Hibana stayed close to Skulduggery, when it was possible, even after the Papyrus introduced him to everyone else, to Reaper, who had lost his left leg... To Error, who had those crystals in his eyesockets... And to Sketch, who was Skulduggery's partner...

The young Outcode had imprinted on the Adult that had saved him from the hounds, but even now, the adults were confused... How, and why, did Hibana end up in Fear's castle?

----

Reaper hummed, as they watched Hibana sleep, the young one was shy, and he didn't join the massive cuddle pile that the other kids slept in... But Death felt like he knew this kid... He felt like his oldest child, Goth... And he had mentioned this to the other adults...

"It's possible that Hibana is a Goth..." Error told him. "We know that Fear has connections with other Multiverses, the kid could be a Goth that was taken from another Multiverse.."

"Yeah, and despite his young form, if he is a Goth, he's older than my Goth, he's on the verge of ascending..."

"Ascending?"

"It's when a Godling becomes a God, or in a Demi-God's case, it's when they join the ranks of their Godly Parent's Pantheon... And they earn their Godly name... Or in Goth's case, his Death name... But it's when they're at their weakest... They can die, and their Magic can be stolen, because they're walking a very fine line... And in Goth's case, he'll be walking that very fine line between being a mortal, and being a Death..."

"You know what this means..."

"Yeah... One of Fear's plans, for another Multiverse, failed, in a way that hurt him... This could be our chance..."

"And he knows that... This is one massive trap..."

"For him, us, or someone else?"

"I don't know Reaps... I don't know..."

Hibana shifted, in his sleep, as Reaper carefully floated over to him. The Death God carefully removed the rag over the child's right eyesocket, and he stared at the scar around the eyesocket. "But I do know one thing Error... This kid is a fighter... He won't go down, without a fight..."

----

Sketch watched, as the young Outcode tried to learn how to knit, with one eyesocket... From Error. The Destroyer was completely blind, thanks to the crystals in his eyesockets, but he was used to doing things without his sight... Sketch had lost count of how many times the Destroyer had been blinded by the Creator, during their fights, until peace had been established, and they had to learn how to get along...

He frowned, he couldn't explain why, but the young one felt like an Error... And if that was true, the Fate of his Multiverse was a real piece of work...

To turn a kid into an Error... That was pure evil... But Reaper said that the Kid was older than he looked, and that he was using an ability that Reaper recognised... Reaper said that he used to have trouble controlling his Magic, when he was created, and if he used too much of it, he would be forced into the form of a small child, until his Magic had recovered, and he would be able to take the form of an Adult again...

He said that those rules might apply to Hibana... And that he just needed time to rest, and recover his Magic, and eventually, he would be an Adult again, which would give them an extra pair of hands when it came to the kids, even if the only ones that he could look after were those that were immune to his energy stealing ability, if Hibana was a Goth, and if he had the ability that Reaper was talking about...

---

Hibana tugged on the scarf that was around his neck... It had been difficult to get new clothes for him... He wasn't as tall as some of the other kids... But he wasn't as small as the younger kids... He was in the middle... And his body was awkward... He sighed, and he looked in the mirror...

His golden scarf was the only thing that could be saved from his old outfit, and he was wearing a white, baggy three quarters sleeved top, with a patch on it's left arm, over a tighter black shirt, with long sleeves that had holes for his thumbs....

He grumbled at the golden half skirt that he had to wear over a pair of white shorts, that had a patch on the left leg, over a longer pair of black shorts that were made out of the same fabric as his undershirt...

His boots were mismatched, the right one was a white, slip on boot, that was being held together with black tape, and his left boot was black, with white laces.

There was a brown pouch around his waist, and Hibana pouted, he looked stupid...

Sketch chuckled, and he patted Hibana's head, as he carefully finished placing the white bandages over Hibana's black eye patch, and the area around it. The kid had no idea of how cute he was...

"Mr Sketch, why do I have to wear bandages, and a eye patch, over my right eyesocket?"

"That scar around your right eyesocket is very distinctive." He told Hibana. "It's something that can't be forgotten, and we need to hide it... An eye patch would hide most of it, but Fear, and his group, would be able to see the parts that the patch can't hide... Therefore, our best option is to hide it in pain sight, the bandages imply that it's bigger than it really is, and they hide the parts that the patch can't hide, and thanks to the bandages covering your skull, they can see where the wound could be, but not where it is."

Hibana nodded his head. "And why am I wearing a skirt?!"

"It makes you look like a girl, Fear will be looking for a male Skeleton, he won't be looking for a female Skeleton.... And the girls wanted to make you look cute."

Hibana blushed, and he pouted, as his scarf began to glow.

Sketch chuckled.

"Mr Sketch! Stop laughing at me!"

-----

"Hibana?"

The young Skeleton looked at Reaper. "Yes, Mr Reaper?"

"I just wanted to know if you're okay Kid, you've been quiet recently."

"I've been thinking... About what I learnt in Mr Sketch's Magic lessons... I'm old enough to feel my Magic, right?"

"Yeah... What's wrong with that?"

"I don't know... My Magic feels wrong... It feels empty... And it feels weak..."

"There is a possibility that, before you hit your head, during your escape, that Fear was draining your Magic..." Reaper didn't tell anyone, but he was angry that Fear had hurt someone that could be his son's Counterpart, from another Multiverse, and if Hibana was a Goth, this meant that Fear was hurting his child... And since Hibana's parents weren't here, to protect their child, if he was a Goth, and even if he wasn't a Goth, Reaper would step up, to protect him... It's what he hoped that someone else would do, for his children, if they were trapped in another Multiverse...

"That explains why I'm having trouble summoning bones, or weapons..." Hibana mumbled.

Reaper nodded his head. "Yeah... You haven't recovered enough Magic to summon bones, or your weapon, if that's what you can do, but, by this time, you should have recovered enough Magic to do that..."

"You think that Fear did something to me that you haven't found... It's why I'm not allowed to summon anything, in a fight, and it's why everyone is teaching me how to use my surroundings, in a fight, or you get someone to summon a bone for me, to use, as my weapon."

"Yeah... Until we figure out what's wrong, we have to be careful, with your Magic."

"Okay!" Hibana smiled, as he hugged Reaper, and Reaper just smiled, as he cuddled the adorable kid, and his children, when they joined the cuddle.

----

And without him knowing about it, time passed... His days were filled with training, playing with the other kids, and following Skulduggery around, like a puppy, and cuddling with Reaper, and his family....

And eventually, even if he didn't know about it, and he didn't remember, he had spent a year, in this Multiverse, but what he didn't know, was that a bridge had been built, between this Multiverse, and another..

---

First came the gloves, and then, a familiar scarf, and a jacket.

Boots walked across the endless hallways of of the shadowy void hallways, making nary a sound.

Wings of shadows fluttered behind him... Umbra was searching.

And no, it wasn't for Searcher...

Then, what could have been minutes, hours, days or even weeks later, he stopped.

In a hallway that seemed to stop at nothing.

He smirked and walked to where the hallway seemed to end in the void, and there he stood, with his clothing rustling in the energy of the void.

And then, he began to sing....

Power swelled out of his mouth, warping the hallway and reality around him.

The void shook..

And it stretched...

Umbra stopped singing and a slow smile came to his face, because, before him, seemed to be an endless bridge, floating over a sea of stars and on the side of the bridge, was a nebula.

No... It wasn't a nebula.

It was a wondering Multiverse....

"Hold on Ser.. Solas... We're coming..." Umbra said, his voice was a bit raspy.

Then, the hallway was empty....

There was work that had to be done...

-----

"No... I'm coming with you!" Truth cried, hugging Shades, in Umbra's body.

"I need you here! It's dangerous enough bringing another across a bridge between Multiverses..." Shades whispered. "I need you to be here, with Mama and Papa, to be an anchor for me to come home to."

"Why does Seeker get to go with you then,?!" Truth scowled.

"Because I'd rather not have him go Yandere or go nuts, without Searcher to stop him, and he'll try to follow me... and he would fail, without me..." Shades admitted.

"Make sure you come home, all of you..." Truth gently said, with his hand hovering over Shades's stomach, which didn't show his pregnancy, in this body.

"I promise." Shades said, gently kissing his beloved Palette.

"Get home safely." Geno said, when Truth and himself separated.

"I will Mama." He replied, and he went to see the rest of his family.

----

Seeker grinned, in the corner that he was sitting in... The other Palette had a massive growth spurt... During the time that his Soulmate had been missing, and he was wearing new clothes..

An open, short sleeved version of his old jacket, over a long sleeved black shirt, with black jeans and dark blue boots.

His scarf was a sash around his waist, and around his neck, he was wearing his Goth's scarf, and his hat.

'Soon... You'll be back in my arms, Gothy...' Seeker thought, to himself.

"Do you have your supplies ready, this is a one way trip till we find Ser and Solas.." Umbra said walking over, and it was Umbra, his speech was more relaxed then Shades's.

Seeker nodded his head, and then, he frowned. "I wouldn't put it pass this Fear to do anything that he can to delay our arrival... And time could be different, in that Multiverse..."

"Not by too much, once I built the bridge, it synced the time of these two Multiverses." Umbra said, tilting his head.

Truth, who was watching them, grumbled, he was clearly unhappy about not going with them.

Seeker nodded his head, and he looked at Truth. "I'll look after him, and we need you to stay here, to get everyone ready, if we come back with Fear on our tail, or Ser needs to be healed...."

"Come back... safe.. all of you." Truth said finally, he was unhappily, that was his Mate and unborn child, and they were going on a rescue mission, without him...

"We will." Umbra promised, opening a shadowy portal and walking into it.

"We'll come back." Seeker told him. "We're too Determined to die." He followed Umbra, into the portal.

The Portal closed, leaving a feeling of finality in the air, there was no backing out now...

"This way... " Umbra said, walking down a short hallway, with a rather solid door ahead of them.

Seeker followed him, he had no idea of what they were going to find, but he wasn't going to give up.

Umbra paused and he looked back at Seeker, his golden eyes were speckled with red, and they studied the Skeleton that was following him, and then, he walked through the door.

Through it, as if he didn't bother opening it.

He knew Seeker would be able to follow him, through it, after all, this door was an illusion.

After all, he still liked to prank...

Seeker frowned, but he didn't stop... He had to put the fun loving part of himself on a shelf, in a box... His Gothy was more important... He followed Umbra, through the door...

Umbra snorted.

Solas would have enjoyed the prank...

"Look forward, that is our bridge to where Solas and Searcher lay." Umbra said, as a few feet beyond the door, it just ended in darkness, if not for what seemed for a shadowy path that wondered through the Void. What seemed to be rails of solidified void were barely visible, but every twenty to thirty feet, a strange cold flame seemed to float above the path.

"I cannot make it safer or more visible, travelling like this... is very dangerous and if it was more solid, it would fall apart..." Umbra said unhappily, while he would be fine, he was Void, other's were not.

Should he offer Seeker a place in the space inside his jacket? It had protected Solas from places that was dangerous to the other.

Seeker took a deep breath. "If I placed my Roller on the floor of the bridge, in front of me, and I walked on the streak of paint that it leaves behind, would it help to protect me?"

"Try it..." Umbra suggested.

Seeker summoned his Roller, and to test if his theory worked, he quickly rolled it on the floor in front of him, and he quickly stepped onto the paint that had been left behind.

Umbra tilted his head, he was curious.

It lasted for a few seconds, before the paint was eaten, but a few seconds gave Seeker enough time to walk the streak of paint, that he had left on the floor. It would give him a little bit of protection, and some stability, as long as he kept moving...

"It will take hours to get there... are you able to hold the Magic for summoning the paint that long? I can always place you in my shadow pocket, its quite spacious, Solas liked to nap in there." Umbra worriedly said, he was sure that he could survive the Void.. he could dive into it, with no issues, but Seeker.. was very mortal.

"We have no idea of how knowing how strong Fear is, on his home turf...." Seeker frowned. "I'll go as far as I can, and I'll nap in the pocket for the rest of the trip... This is a good way to train my Magical reserves... I need to get stronger, and once we're on Fear's home turf, we'll have to limit what we use of our Magic, so that he, or any minions that he has, can't sense us... This is the last chance that I'm going to get to train myself..."

"Be wary Paint child, do not allow exhaustion to become your enemy here. If you become tired, you shalt rest." Umbra said, with the feeling of ancientness briefly coming off of himself.

"I know... Mom and Dad practically beat that into my head, when they trained me... An exhausted Fighter is a dead Fighter.."

"No.. it is a lost one Palette, this bridge travels through the Void itself." Umbra said quietly.

"I know..." Seeker whispered. "I know..." He touched the red scarf around his neck. "But this is bigger than me..."

"Childe... even though Fate hath released me, I am still the watcher, the keeper of the secrets, and that, in some ways, extends past our Multiverse, and the stories I see written ahead sickens me. I.. am.. not good with others that aren't Solas, Shades and Ser. Searcher is close to his elevation, to claim his final name. I will need your help to intercede with the locals as we search for them... both of us must claim our final names at the same time, the codes themselves will block me from telling things to you." Umbra whispered, with his markings/coding briefly flaring across the visible parts of his body, it was also the longest that he had spoken to others, and the most formal that he had ever been...

A being of the Void, wasn't a people person.

Seeker smiled at Umbra. "I have a feeling that everything is going to be okay... You know... Many forget that due to Ink being a son of Fate, a Deity, and I'm his son, that makes me the Grandson of a Deity... I may take after my Mother, and I don't know what he is... But at my Core, hidden by everything else, is a spark that isn't mortal... And if I have to force an ascension, on myself... I don't care... I want my Soulmate back..."

Umbra went deadly still, and the eyelights looking at Seeker were red, not gold.

"Do not force an ascension, if it happens, it happens. But you do not want to know what will happen to you, if you force it..." Umbra said, he was deadly serious, and this was no longer Umbra, Guardian of the Void, and the other half of Solas, speaking.... No.. this was Fate's dog, her watcher... her Judge.

Seeker looked away from Umbra... He had inherited more than he thought, from his Dad, he knew that this was dangerous, but he had always felt the power that was sleeping within him... And the only reactions that he had from it was ripples... But if forcing an ascension would give him the power, and the ability to keep his Soulmate safe... He would do it...

He was tried of being the Prince in a Guilded Cage... He wanted to force his way out of it, and see what was waiting for him, behind the bars that trapped him in his cage...

Umbra sighed, it looked like Seeker was being stubborn... He had to act, before he had to act, as the Judge....

Then, he was holding Seeker in the air, with clawed Void hands, his body was more of a Void shaped being than anything.... The hunger of the Void to rip and tear apart everything, was bleeding through, the bridge, and everything else, seemed to fade away, and there was nothing.. except for a briefly shimmering white pathway that no being wished to tread, unless Fate forced them to...

And then... Seeker was on the ground, on the bridge, and Umbra his normal self again, the red eyes were gone.

He stared at the one that had started to tempt Fate, and then, he turned around, and he began to silently walk across the bridge.

-----

Seeker was panting, and he was breathing heavily... What was that?! But the fear had knocked some sense back into him... And it reminded him, of what could happen if he continued on this path... He had seen it with his Uncle Nightmare... His form, and his Magic, had been permanently changed.... His Uncle had been lucky enough to escape with the form that he had... There was a possibly that he wouldn't have that luck...

He watched as the ends of Searcher's scarf started to float, towards Umbra, as if Searcher was trying to tell him something.

"You want me to listen to him?"

The ends of the scarf quivered, and Seeker smiled. "I guess that I got more from Dad than I thought... I got some of his stubbornness, and his desire to charge ahead, but you... You grounded me, and you let me hold onto you... And even now, you're holding onto me, to stop me from being an idiot..."

Seeker smiled, and he started to create his Paint path, following Umbra across the Bridge...

"Good, Ser and Solas would be very sad if I had to Judge you, please, do not make me do my job," Umbra said pausing briefly, his voice had loss some of the coldness and the formality, within it, and the brief stop helped Seeker to catch up with him...

"Yeah... If I did something like that... I would break his heart... And I don't want to break his heart."

"That is true, I would rather not have the other half of myself upset..." Umbra mused.

Seeker smiled.

"Seeker.. I am curious, did... Ser.. ever explain the full story on why he and Shades must be balanced in all ways?" Umbra quietly asked him.

"We didn't have time for a proper explanation, but, from what I know... You used to be the same Skeleton, and when the Original Multiverse was spilt into two, everyone was split into two... You're practically a mini Balance... If one half gets stronger, than the other half gets stronger to keep that Balance... It's like the Apples that used to hang from Grandma's Tree, Uncle Nightmare said that when a new Golden Apple was created, a new Black Apple would appear on the Tree, two days after the new Golden Apple was created."

"Seeker, our Balance must be kept.. Shades is with child.. do the math..." Umbra said, in a dry voice.

Seeker blushed, when it hit him. "That explained why my Mom, and my Mr.Geno are angry at Truth's Mom... I'll have to get Ser pregnant, after we go home... And it might be a high risk pregnancy...."

"At the moment, Shades, and myself, are frozen in this form, and it freezes our pregnancy too. There is a very good chance that Ser is stuck in Solas's form, depending on our own balance. I have no clue on how to change his form back to his true self, if that is the case..." Umbra told him. "And don't worry, it won't be a high risk pregnancy... Solas is the light guardian, and his Magic will keep Ser safe.... And by the way, did you notice that you've been walking the bridge, this whole time, without your paint?" Umbra teased him.

Seeker blinked, and he looked at the bridge under his feet, Umbra was right... He wasn't using his paint.

Umbra laughed and he continued to walk the seemingly unending bridge.

Seeker followed him, with the ends of the red scarf that he was wearing, floating behind him.

"What is your dream Seeker, if you gained a true name?" Umbra quietly asked him.

"My dream... I guess... It would be to be with Searcher, to stand by his side... He's smart, but he can be a dork..."

"Hmmm..." Umbra mused, he looked up at the void sky, with a strange look on his face, as if he was listening to something no one, apart from him, could hear.

"But he's my lovable dork... He's always been there for me... And those two years, without him... I felt like someone had stolen the safety net that stopped me from losing myself..."

"Even through you know, that even if you became a true god, he would still exist, long after you faded?" Umbra whispered to him.

"I know... But if I can give him memories, of him, and me, that he can hold onto, in his darkest hours, after I'm gone... Then, I would be okay with that..."

"Come here Seeker.." Umbra said, when he suddenly stopped walking.

Seeker tilted his head, and he walked to Umbra's side.

Umbra leaned down, and he whispered something into Seeker's ear, a word that seemed to burn as hot as the sun, and as cold as the deepest part of the void.

The Guardian of Shadows smiled, and he pulled away, knowing the other skeleton would not hear, or understand, what he had just said.

Not yet... He still had a long way to go...

Seeker shook his head, to get rid of the cobwebs that had suddenly appeared, in his head... "Umbra... Did the Void mess with my head?"

"I gave you a gift, you just can't understand it, yet..." Umbra smirked, and he walked away, to continue walking, across the bridge.

Seeker tilted his head, again, and he stared to walk, again, following Umbra across the bridge...

----

Fear chuckled, as he looked at the newest decoration on the walls of his throne room.

"They'll be here soon, boy... I wonder how that Shadow dog, and your Lover, would react to this..."

This was the reason why he had drained the brat's Magic... The brat might have gotten away, from the hounds, but without his Magic, and that Crystal was slowly draining what was left of it... He would slowly die...

A small patch of light, that was created by a torch being lit, revealed what Fear was talking to...

It had a lanky form, and it had been pinned to the wall, with stakes that went through it's hands, shoulders, knees, and feet. It's head was tilted to the side, and it's eyesockets were empty, with a scar around it's right eyesocket, and stains under the eyesockets that suggested that it had been crying...

It wasn't the real thing, but Fear had planned for that... A Crystal, containing the Boy's Magic, was placed where the Soul would be, to trick them into thinking that this was the Boy, and to rub salt into that open wound, Fear had put a dress on the boy... It suited him, and Fear almost regretted focusing on Ink... The boy was a real catch... And if he wasn't someone that had to die, he could have gone after him, as a Lover...

Fear started to laugh. "Let the games begin..."

-----

We have reached the point where Searcher, and Shades, will cross paths, again, but this time, things are different, and Fear is determined to win this game...

I have drawn images, to use as references for Hibana's outfit, but Wattpad is being stubborn, and it won't let me use them... You might see them, in a future chapter, if I can figure out how to upload them...

I can't draw Skeletons, so I drew a human Hibana, to show you what the bandages, and the eye patch, would look like.... He's an adorable bean that needs to be protected... I don't want to be Fear, when Umbra gets his hands on him....