly. “Now, I would the first one to be there with the happy family on the birthdays and Christmases. But, this isn’t a normal baby. That angel you’ve been talking to isn’t a real angel! I would never lie to you at all. Now hear me out, the birth of your baby will release the incubi and succubi. All three hundred of them!” Kate too shocked for words. She didn’t know what to say. The girl definitely believed her friend’s every word. “B-But,” she finally spoke up. “What do I do? He wants me to have this baby!” Ginny took in a deep breath. “This’ll be the only time I say this,” she spoke up. “But you must tell them not to resuscitate the baby.” Kate nodded uneasily. “Okay,” she whispered. Gin smiled at her. “You’ll be okay!” she whispered strongly. Then, she held Kate’s hand. Ginny’s dark fuchsia nails seemed to blend with Kate’s light pink nails.

After lunch, the doctor returned. “So,” he spoke up. “Have reached a decision on resuscitating the baby or not?” The young mother-to-be smiled at him. “Why yes I have!” she called. “And that would be?” the doctor asked. Kate sat up smiling. “I’ve decided not to have the baby resuscitated!” she called. The doctor looked at her with slight shock. “Are you sure?” he asked. “This is a permanent decision. You’ll miss out on the great joys of motherhood. Are you really sure you want to do this?” The girl smiled as she nodded. “I’m sure!” The doctor filled out his chart. “Okay,” he replied. “Just fill out this form right here.” The doc handed her the paper with a pen and Kate signed her name on the dotted line. The doctor still kept looking at her. “See you tonight!” he called to her. The girl smiled at him and nodded. Then, he left again. Kate lied on down her bed. “I hope this is for best!” she thought. Then, the young mother-to-be went to sleep again.

The doctor was walking out the hospital to go home to get ready for church on Christmas Eve. Above in the trees, Envy was watching closely. He had a cold smirk on his face. The homunculus was plotting for the doc. Ai-Oni suggested this part of the mission to him. His own shape-shifting techniques would do just fine! That and a play on the guilty conscience would be a slam-dunk for the cause. “This is really too easy!” Envy thought. Then, he followed behind the car. The show would go on!

Christmas Eve zipped into evening. The doctor made it to church just in time. Through the back halls, Envy was disguised as a priest. A couple of the monks saw him in the hall. “Hey!” one of them called. “You’re not the father for this sermon tonight! Who are you?” “The other priest got sick this afternoon and asked me to take over!” the priest replied. The monks went quiet at that answer. “Alright, father!” they replied. Then, the monks moved out the way and the priest continued onto the sanctuary. The church was crowded with people. The priest looked out at the crowd. He spotted the doctor right near the back. Envy grinned to himself coldly. “Perfect!” he thought. “He’s right here!” The service went as planned. Then, it was time for the service. The timing just couldn’t get any better. “Before we get into the story of the Virgin Mary,” the false priest spoke up. “Let us look at her situation. Mary was a young teenage peasant girl. She was betrothed to wed a simple carpenter. How do you think she felt when she discovered that she was pregnant? Scared mostly. It would’ve scandal on her. It was improper to have sex before marriage. The people would’ve thought that Mary had broken her vows before marriage. Who would believe that she was still a virgin while she was pregnant? But what did she do? Mary carried and gave birth to our savior Jesus Christ. She loved and followed God even though the odds were against her. If she didn’t, Jesus wouldn’t have been born. Without Jesus, there would be no hope, Christmas, or salvation for mankind!”

The people were moved by Envy’s sermon. The doctor was beginning to feel guilty about accepting Kate’s decision. He was shifting in his seat some and was slightly sweating. Envy saw the affect he had on him. Now it was time to add in the rest. “But what would we do nowadays?” the priest questioned. “Most would consider abortion. But when does life begin? The law says the second trimester of pregnancy. God believes life to begin after conception. The law may speak for mothers. But who speaks for the child with no voice? God does!” The people were in tears at that sermon. Right then, the doctor made up his mind about Kate’s baby!

That night at the hospital, Kate was going into surgery to take out the baby before she died of poisoning. She noticed her friends were all around her. “Guys?” she asked. “What are you doing here? I thought you were at…” Ginny lightly covered her mouth with her finger. “Shh!” she whispered. “It’s okay. We’re here now.” “We are staying with you the whole way!” Jakob said boldly. Kate smiled sweetly. Tears began to fill her eyes. “Thank you guys!” she called. “I don’t know what I’d do without you!” “It’s okay,” Mikey replied. “You’ll be fine! Just think of us the whole time!” “I will!” the girl called. “I will!” Then, two doctors came and hulled her away. Ginny followed behind to the OR. She would’ve gone in as well, but the corrupted doc shoved her back out. The boys came around to Ginny. “So now what?” Hunter asked. The den mother swallowed hard. “We wait!” she called. “Right!” the boys called. Then, they went back to Kate’s room.

Yasmine returned back to her apartment to find rose petals on the floor. “Huh?” she thought. “What’s this?” Curious, she followed the trail. The hunter came to the bedroom. She quickly opened the door and was blown away in surprise. Steven was lying on the bed waiting for her. Despite it being dark, Yas could see him clearly in the moonlight. He was dressed in nothing but boxers. The man looked ready to rip off his girlfriend’s clothes. Yasmine was blushing completely. “Steven!” she exclaimed in shook. “Hey sweetheart!” he called. “Steven!” she exclaimed again. “What’s going on? Were up all night waiting for me?” The lt. col. smiled at her in devilish way. “Aw!” he called. “Don’t tell me that you forgot about our little private tonight on Christmas Eve! You and I agreed to it last night, remember?” It took Yas seconds to remember what he was talking. “Oh!” she called. “That’s right!” The hunter began to feel sad. After tonight, she would never see Steven or Paul ever again. Her boyfriend looked at her innocently. “Don’t tell me that you are backing out on me now after I went through all of the trouble!” he called. The woman quickly snapped out of it. “N-No! Of course not!” she called in a rush. The lt. col. smiled at her again. “Come up here and give me kiss!” he called. The woman smiled with desire. “Gladly!” she called. Then, the hunter leapt onto the bed and kissed Steven on the lips. Her boyfriend kissed back happily. He slid off her clothes as he slipped his tongue into her mouth. She yanked off his boxers and lied under him. The party began within seconds. Despite enjoying the time with Steven inside of her, Yasmine still felt sad. She knew that she would never see him again and he wouldn’t the time they spent together. “Well,” the hunter thought. “Better make the most of it!” She enjoyed the party for the rest of the night until he came within her. When he was asleep, Yasmine lightly kissed him on the forehead. “Good night, my love!” she whispered to him. “And goodbye!” Then, the hunter fell asleep beside of him.

But by Christmas morning, Yasmine woke up… right next to Steven again! She looked around quickly. The woman was still in the apartment bedroom she stared with him. “What’s going on?” she thought in confusion. “Why am I still here?” Right then, her boyfriend stirred awake beside of her. He turned and looked at her with a smile on his face. “You’re here!” the lt. col. called softly. Yas looked at him confused. “What do you mean?” she asked. “I’m always here for you!” Steven shook his head with a smile on his face. “Nothing,” he said softly. “I just had a strange dream that you disappeared forever and I didn’t remember you at all. How strange is that?” Yasmine’s face went soft and serious. She had a hunch of what happened. Walker sat up smiling. “So do you want to have the after-party right now?” he asked in excitement. The hunter sat there looking worried for a moment. “Not right now,” she blurted out. “I have to check something really quick! Tell you what, I’ll go look and you set up everything like you did last night, okay?” Steven smiled at that. “All right!” he called. Yasmine smiled at him in relief. “Thanks!” she called. “I won’t let you down!” Then, she kissed Steven on the lips lightly, leapt out of bed, got dressed, and hurried out the door.

The deity hunter made it straight to the hospital. She found Kate surrounded by her friends in her room. Christmas presents were all at the foot of the bed. The wrapping was on the floor. Her friends were all happy to be there. Ginny looked up and saw Yasmine in the doorway. “You’re still here, Miss Yasmine?” she called in shock. Her friends looked up and saw the hunter as well. Yas froze and nodded. “Yes,” she called. A pause came between the seniors and the deity. “And it’s definitely gone?” Yasmine asked while breaking the silence. Kate looked down at her pumpkin belly under the sheets. “It feels empty.” she answered at last. “Why?” Yasmine moved into the room closer and closed the door behind her. “Do you all want to hear the good news first or the bad news first?” she asked in slight worry.

“You did the right thing!” Envy told the doctor he corrupted last night. They were in the care center for sick babies. The doctor felt uneasy about what he did. He was so pale and looked like he was going to be sick. “I hope so!” he replied. “Oh, I know you did!” the homunculus called. “It was all worth it in the end!” A cold smile spread as the homunculus’ face. Both of the males were looking at Kate’s baby in an incubator half-alive. She had little pink hairs on her head. Tubes were all in her tiny body pumping the antidote to kill the poison in her blood. The starlet was born at last!