Chapter Text
My goddess, can you hear me?
Silence.
Kristin, please…
Nothing.
He could barely feel her presence. It was as if she were there but he couldn't reach her, as if they were separated by a glass wall.
For the first time in a long time, he was alone.
Despite that, Philza kept trying to call her.
---
<< All residents must report to the adoption center immediately.
Philza didn't feel like dealing with any of that right now.
His magic had fully recovered, but his body was sore from holding the same position for so long and not having a proper nest. Not to mention that even though his wings felt better, they still hurt too much. Plus, he was so frustrated at not being able to communicate with Kristin.
He really hated that barrier.
<<All residents must report to the adoption center immediately.
They really weren't going to let him ignore that.
With a sigh, Philza gathered his things and left a waterfall on one side of the wall for easier climbing later.
---
He found the rest next to a closed building near the spawn.
“Hey Phil,” Fit greeted as he approached. “I thought you were never going to wake up.”
“I was just a little tired.” He tried to ignore Fit’s worried look. “Anyway, what’s going on?”
“I have no idea, but I'm sure this building wasn't here before.”
Before Philza could try to ask the others if they knew anything, an alert sounded on his communicator.
---
Hello friends! It's so good to see you again!
I hope you enjoyed your first few weeks on the island.
However, we have bad news. A great dragon lived on this island. When you destroyed the wall, you woke her up, and she ran away, leaving her eggs behind.
It's important that the eggs survive until the dragon returns for them.
Therefore, you must take care of them in groups of 2.
You must make sure to protect them and complete their daily missions so they can grow properly and not die.
Be very careful! They are very fragile and only have two lives.
You'll be randomly assigned a partner and can choose an egg from the adoption center.
Whoever does the best job will receive a prize.
Make sure it survives, and good luck!
---
“Babysitting eggs? This has to be a joke. I’m not interested in taking care anyone.” Fit was used to being alone and caring only for himself, with at most one or two trusted people by his side, but no more. He definitely had no intention of taking care any eggs, especially if these guys were the ones giving them to him. He didn’t trust them.
Besides, the whole situation was just too strange. The dragon story didn't make any sense, since if there was one, they would have heard about it, not to mention the fact that I'd never heard of a dragon outside of the End.
“I don’t like this, we should be alert,” he whispered to Philza.
Fit looked at his friend, waiting for an answer, but he wasn’t listening.
Philza’s ear feathers were perked up, his pupils were dilated, and he thought he heard a faint chirping as he stared at the adoption center.
Of course, he’d forgotten.
Birds and eggs.
---
Chick
Egg
Protect
Protect
Take to nest
Calm down, it could be a trap.
Chick!
Calm down.
Protect
Philza took several deep breaths, trying to focus.
His bird brain always bothered him at the worst moments. He had to remind himself that they had kidnapped him and destroyed his wings. He shouldn't trust anything that came from them.
The fact that that damn white bear had appeared again was enough to alert him and prevent him from losing focus again.
“Good morning, please come into the adoption center when called and choose an egg.”
“Roier and Jaiden.”
The two approached, greeted each other, and entered the facility.
---
Jaiden took in the space.
It was a small room, though larger than the hole she'd made her home. The quartz floor and ceiling gave her a sense of security and familiarity, and the walls were made of wood, each with four incubation slots on each side, each with a huge egg inside.
Something inside Jaiden stirred. A strange and new feeling, or at least something she didn't remember having before.
However, both Jaiden and Roier focused on one egg in particular.
The only difference from the rest was a slight blue tint. Still, the moment their eyes fell upon it, neither of them could tear them away.
“Do you think this is the one?” Roier asked, breaking the silence.
Jaiden took the egg in her arms, letting out a soft coo that Roier pretended to ignore. She noticed several taps on the shell; this little one was definitely going to be quite energetic.
“This one is perfect.”
---
The two left the center, watched with interest by the others, who knew they had to get their egg to a safe place.
"Mariana and Slime."
Roier looked at the couple who had just been called. “Pobre huevo, no creo que sobreviva”. "Poor egg, I don't think it will survive."
“Lo hará y será mucho más fuerte que tu huevo”. "It will, and it will be much stronger than your egg." Mariana assured, mockingly.
They both entered the room, and Mariana couldn't help but complain about not having a more suitable partner.
"You weren't complaining so much last night," Slime said mockingly.
"It was just one night, and we agreed not to talk about it!"
"Oh, so I'm just a one-night stand to you!"
"That's not what I meant. I don't think we should argue in front of kids."
"You're just trying to divert the topic."
Mariana rolled her eyes and took one of the eggs, leaving the room.
“Hey, I want to take Frontflippo too,” Slime demanded.
“Be careful, you'll break it. Also, why Frontflippo?”
“He has a Frontflippo face.”
“I notice several bumps on the shell, they're annoying. It might be a girl.”
“Shit, I didn't think of that.” Slime tried to take the egg from Mariana's hands. “Don't worry, you can be anything you want.”
The two continued to fight over the egg, while Philza looked on worriedly. Philza made a silent prayer to his goddess to protect the egg, even though he didn't know if she would listen.
---
“Maximus y Dan”.
They entered the room, nervous about what they would find, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary except for the enormous eggs similar to the ones they had seen the others carrying.
“I don't like this. I don't understand why we have to take care of these eggs.”
Dan also agreed with this and didn't understand why the others reacted so calmly. Those were supposed to be dragon eggs, extremely dangerous and aggressive creatures.
Just thinking about what the Federation intended with those creatures made his hair stand on end. He couldn't allow that to happen, but he couldn't rush things either. For now, he would observe before trying anything.
Maxo grabbed one of the smaller eggs, hoping whatever emerged wouldn't be big enough for him to handle, and they left, making sure to get out of Cucurucho's sight as quickly as possible.
---
Philza knew his turn would come any moment, but his instincts weren't happy about having to wait.
If he concentrated, he could faintly feel them.
Several small, scared creatures who needed someone to comfort and protect them. He wanted to calm those little ones and make sure they all had a safe nest.
The more he thought about it, the harder it was to stay focused, and he didn't want to be carried away by his instincts.
“Phil.” Philza focused his attention on Fit to avoid thinking about those eggs, trying not to look when the next couple walked away with one of them.
“Missa and Philza.”
Philza approached, avoiding looking at Cucurucho even though he could feel the bear's gaze on him. He preferred to focus on trying to remember who Missa was.
“I guess it's our turn,” said a voice next to him, startling him, especially when he saw he was standing in front of the skeleton.
Oh, that's Missa. Shit.
---
Most people considered Missa naïve and innocent, and he preferred to keep it that way.
But he wasn't an idiot.
He knew Philza didn't like him; he could tell by the way he looked at him, by that forced smile when he approached him, or by the way his soul stirred.
He didn't know why. Maybe he'd said something that had upset him, or maybe he had simply reminded him of something bad, though Missa didn't dare ask him either. Whatever the reason, he could understand it, so he preferred to stay away from him.
At least until they were paired off to take care of an egg.
If he tried to ask Cucurucho for a change, it might make Philza feel worse, and if it wasn't possible, the situation would be even more awkward than it already was.
For now, all he could do was wait for Philza to try to arrange a change of partner and stay as far away as possible to disturb him less.
Despite the smile Philza wore, some of his gestures betrayed his discomfort. He could see it in the way he tensed up, as if ready to attack, every time he got too close. Besides, no matter how hard he tried to hide it, his soul didn't lie; he definitely didn't want him near him.
Philza's soul was strange, with a brilliance and strength greater than the rest, a light purple hue surrounding it that enveloped it protectively, and sparks that shone like stars before falling to the ground and vanishing. It was the first time he had seen anything like it, and he didn't understand what it meant; all he knew was that it was beautiful.
Before Missa looked away to avoid making him uncomfortable, he noticed how Philza's soul completely relaxed.
Philza's ear feathers were puffed up, the same way Missa had seen Quackity do when he got really excited, while Philza scanned the room, making sounds similar to birds chirping, which made him suppress a smile.
Missa looked around, where there were five eggs.
Five scared souls.
He wanted to protect them and make sure they were safe.
Before Missa could move, Philza approached the eggs, cooing and calming the souls in the eggs, in a way so easy and natural that he seemed made for it.
Missa noticed one egg in particular. Their soul was more active and energetic than the others; he could even feel the knocking they gave the shell from within.
Philza also approached the egg, gently taking it in his arms and cooing softly.
Before Missa realized what he was doing, he brought his hand closer, stroking the egg until they calmed down. When he realized Philza was still there, he considered moving away so as not to invade his space, but calmed down when se saw that Philza didn't react to his presence.
The two stared at the egg, and for a moment, nothing else existed.
---
Fit watched Philza walk away with the egg in his arms, followed by Missa. He was worried about that skeleton being near him, knowing how much he hated the undead, but he was probably so wrapped up in his instincts by now that it didn't matter too much.
“Spreen y Fit”.
Fit scrunched up his face at the sound of his name, even though he knew he was coming.
“¡No, con el calvo no!” “No, not with the bald guy!” Spreen protested. Fit would have laughed if they couldn’t take care of an egg together.
"I guess we have to work together. I don't feel like getting punished for not taking care of the egg," Fit commented as they entered the room.
"I hope it doesn't last too long, at least."
Spreen sighed, annoyed by the task he'd been given, and took one of the eggs and looked at it for a moment.
It seemed quite fragile.
So much so that it would be very easy to break it by accident.
Just in case, Spreen kept his claws.
---
“Luzu y Quackity”.
Quackity looked around, but there was no sign of Luzu, and he seemed to be the only one missing.
"I think Luzu's not here."
"Please choose an egg."
Although Quackity wanted to protest, he felt too uncomfortable looking at that bear, so he decided to remain silent and do as he was asked.
Upon entering, he decided to take the nearest egg and examined it closely.
“I guess it'll just be you and me for now. Your other dad isn't here, but he'll probably come later.” He wasn't sure about that, but he didn't want the egg to think about it either. “Don't worry, I'll take care of you and make sure you're the best egg you can be.” At least he'd try.
As he held the egg in his hands, he felt a strange sensation in his stomach, and a voice in his head struggled to make itself heard.
Not knowing what that sensation was, and not sure he wanted to know, he chose to ignore it and left the room.
---
“Vegetta y Foolish”.
They were both excited to hear their names called together, but before Foolish could approach, Vegetta whispered something in his ear, and he agreed.
“¿Cucurucho, podemos ser los últimos?” “Cucurucho, can we be the last ones?”
"Yes."
Cucurucho looked at the last person left. “BadBoyHalo.”
Bad entered the room excitedly. He loved children, but it had been a long time since he had taken care of one.
He looked at the two remaining eggs, but the black color of one of them immediately caught his attention.
“Do you want to come with me, little one?” The egg in his clutches had plenty of magic, but it would need a lot more to hatch. However, that wouldn't be a problem; Bad had plenty of magic for the little one, and as his only father, he could raise him however he wanted.
Bad smiled at the thought. “You and I will have so much fun together. I may be a single father, but I'll make sure you don't lack anything..”
Foolish saw Bad come out with an egg and couldn't help but sneer and be glad that he didn't get that one.
"You're just jealous," Bad mocked.
"That's crazy. I wouldn't want any egg you want."
Foolish felt something tug at his arm. “Foolish, come with my lov-friend.” He smiled, understanding Vegetta’s words, and let him drag him into the living room.
Vegetta ran excitedly when he saw the remaining egg. “Look, it’s the last one. No te preocupes pequeño, eres muy afortunado, tu padre y yo nos aseguraremos que seas el huevo más rico y feliz de toda isla”. Don't worry, little one, you're very lucky. Your father and I will make sure you're the richest and happiest egg on the whole island."
Foolish wasn't sure what to do with the task he had been given. He was happy to be paired with Vegetta and able to spend more time with him, but the thought of having to take care of someone worried him.
It was true that he had already adopted Arin, but he hadn't appeared much after the first time, and even if he died, he'd probably reappear, and his body wasn't as fragile as that eggshell.
But seeing Vegetta's enthusiasm, he couldn't refuse, and anyway, he didn't think this would last too long.
“¿Qué te parece Leonardo? Por Leonardo Da Vinci. Porque ambos constructores,” “What do you think of Leonardo? By Leonardo Da Vinci. Because we are both builders,” Vegetta suggested.
"Sounds good to me."
At least he could try, and if the egg broke... well, bad luck.
---
Cucurucho watched the last couple walk away. From now on, it was only a matter of time before they saw the results.
For now, he just had to make sure everything was perfect.