„Mom? Hi...“ Toby called his mom. „Are you gonna be home soon? ... Okay ... I will be here. Bye.“ He hung up.

„You didn‘t tell her what you want to talk about?“ Charlotte asked.

The three were walking to Tobys apartment. It wasn‘t in the vicinity of the Morpho Defenders HQ, but also not too far away that they‘d need to go by car.

„No... She‘ll sometimes be upset if I want to talk to her about more serious things. I don‘t want her to be angry when she arrives.“ „I see...“ Charlotte sighed. „Don‘t worry, this isn‘t the first time I‘m telling parents about the Morpho Defenders, and convincing them to let their child take part. I did the same thing for Roy here, three years ago when he was 16.“

„You don‘t have to tell them...“ Roy pushed his glasses up.

„Oh, so you were also my age when you joined? Can you tell me about it?“ Toby looked at Roy.

„This information will not be useful for you. I joined the Morpho Defenders in a more unconventional way. I did not work as an apprentice for three years. I was accepted as a Morpho Defender after 4 weeks of an internship.“ „Ooh, so you‘re a special member? That‘s exciting!“ „I‘m not special... after all, I‘m not an Elite member.“ „But being accepted as a normal worker at the age of 16, that‘s kinda lit!“ „What‘s ‚lit‘?“

„Oh Roy“ Charlotte chuckled. „Don‘t try to understand teenie linguo.“
„Hmh.“ Roy crossed his arms.

Eventually, they eventually arrived at their destination.

„Mom should be here in a few minutes.“ Toby stood in front of the apartment. „I‘d invite you in, but our apartment is really small, it can‘t fit a lot of people.“ „Hmmh...“ Roy looked around. „This neighbourhood is kind of shady...“

„Don‘t worry Roy.“ Charlotte patted his back. „This won‘t take that much time hopefully.“
„Hmh. If you say so.“

And then, a few minutes later, Toby's mother came around the corner. She was a petite woman with short, darkblonde hair and a sunken face. When she saw Toby and the Morpho Defenders, as well as the three creatures, she stopped with a baffled look on her face.

„Toby-“, she said. „What- Who are those people?“

„Hi mom!“ Toby had a little smile on his face. „Sorry for the surprise but... I want to ask for your consent, for me to join the Morpho Defenders!“

„......“ A clear shock was seen on her face.

„Mrs. Williams“ Charlotte stepped forward. „You see, our organization is-“

„No!! There‘s no way in HELL that I‘ll let Toby join your incompetent club!“

Now, it was Charlotte‘s turn to be surprised. „Excuse me?“
„Mom...?“ Toby looked worried. He‘d never seen his mother lose her cool this way.

„I said what I said!! You can go eat dirt!!“

„Mom!!!“

„Toby. Let me handle this.“ Charlotte cleared her throat. „I don‘t know what you‘ve heard in the news, but me and my colleague would like to tell you about-“

„This is NOT about anything from the news!! Did you forget what you did to me?! To my family?! You‘re responsible for my husband’s disappearance!! Yet no one has faced any consequences!! I was left all alone with no job and a child to feed while my incompetent brother-in-law gets to live in his masses of money and stupid colored animals!! How do you think I feel after all of this?!?“

There was silence for a few seconds, though it felt more like several minutes.

„Are you...?“ Charlotte looked at Toby, and then at his mother again. „You‘re the wife of Carter Williams? And- Toby is- his son?“

Now Roy looked up as well.

„Mom...? What are you talking about?“ Toby was confused. „You told me dad died in a car accident!“

„... Why don‘t you let your new friends explain to you what happened to your father?“

„...“ Charlotte sighed. „13 years ago... your father and your uncle, Frederic Williams, fought against a very dangerous Morpho Mon that came out of a big portal. And... during that fight.... your father fell into the portal, together with the Morpho Mon he was fighting. This was the first and only time a human went through a portal to the Morpho Dimension. And to this day, we haven‘t found a way to create a secure portal to connect our worlds.“

„... w-what? My father- my father was a Morpho Defender?“ Toby was baffled.

„Not just any Morpho Defender, Toby.“ Charlotte looked at him. „Your father and his brother were the founders of the Morpho Defenders. He‘s a legend among us.“

„Oh- my gosh...“ Toby held his head. „Why did you never tell me, mom!“

„Because- because I don‘t -“ His mother sniffed. „I don‘t want you to end like him!!“

„Mom.....“

„Mrs. Williams.“ Charlotte folded her hands. „I‘m very, very sorry about what happened to your husband. But- a lot has changed in the last 13 years. We have much higher security measurements, a bigger and more professional team, and since that day, no one got lost in the Morpho Dimension again.“

„I don‘t care about all that! Toby deserves better than that. And all your promises won‘t fix my life, nor bring back my husband!!“

„Mom...“ Toby approached her. „You know.... if I get this job, I could support us better than with my street musician work. And... I also already made a new friend. Memis?“

„Hmmh...“ Memis walked up, with a shy expression. „Hellooo.“

„Wheh- a dog?!“

„Not a dog, mom! He‘s a Morpho Mon!“

„Mrs. Williams!“ Memis sat down in front of her. „I may be small and inexperienced but... I‘m willing to learn and give my everything to make sure that Toby is safe!“

„.... b-But“ She looked at Toby. „How safe can he even be? Look at him! He‘s covered in scratches!“

„Yes“, Charlotte said. „Your son got these from protecting this little creature from another Morpho Mon. He‘s very brave, just like his father was. I think he absolutely has the potential to become a great Morpho Defender.“

„....“ Mrs. Williams sighed. „I don‘t care... I really don‘t... after all... Carter will never come back... and this whole thing... it hurts so much....“

„Actually...“ Roy raised his voice again after a while. „Thinking about it- there might be a way to bring him back. And your son might just be the key to that.“

„What“ She looked at him. „What did you just say?“

„Roy?“ Charlotte turned around. „Is that true?“

„Yes, actually.“ Roy pushed up his glasses. „We have been able to track Morpho Mons we returned to their dimension with a technology that requires their DNA. We could use the same technology to try and find your husband. We tried it before with his brother, our CEOs DNA, but it turned out they appearently don‘t share enough of their DNA, so it didn‘t work. However... it could work with Toby. But this procedure could take quite a while. It would be useful to have Toby around for that.“

„.... you- you can- you can bring Carter back?“ Mrs. Williams covered her mouth with her hand, her knees shook so much they started to give in

„Mom!!“ Toby held her before she could fall. „Are you okay?“

„Mrs. Williams! Do you need medical care?“ Charlotte looked worried.

„Hmmh...“ She stood back up again. „I.. I swear to god...“ she looked up with a fierce expression. „If you dare to let anything bad happen to Toby... I will set your building on fire.“

„Does- Does that mean – ?“

„Yes, Toby.“ She let out a deep sigh. „You can join the Morpho Defenders.“

„Really!?! Thank you!!!! Thank you mom!!“ he began hugging her. „This makes me so happy!!“

„You won‘t regret this, Mrs. Williams.“ Charlotte smiled relieved. „We will take care of Toby, like we do with all of our students.“ She reached inside her pocket and pulled out a paper. „This is the paper you need to sign, then Toby will be invited to the recruitment test, which takes place in about a week. And... you can keep Memis as well. I feel like you‘re already competent enough to handle him. He‘s a good boy.“

Mrs. Williams took the paper. „I‘ll send it back tomorrow. Now please... leave. I have a headache.“ „It‘s fine mom! Go inside, I‘ll come in a minute!" „Yeah yeah...“ Mrs. Williams opened the door and went inside the apartment building.

Toby turned around to his two future colleagues. „Thanks you two... I don‘t think I could’ve done it without you.“

„It‘s fine, that‘s part of my job. And... Roy, are you positive abou what you promised Mrs. Williams?“

„Hm?“ Roy looked up. „Well- I guess? I‘m not that involved in this project, but... it‘s not impossible.“

„Well, that was the argument that made her give in so...“ Toby smiled at Roy. „Thank you so much for coming with us~“

„Uhm- you‘re welcome.“ Roy looked away. „We should go, Charlotte.“

„Fine. Okay, Toby.“ she smiled. „See you in a week~“

„Yeah!! See you in a week!!“ The two were leaving, and Toby squatted down to Memis. „Seems like we can stay together now, officially!“
„Yes!!“ Memis smiled. „That makes me very happy!!“
„Wanna go inside and have a snack?“
„Oh yes!!“

Toby opened the door and both went inside.