I didn't sign up for that shit

An old feud is revived

Each of the children looked at little Bitty in disbelief. Killer felt like little Dream Bitty with the cute little stubby horns was making a cruel joke. The sun on his cheek actually made him quite interesting, it made him stand out, it made him unique. But within this group, he just seemed… normal. Each of the Bitties alone would be as stand out as Frezh or Error in the Anti-Void, but together they just seemed normal. Just as their small group managed to find normality in each other. But it was precisely this normality that was stolen from them by Light, who had just thrown the door into the house by claiming that their mutation would soon show itself.

"That's not a nice joke, Little Light." He could understand that Error got his mutation earlier. After all, his code was just so messed up that it could trigger a premature mutation. But now they're supposed to get their mutation soon? Was the multiverse conspiring against them again?

“I'm not joking.” And unfortunately he could tell that Light wasn't joking. Despite his cute appearance, he looked so serious that Killer had never seen either Dream or Hover. He didn't even know a Dream could make such an expression!

"It's understandable that Error gets his mutation earlier," Dust said slowly, probably voicing everyone's thoughts. “But why should we get ours? Based on what Hover and Despair said, we shouldn’t get them for another few years.”

The sigh of Eclipse, an almost perfect copy of Nightmare if it weren't for the more greenish shimmering Goop and the Crown of Thorns, was heard loud and clear in the room. As if he had to explain something to children who had difficulty understanding it. Which, okay, is somewhat true. At least the children's part! They weren't slow at all! But still, Killer can't help but feel a pang in his soul at this small reaction. Their Nightmare always reacted the same way when Killer or one of the others asked a question whose answer was obvious. This only made it clear to Killer how much he and the others still suffer from the loss of Nightmare.

The presence of these bitties would be a very special kind of torture. Each of the Nightmares will torture them in one way or another with small, seemingly unimportant quirks. And Killer knows he can't help but love her anyway. Wanting to care for and protect them. Even if it was a weak attempt after he failed Nightmare.

"Error may be special, yes, but so are you." Eclipse looked seriously at Dust, his gaze almost something that could be described as dark if there wasn't affection there. “You brim with a magic that is not yours. It's similar to what our large variants have. Normally the mutation would come later, yes." The more Eclipse said, the more Killer felt that his next statement would be his fault.

“But your bodies are brimming with this magic, far too much than is normal for children. This means you have more than enough magic to cope with the mutation.”

Yes, Killer knew this was his fault. He had turned them into guardians, unintentionally forcing them into this role. And this also means that their bodies are ready prematurely and they grow up too quickly. Why can't they even have a normal childhood? Why can't he keep his mouth shut and control his impulses? He would accept it if the others avoided him because of it.

"Na aha~" trilled the Dream Bitty on his shoulder, whose horns were almost not there, as was his tail. Both were clearly sanded down. But that made up for the impressive, almost golden burning wings. In terms of intensity, these almost compete with the two unequal eye sockets. "Stop the dark thoughts Tiny, they're not nice~"

Killer looked at the Bitty on his shoulder, puzzled. That didn't sound like a classic dream at all. The tone in particular was so different from what he was used to. Still, he couldn't help the small grin that spread across his lips. Bitty seemed to light up a little more when he felt just the slightest spark of positivity from Killer. This positivity then seemed to flow back into him and lift his spirits. His negativity didn't go away, wasn't erased like Dream always tried to do. Instead, it was simply alleviated, as if someone was showing him the positive side of something. This was... much gentler than Dream's version.