Desdemonia and the rest of the council filed into their respective places around the dais where I sat, holding my tentacular head.

“Seth!” April yelled up at me in Desdemonia’s voice. “I’m so sorry! I had no idea!”

“We need to reverse this!” I said, and everyone held their ears. My voice was rather high-pitched and strident.

“Even if we could, it would just find another way into this reality!” Desdemonia said in April’s voice. “This way, we can at least terminate it upon entry into this realm.”

Another contraction came. This one harder, lasting longer. I moaned with the pain, feeling it radiating out from my belly and through my back.

“Ohh, this is bad!” I said, and again people tried to shield themselves from my voice. I didn’t want to squish anyone, rolling around on the ground either. “Maybe I should go outside?”

“Into the park, yes.” Dad said.

I nodded, and rolled up onto my feet.

“Try not to crack the marble!” Desdemonia yelled up at me as I began to walk toward the exit. The doors were twenty feet tall, and I was a fifty foot tall pregnant female, so I had to crawl through the opening, my turgid stomach sliding across the floor.

I stood up outside, stretching my arms for the first time. Another contraction came, and I put my hands on my stomach, riding the wave. It was like someone was compressing my abdomen, making it hard as a rock.

Liquid gushed out from…down there, spilling onto the retinue who was following me.

“Ew, ick!” they said. Mom slipped and fell, and Dad tried to help her up.

“Sorry!” I said.

“I think her water just broke!” Mom said.

“Sorry!” I said again, and tried to walk toward the park. I got about halfway, when another contraction forced me to pause. Closing my eyes, I tried to make it stop, but the pain from my stomach contracting forced me to bend over.

“Don’t push!” Mom said. “It’s too early!”

I finally made it to the grassy area where I used to play baseball back when I was in sixth grade and happily male. I laid down in the outfield, moaning as another contraction came. I curled up into a ball, my hands around my belly and I could feel something moving inside.

“This can’t be happening, right?” I said as Mom and Dad approached me.

“We need to time the contractions.” Mom said. Let me know when—

“Now!” I cried out as the worst one yet overcame me. “Ooooh, it hurts!”

“Damn, I wish we had a way to prop her head up,” Desdemonia said.

“The field cover!” Dad said. “I’ll get some of the guys and drag it out here.”

Mom nodded and Dad ran off.

With April to my left, and Mom and Desdemonia to my right, I rolled onto my back with my knees up in the air.

“This is not what I agreed to!” I said.

“Nevertheless, it gives us a perfect opportunity to terminate it once it’s born!”

“What?” I said, but another contraction had me rolling back on my side. The tentacles on my head spasmed in time with the pain, rolling up into tiny balls as my abdomen compressed, and expanding as it relaxed.

Wizard Blackwater took up a position between my legs. I felt strangely vulnerable with him standing there, his staff crackling with energy.

“Wait!” I said. “What is it you’re…”

Again another contraction ripped through me. I felt like I was going to lose my mind.

“Breathe, son!” Mom said. “Short breaths! Huh Huh Huh Huh, like that!”

I nodded and tried to do as she said. The need to push was growing really hard.

Desdemonia walked around to stand with the Blackwater. “Spread your legs so we can see!”

I did as instructed.

“She’s fully dilated,” Desdemonia said. “Seth, when the next contraction comes I want you to push down hard!”

The men pulled the ground cover across from the dugout. I leaned up, then back onto the rolled cover and it did, at least, get my head off the ground.

Another contraction came, and I screamed.

“I can see the crown!” Desdemonia said. Wizard Blackwater’s staff erupted in flame.

“No!” Desdemonia said. “Wait until it’s fully delivered. You might injure her!”

The Wizard nodded and the staff went out.

“Wait, what are you going to do?” I said.

Mother came around to my line of sight. “Son, it’s the only way. We have to terminate it as it’s being born.”

“No!” I said, but another contraction ripped through me again and I felt like I was being torn in half.

“Push!” Desdemonia and Mom said at the same time.

I pushed.

Desdemonia ran around my legs, and stood beside Mom. “Seth, you’re going to have to lean down and pull it out. None of us are strong enough to do that.”

Another contraction came, and I screamed, sitting up and reaching my arms down. My stupid stumpy fingers could seem to get a purchase on the writhing, wriggling thing that was coming out of me. Not to mention my abdomen solidifying into a painful rocklike state.

“Yaaaaahhhh!!!” I screamed, closing my eyes against the intense pain and pressure. I wanted to be somewhere else, someone else. This couldn't be happening, couldn’t be happening!

Finally I managed to get both of my hands around the little chin and the back of its head. With the next contraction, I was able to pull it out of me, rocking my hips back and forth so each shoulder could come through. Then I lifted under the little arms, and brought my son into the world, screaming and crying.

I saw both Desdemonia and the Wizard spinning magic fireballs.

“No!” I said, bringing my child up to my breast.

“Seth, put the baby down!” Desdemonia yelled. Her eyes had faded to black orbs.

“No,” I said, attempting to turn away from them. “My Baby!”

“It’s not a baby, Seth.” My father stood next to me. “It’s the Who!”

“How do you know it’s evil?” I said. “It’s just a baby!”

I cradled it, crying softly. The little guy had tentacles where it’s nose should be and shining yellow eyes. It mewled cutely, and I instinctively held it to my breast.

A bolt tore into my side. It felt like a pinprick. I glanced down and saw the Wizard holding his staff.

“Seth,” April yelled. “Put it down!”

Both she and Desdemonia had roiling balls of fire, easily the size of my baby’s head. I didn’t know what kind of damage they could do to him—

But I wasn’t going to let it happen.

“No!” I said, standing up. “Leave us alone!”

Desdemonia released her ball of fire upwards. I turned, and it hit my shoulder. It stung a little, but felt like a warm piece of bread had hit me.

“Stop it!” I said.

The Wizard let loose with a blast this time, and I turned again. This time it felt like a warm sponge.

The infernals grouped around me, and started hitting me with blast after blast of balefire. These hurt a bit more, but were an annoyance more than anything.

“Listen!” I said. “I’m not going to let you kill him!”

I got up and started into a shambling run. I knew parts of…me were still sliding out down there but I had to get away from them, regroup, collect my thoughts.

One thing I was not going to do was let them take my baby from me.

Helicopters swarmed around me, letting loose missiles and other projectiles. I twisted and turned from the little biting stings as they hardly penetrated my tough skin.

The little one was crying. I was worried one of the projectiles might penetrate his little eyes. I started to run toward the entrance. As I ran, my hair tentacles expanded, and I suddenly could what; see? Hear? Smell? Taste? All the dimensions around me.

It was like seeing color for the first time, smelling a rose, tasting a strawberry. I stopped, and multi-cosm opened to me.

“Ooooh, pretty!” I said, as realities flowered in front, beside and behind me. The English language doesn’t have enough words to describe the sensations I felt. How do you explain the color red to a blind person who has never seen?

I saw one that looked nice, shuffled and did a little hop…

And winked out of existence.