Ordeal thought dealing with a feral Guardian was bad, so of course even more irritating monsters arrived. He really wants a break right now..

Gluttony (Ink) has found Karma and is making that everyone else's problem.

———-

Guardian Haven Multiverse

"Brother, please let the babybones down. I know you can sense he is annoyed"

"BiRdY dOwN?~"

"Yes! They want to be put down"

Falcon looked at his brother hopefully, pleased when they put the child down. He was surprised that babybones didn't move away from his brother and looked happy to stay where they were. He however stiffened when the babybones growled, when his brother tried to pat them and was even more flabbergasted that his brother backed down.

"It's ok. You will get used to it...maybe"

Falcon looked over at Ordeal, who was giving him a look filled with sympathy and understanding. They were a rather new addition to this gathering but he rather liked them. They were one of the few to use his preferred name, rather than the insulting 'Falconer'.

He knew his brother was an outlier compared to the rest but that didn't mean he was their trainer. His brother wasn't a wild animal!

His attention was drawn back to his brother, who was chirping at the babybones, with the other seeming to reply back, as if understanding.

"...is this normal babybones behaviour?"

"Nope! You just got lucky to meet the rather bold one." Ordeal said in a cheery voice, that was belayed by the dead eye stare and the tight grip on their cigarette.

A loud voice startled them, making Falcon growl in warning, which the newcomer seemed to ignore.

"KARMA?! What are you doing here?"

"Ugh, it's this guy. I sometimes wish they stayed in their multiverse. They are so uptight. Who thought it was a good idea to create a multiverse based on the Seven Sins? Creators are nuts"

Ordeal readily agreed with Falcon's comment, disliking the odd winged Dream who came forward. He could hardly dispute the thought about Creators, as they were all rather..eccentric in some ways. He was glad they weren't invited to this place, as he could already imagine the chaos they would cause if gathered together.

It would seem the babybones agreed with them both as well, as they hissed in displeasure at the Dream type, before stepping back to be closer to Raptor.

"Hey, Generosity? You might want to get awa-". Ordeal tried to give a warning but was swiftly ignored...like usual.

"Come over here, Karma! I'll keep you safe"

" Generosity. That isn't very kind of you. You can see that they don't like you." Everyone froze at the voice, as it didn't sound like any of the Guardians. Ordeal grimaced at seeing the creepy Ink, unsurprised they had barged into this place. They never seemed to be one to follow the rules.

"Ink!"

Ordeal watched as Karma happily screeched, before rushing over to the creepy Ink with no hesitation, with Raptor only watching in curiosity. Why was Raptor so calm today? Ordeal was baffled how the world was no longer making any sense.

"It's Gluttony now, my gem"

..oh no. Was this the babybones they had been looking for? Just how many dangerous monsters did Karma know?!

"I tHought this plaCe was for DreaMs and NightmAres, not every bEing undeR the suN". Muttering was heard in the crowd in agreement.

"Hey idiot. Did you find them?"

Ordeal froze at the new voice, seeing many leave in fear of a possible fight occuring. It was common for Inks and Errors to be antagonistic to each other but Ordeal stayed where he was. He had the 'blessing' of knowing these two well and knew they liked to play up the antagonism for their own amusement.

He had been dragged into helping them form portals, before they finally let him go, which had taken far too long in his opinion.

"Tell me how you have been, little gem"

Ordeal shuddered at the possessiveness and the way Gluttony's dripping black wings curled around Karma.

..just how many monsters was his brother going to kill?! He got on well with some of them..maybe if Karma showed he liked them they would survive?

Watching Karma be nuzzled by Gluttony, he didn't see that happening. They were going to be furious when they saw this. He would be lucky if they left this multiverse standing.

———-

Gluttony had been initially thankful for Oneiro helping them to leave their multiverse, as he had started to grow bored with the repetitive lifestyle. Immortality was as much a gift as it was a curse. Boredom had settled in early on but that soon changed when Karma dropped into his life.

He had enjoyed experiencing the world through a child's view and grew rather fond of his little gem. That was why he was furious when Reaper or rather Envy's betrayal made him lose it. Torture hardly satisfied him and he readily lost himself to his instincts, not seeing the point of holding on to his sanity.

Being forcefully dragged back to coherency was painful but the offer Oneiro gave them all was very tempting. As soon as he had stepped through the portal they created, he scowled as he sensed how low the magic was in the air.

It took weeks to gather even basic information, in order to realise that they were in the 'Original AU' and even that wasn't helpful. They knew basically nothing and were starting from scratch, which excited and irritated him in equal measure.

Gluttony had no idea just how large existence was and he knew Oeniro left things out on purpose, in order to delay him from finding his little gem.

He was however spiteful and he refused to give up! He stalked the monsters in this 'AU' with all the Sins and Virtues, gathering all the information they could. It was annoying realising they had to use new names, as there were surprisingly already monsters with their names here. They stuck to their Powers for simplicity sake and due to laziness.

Weeks passed before they happened to luckily spot a monster that didn't look in place with the 'AU' and that looked remarkably like Nightmare or rather Greed.

Cornering them to have a 'chat' was helpful and provided them all with a wealth of information. They even managed to form portals thanks to their lessons but it took a while for some of them to get used to using this strange magic. He was a tad annoyed that Oneiro had killed Envy, as they were even rather talented with esoteric magic, but at the same time he knew he would have snapped sooner or later.

He wasn't a forgiving monster and what they had done was truly unforgivable to him and his Sin.

It was freeing once they could easily explore and they soon split up with Error or rather Abstinence staying by his side, in order to aid his search. He knew they were also fond of Karma, even if they never admitted it out loud.

Oneiro may have thought he could delay them but he finally won, as can be proved by the babybones happily chatting in his arms. Gluttony was smug that he found them but frowned as he smelt a strange scent on them. It reminded him of his own but it was just off enough to raise his hackles. He needed to get rid of it but thankfully he had come prepared.

"Karma. Look at what i got you"

He showed off his collection of clothes, never more thankful to be introduced to Inventory magic than now. It saved on having to manually carry anything at least. He cooed as their eyelight switched to a star and let them feel the softness of the fabrics. It was made with both his and Absitences magic, so was a rather bold claim for others to back off.

"You get jealous so easily, Gluttony." Abstinence smirked, leaning beside his fellow Power in amusement.

"Like you are one to talk! Don't think i didn't notice the pile of stones you gave when you thought I wasn't looking"

" I was just getting rid of it! "

"Uh Huh. So they are just also "accidentally' soaked in your magic?"

" Shut up! "

Gluttony laughed and stared out at the gathering crowd, letting his black magic drop from his sockets and mouth, while glaring at the monsters. It always amused him how scared others became when they saw this and he was pleased it got rid of a rather large chunk of the unwanted spectators.

He went back to fully focusing on Karma, who told them how they got here, with him more than happy to listen. He had found his gem and this time he wouldn't let go so easily.

Ordeal hesitantly got closer when he sensed they were less likely to attack, astounded at how calm Karma was through this whole thing. He still spotted Raptor circling around them, helping to keep other monsters away.

"Why is he being so compliant?" Ordeal blanched when he realised he had spoken out loud, seeing Gluttony stare at him with amusement with Abstinence laughing at him.

" What, like it's hard? "

Ordeal knew it was hard! When he was babysitting them they liked to explore and never stayed out of the dangerous areas he indicated. His hideout hadn't been the friendliest one for children, so it was a pain to keep them safe. He knew if his brother saw even a scratch on them he would be in a world of pain.

They looked at him in pity, making him scowl. He was about to speak again when Gluttony indicated for him to be silent, before they reached in their pocket and brought out a rainbow coloured feather. It looked like someone had barfed glitter all over it and he winced at how bright it was. He wanted to question why they would even have this sort of thing but watched in confusion when they handed it to Karma, who took it like it was a precious treasure.

The babybones cooed and felt along the feather, even rubbing it along their skull. He had never seen them act like this and looked at them both in confusion.

"They like shiny and soft things. Makes it rather easy to please them..don't tell me you never noticed?...You do see their wings, right?

He knew he was being mocked but he was currently too drained by the insanity to care. He wanted another cigarette but the truly fearsome glare by Abstinence stilled his hand..he was going to have to stop smoking again, wasn't he?

"Let me show you around, little gem. This place has so many things and even better, we can fly again!"

"N-Now wait a moment. You can't just leave this AU, you have to ask the owner". Ordeal tried to interject to this idea, trying to do some damage control.

It was another rule, as the Dream of this place didn't want others to mess with their multiverse. Few had tried to challenge this and ended up dusted for their impertinence. He might not care for the other two but the babybones was basically family at this point. He would not be the one to tell his brother they were dead.

" No need. It's all approved! "

..why did he not feel comforted by that? Taking a second to consider asking for clarification he banished the thought and decided to use his most favoured trick when dealing with his brother: 'Ignorance is truly bliss'.

"..aren't you going to ask them, Ordeal?"

Ordeal looked at Falcon, surprised they had stayed behind but remembered that they hardly left their brother's side, who was still following the babybones with no signs of stopping.

He looked at them with pity and jealousy, for never having the 'pleasure' of meeting his brother. He did love his counterpart but they could be rather tiring to be around for a long period of time.

"I like being able to sleep, Falcon"

He could see their confusion so let it be, instead speeding up to catch up with the creepy duo and feral bird, knowing that at least Karma would be protected by the three. He looked back when he noticed Falcon hadn't moved and waved a hand to call them over.

"Let's go follow them before they do something we won't be able to easily cover up"

"Ordeal?!..just what have you seen?" Falcon asked, morbidly curious.

"You don't want to know.."

Notes:

*Karma with Raptor*

Ordeal: Ok. This might look bad but I'm sure i can deal with th-

*Generosity turns up*

Ordeal: *Twitching* I'm still good! I just have to-

*Gluttony and Abstinence appear*

Ordeal: *Shakily lighting up a cigarette*..why is life testing me right now?
-
*Falcon asking many questions, worried about what is happening*

Ordeal: *A veteran in dealing with his brothers bullshit, so used to crazy* Oh my sweet summer child. You have so much to learn