I didn't sign up for that shit

The danger in the background

Ever since he was told to watch over the children, he had followed them wherever they went, never too far away to miss anything, but not too close to be spotted. At least that's what he thought. But this lamia always seemed to notice him, no matter how close or far he was! The Lamia was always trying to hunt him and if he hadn't been able to change his shape to hide better, he would have been found long ago. And who knows what would have become of him then! Because he really didn't want to become a lamia breakfast!

“Squall!” he heard his name and immediately dropped everything to get to the voice. That's why he didn't notice that he was leading the Lamia exactly to the voice. All that mattered was finally being taken into his arms again.

“Mama!” he called, and even as he jumped, the body of a dark gray rabbit changed into a simple, large blob of ink. He immediately snuggled into the soft top of the skeleton in front of him as he felt his arms wrap around him, holding him securely.

"How is my little blob?" Balance asked gently, his eyes full of love. “I hope everything went well?”

"I took care of them, as you said!", he nodded proudly and looked into the two-tone purple-blue eyes that have always been a safe haven for him "But now they're within reach again, so I can pay better attention again!" His joy wasn't even dampened when he heard his mom sigh. He tried to share his joy with Balance instead but he was obviously not in the best of moods. And since he couldn't literally give it to him, Squall simply snuggled up against the dark skeleton and began to purr.

"However, I'm afraid you won't be able to look after them much longer," Balance began, looking apologetically at Squall. Why was he apologizing? After all, he knows that his creator, his mother, always wanted the best for him. “You have to stay by my side, okay? I can’t let you get hurt.”

"What happened?" Now Squall is worried. Rarely has his mother been so... sad and exhausted. Almost resigned. As if he had given up a fight that had gone on for far too long. But as far as he knew, there was no fight Balance was involved in. Because yes, the voices of the Doodle Void liked to annoy him, but it was mostly nothing more than harmless annoyance. So what kind of fight did Balance get into? All Squall wanted to do was help him with his problems...

"It's okay, darling." Squall's head was rubbed reassuringly and he immediately pressed himself against this hand. He loved the fact that mommy had multiple hands that he could all use for cuddling. But Balance didn't really seem to like his arms, even if Squall didn't understand it. So many hands were only helpful! Because of his dislike for them, Balance always forced them to disappear, binding them to his body with ink. But for Squall, he enjoyed using them, knowing how much the little inkblot enjoyed being touched by as many as possible.

“The other Guardians just don't like me anymore, which is why they might try to attack you to harm me. That's why you have to stay by my side, you know?" Squall nodded in understanding and looked up at him resolutely. He won't disappoint Balance or put him in danger by wandering around alone.

“Then what are we going to do?”

"We'll hide and plan how to move on and fight back." Squall could see how, beneath the sadness of this development, there was a certain anticipation lurking. Like a beast waiting to strike, to sink teeth it's into someone. That sent a shiver through his soul, fear filled it briefly. What was that? That wasn't the Balance he knew. The Balance he knows is kind, likes to help others and doesn't want to not hurt them. And that beast he saw wasn't his mother!

But while Squall was struggling with this, trying to figure out what was causing it, Balance disappeared through a portal. However, not before he cast a gaze filled with sadness and pain on a certain purple lamia, who just looked at him in surprise. And before any of the three could do anything they would later regret, Balance and Squall were gone, leaving a confused Frezh behind.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•

And how confused Frezh was. He knew this monster, having been present when he dumped the bitties on them shortly after Error's mutation had shown itself. But what's the point? Why did he let this strange thing spy on the children and didn't look after them himself? Something in Frezh told him that this monster had no ill intentions towards them, that it was trustworthy. Is it trying to protect them? But then the question would be, before what? Because Frezh is fully capable of defending the children against most threats, no problem.

He continued to ponder this as he made his way back to the children. And soon a thought stuck in his head that made him growl menacingly. What if the children were in danger because of their status as guardians? Hover and Despair never seemed to show any signs of being in any danger, and there was nothing that seemed threatening to Frezh. But he knows simple people and monsters. He knows how easily they hunger for something they cannot have. And since his children were popular, they appear to others to be easy to manipulate, especially because of their age. So was that the reason the children were being monitored? But then the skeleton could have withdrawn his little spy after he delivered the bitties. They are something like a final wall to protect the children. However, there was another threat that immediately came to Frezh's mind.

The other guardians.

They may fear the loss of their position, the influence they have on the multiverse and its inhabitants. Not only are the children new Guardians, they are also not from this multiverse. They could bring about change, a change that would strip the old Guardians of their power entirely. Hover and Despair didn't seem to have a problem with the new guardians, as unprofessional as Hover was about it. Were they tired of this job? From what he understood, they were Guardians from birth, born for this purpose. And now they have been for almost a thousand years. If Frezh were in their position, he would be fed up too. But he can't assume that the others will be the same just because the guardians of the tree have welcomed this change.

These Guardians were a potential threat to his children that he wasn't sure he could actually defeat. He would fight to the last drop of his being, but he is unsure of his chances of victory. Not when he has to take on so many guardians at once. But the Void would have to open up beneath him and swallow him forever just to make him stop fighting for his children. Because he never will. He couldn't stop fighting for them, this instinct was as deeply embedded in him as his hunger for souls.

And apparently this resolve was tested when he saw the tree's guardians in the distance approaching the treehouse along with a person from whom Frezh could only feel the power rolling off in waves. This was another guardian and possibly even someone who was even older than the twins themselves. He immediately stood protectively in front of the ladder that led up to the tree house and thus to its treasures. Each of the guards was frowned upon, although he felt satisfaction upon seeing the remains of Hover's horn. Love really did a good job.

"We won't hurt the children," Despair said in a calm voice. Which was smart because Frezh was the most willing to listen to the pretty skeleton. “But we need to talk to them about their guardian position. They need to be educated about what can happen if they are careless.”

Then the other flower-covered skeleton stepped in and briefly bowed his head to Frezh, respecting his position as guardian of the children. “I am Life. And I want to help educate the children and prepare them for what is to come.”

It wasn't said, but Frezh understood what the guard was trying to say. He would prepare the children for the fact that their childhood could be stolen from them too early. And unfortunately he had to admit that Life was right. But he didn't renounce the warning look he gave the guards as he let them up into the treehouse.

He would throw the multiverse into imbalance if it meant the children would be safe.