Bill was leaving his sleep, when he felt something wet touch his face. For a moment, he forgot where he was, and assumed he was sleeping in the ditch during a rainstorm. That's what he thought, until he opened his eyes, and stared back at two yellow eyes and a furry brown face.

"AH! WHY!?" He screamed, when he realized the goat from last night had been licking his face.

The animal looked at him blankly, seeming unaware of the shock it had provoked in the boy. Bill took a couple seconds to calm down, and saw that the goat was currently laying on his chest. Growling under his breath, he pushed the creature off. The goat landed on the floor, and bleated in what sounded like annoyance.

"Like you're the one to complain," Bill snapped. "How did you even get in here?"

Obviously, he went unanswered. The goat bleated again, but Bill ignored him this time. He suspected that Will might've let the creature in, and prepared to have a personal chat with his brother, about not inviting wild animals onto their property. However, when he turned to the other bed, all he saw was an empty mattress. He then noticed that Will's backpack was gone. Could the boy have gone out to explore?

Bill felt both worried and irritated. They were supposed to be in this together! Why would Will go off on unfamiliar territory alone, especially after the weirdness last night? Frustrated, he quickly got out of bed, and put on his shoes. Not bothering to fix his messy hair, he was about to head out in search for his idiot brother.

"Baa!"

"What now?" Bill groaned, then turned.

He was dismayed, when he faced the goat, who was chewing furiously at one of the loose floorboards. "Hey! Stop that! This place is semi-destroyed as it is!"

He rushed up and shooed the animal away. While the goat fled

out the door, Bill was left to examine the damages it caused. He muttered curses under his breath, when the floorboard was nearly pealed off. He was about force it back into place, when his eyes caught a glint that appeared under it.

"What the...?" He trailed off, when he peered inside the floor.

Bill nearly gasped, at his discovery. Hiding away in the floor, was an object, and this said object was a book. It was thick in size, with old crippled pages. It's cover was a deep maroon, that paled throughout the years, littered with scraps and tears. Lastly, shining in the center, was a six fingered golden handprint, with a big number 3 on it.

Cautious, he used his fingers to pry the floorboard off, earning more than enough splinters in the progress. Bill didn't mind, he had experienced far worse. What could he say? Pain was hilarious like that. Finally, the floorboard snapped off, and he threw it aside. After that, he took the book out, and inspected it further. It was indeed old, ancient even, Bill wondered if it belonged to the previous owner of this shack. Only one way to find out.

With that, he opened the book to it's first page. "Property of..." But he couldn't read the rest, because the ink was so smudged, making it impossible to tell the name. Well, so much for finding the owner.

Still, Bill continued to look through it, and he could admit, he grew invested in each page turning. Every section, held information and bios, and a sketch of some bizarre looking creature. He didn't know what he was looking at, or who this book was meant for, until he reached a certain page, was when he found something that definitely held his interest.

Under the ominous writing, was a picture of two people standing side by side. One was a woman, and the other was a man. Despite that, they looked a lot like twins, and were wearing old-fashioned attire. Bill's eyes drifted to the sword that the man was clutching, and a shiver ran up his spine for some unknown reason. He began to read the letters above the picture.

"Guardians of the World Balance," He read. "They protect the universe from the powerful source called Weirdness, and are currently located in the Scape. They are high ranking Guardians, able to bend reality and knowledge itself. They are also particularly famous for slaying the one eyed beast that destroyed our realm. Their main responsibility, is a place called Zero Gravity Town."

Bill blinked several times, starring at the page, before turning it. Another page similar to the last one, except this one held a picture of a woman wearing furs, and holding an axe in her hand. The boy quickly read her bio.

"Spirit of the Forest. Skilled with her Battle Axe, she defends everything regarding nature, and used to travel frequently, before she was bound to Zero Gravity Town. She now subsides in the forest, and keeping in check with the creatures, and preventing any Weirdness from leaving the territory."

Bill was beginning to question what this Weirdness really was. He immediately recalled the monster last night, along with the suspicious woman in the trees. He frowned. Oh no, did him and his brother just led themselves into a freak invested town!? His question was forgotten for now, when he heard loud noises downstairs. He stilled, wondering if Will had returned.

Only one way to find out.

Bill quickly returned the book where it was, and yet again moved towards the exit. He began a slow descent downstairs, hoping to be stealthy, until it was ruined by a certain someone. The goat bleated loudly, and came running down, accidentally toppling into Bill's legs. He cursed, and managed to recover his balance in time. He sighed in relief, but it might've been too late for that.

"What made you think a goat is a decent house pet?"

Bill jolted at the new voice, but somehow, found it oddly familiar. He turned, now facing a person that stood at the bottom of the staircase. She was a woman, with a lithe body, yet muscular arms and legs, and long wild red hair. Her clothing consists of pelts from animals, she wore a binder instead of a top, and she had war paint on her freckled face. Bill also would add, that her eyes had a suspicious calmness to them, in a way that he couldn't tell if she was deciding to attack or offer him a cup of tea. And, he immediately recognized her from the picture.

Spirit of the Forest.

"Why are you here?" He demanded, wishing he had some kind of weapon.

"Relax, I mean no harm," She said, coolly. "Also, don't you remember me?"

"No, why would I--"

Bill stopped mid sentence, finally able to process the woman's voice. He definitely recognized it now. "You! You led us here."

She snapped her fingers. "Bingo! And my name is Wendy, by the way."

"Whatever, Red," He retorted. "Again, why are you here?"

"Fixing your TV, so you can watch awful horror movies in peace."

Bill regarded her in puzzlement. "What...WHAT?"

Wendy made a lopsided smile. "Come down here, so I can explain everything. And by everything, I mean it."

Bill stayed where he was, not comfortable associating with someone who committed breaking and entering. And no, what him and Will did with the shack wasn't technically breaking the law, because no one owned it in the first place...he thought.

"Bill."

He felt a launch in his chest, when he heard his name being spoken by Wendy. That was impossible, he never told her his name...

Before Bill could ask about it, Wendy shut him up with her serious gaze. "You need to listen to what I have to say. Please, your life depends on it."

Bill gave her a long look, before finally accepting defeat.

"Spill it, Red."

❇❇❇

He had no idea what came over him, when he decided to wait in the forest alone.

With help from his map, he found the picnic center, which was disturbingly empty, considering summer was usually active for families to spend time together here. Will sat by a rickety wooden table, occasionally flinching, when he heard even the slightest sound, and briefly wondered how he managed to survive this long.

His mind reverted back to the boy in the hood, and the eerie warnings about these Guardians. Was it all a joke? Did Will come out here for nothing, just to score a few laughs? If that was true, he could only blame himself, for listening to Norman in the first place.

Will grimaced, as he felt the heat of the sun seething through his sweater. Despite being surrounded by trees, sunlight managed to filter through the leaves. Growing uncomfortably warm, Will took off his sweater, until he was only left with a thin vest. After that, he tied the clothing around his waist, and then reached inside his backpack that was strapped to him. He took out his phone, and checked the time.

13:00 pm

His shoulders slumped. Will had been waiting for almost half an hour. Though, him and Norman never established the exact time of their meeting, so the chances are that the hooded boy was only running late. If so, was Will prepared to wait all day, or would it be better if he went home and then return later on? His thought process was interrupted, when his phone vibrated in his hand.

A text message from Bill, Will thought, looking at the screen.

Oh no. Before even opening the message, he suspected that his twin was annoyed by him for venturing out into town alone, and Will half expected Bill to send him a long paragraph explaining all the ways he was going to kill him if he didn't return home right now. Wouldn't be the first time. Bracing himself, Will opened the message.

Where are you!?

So far, so good, at least there were no death threats this time. Will thought about what to reply with, his eyes scanned his current surroundings. Finally, he answered.

W: I'm at a picnic center in the woods.

B: What the hell are you doing there?

Will paused. He couldn't tell his brother that he was waiting for some emo guy willing to spill secrets of this town, Bill would never believe him and would most likely try to drag him back to the shack.

W: Because I like the scenery.

B: Well, come home now.

W: Why?

B: Because, I said so.

Will knitted his brow together. This wasn't the first time Bill ordered him around, and what was worse, Will always did exactly as he was told. But, it was only necessary, right? Bill was more experienced, smarter, stronger, and better looking. It was only natural that he took the lead, while Will stayed in the sidelines quietly. A life that Will had been content with...mostly.

W: Is something happening at the shack?

B: ...

B: No.

He noted the pause before the simple answer. Suspicion and worry began to creep in. Was Bill lying to him? That couldn't be it, at least to Will, the blond was almost always truthful. Unlike, Will himself of course. Guilt slithered in, just when Bill sent another text.

Actually, there's one problem.

Will stared.

Really? What?

OK, just wait a sec.

He immediately had a pleasant surprise, when Bill sent him a picture of a familiar face. It was the goat from before, and underneath the picture was another text.

Did you let this monster into the house?

Will suppressed a laugh.

No, but since he's there, can we keep him?

Never in a million years.

C'mon! At least think about it.

B: If you mean think about calling animal control, then yes.

The boy rolled his eyes, though, he was relieved that the goat was Bill's only problem.

So, are you coming home or what?

Will hesitated, looking aimlessly at his screen. He tossed one look at his empty surroundings. No one was here, which meant there was no reason for him to be here also. So, his fingers hovered over his phone, about to answer--

"Hey there, blue."

Will looked up, and to his surprise, Norman stood in front of him. The blue haired boy stared, mostly wondering when Norman had turned into a freaking ninja, and managed to sneak up on him so quietly.

"H-hey, Norman," He blurted.

Norman's gaze darted side to side. "I see, you came alone."

"Yeah."

"So," He started, grinning slyly. "Do you finally want to hear everything?"

Will nodded, and prepared to stand up, when Bill sent another message.

B: Hello? I'm waiting for an answer.

He stared blankly at it, and a thought dawned on him. They wouldn't take long, right? Norman was only going to share some information. With that, he replied:

W: I'll be there eventually.

After that, he turned off his phone, the black screen reflected his guilty expression. Was that the right thing to do? Should he have sent Bill his location if things went south? Will imagined the blond would come charging in to save him as always, and suddenly frowned at the mere thought. No. This was a new home, and a new Will to go along with it, he couldn't keep depending on his brother.

"Can you tell me more about this town?" He asked, trying to seem confident. "Why are there monsters crawling around? Where did they even come from?"

"I'll tell you what I know," Norman replied, gruffly. "Most say that they escaped from another world and this was the only place able to contain their Weirdness."

"Why did they need to escape?"

"A creature. The legendary One Eyed Beast destroyed their dimension, and threatened to make them slaves. Jumping universes was the only way. Don't ask me how they did it, because I don't know."

Will let this sink in. One Eyed Beast. For the life of him, he wasn't sure why that phrase sounded familiar. It was like trying to catch a grain of sand in the wind, the memory was there, but he couldn't grab or see it correctly to make it stick.

"What about these Guardians?" He moved on. "Besides from imprisoning people, what other things did they do?"

"Just awful things," Norman said, shaking his head slightly. "There's two in particular you might wanna watch out for: the Guardians of World Balance. One is corrupt and judges poorly, while the other can break your mind with a snap of her fingers."

Will tensed. "And, have you met them?"

He nodded. "Oh yes, we'll never forget the time they tricked us."

"Well, I'm sorry you had to go through that-- Wait, did you just use we and us? As in, more of you?"

Norman blinked, and then said quickly. "Yes, my friends and I had a bad run in with them, it wasn't a good experience."

"In that case, how do Bill and I avoid these two?"

"Short answer: you can't," He said, bluntly. "They are master trackers, that can find almost anything. But, there is a way to save yourself."

"Whatever it is, I'll do it," Will decided.

Norman smiled widely. "You stay with me, and I'll protect you."

Will stared, shocked but mostly confused. "Uh, if it's for our safety, I can consider staying over from time to time, but Bill would need a lot more convincing--"

"Not Bill, only you," Norman said, firmly.

He stared. "But, he's my brother, I'm not gonna leave him alone."

The hooded boy gave him the most serious expression. "Don't you see, it's Bill that the Guardians are after! He'll only put you in danger, you belong to us!"

"Wait! You're not making any sense. Bill did nothing wrong, why would they be after him? And what is this us? Your friends?"

Norman looked at him, before breathing deeply. Will almost jumped, when the other boy dropped to his knees and bowed.

"No, we are your humble servants," He said, while he faced the ground.

Ohhh! Now I get it, he's crazy, Will realized.

"Imma' go now, Norman. It's been nice meeting you, but..."