Chapter 1: The Beginning

For as long as time had existed, Rayman was the only known of his species, a limbless being created by none other than Betilla, a nymph. How could there possibly be another of his kind? Or… very similar to his kind?

Rayman carefully moved away the blanket covering some of the newborn's face so he could see it better – it was a female. Indeed, the baby looked very similar to Rayman. There were very few differences.

The baby's skin color was much paler than of the Guardian's. Her hair tufts were as black as coal, with the very tips being a light, whitish gold. She had a bit of black hair on her head, and it curled around her hair tufts to give it a soft look. Her nose was small compared to Rayman's as well. However, the huge difference were the girl's eyes.

Unlike Rayman's, they were parted. They were just as big, and he had no idea what color they were since she was asleep. There were also a few freckles on the very start at the bridge of her nose.

The poor limbless hero had no idea how long he was staring at the sleeping beauty until Globox's voice snapped him back to reality.

"Huh?" Rayman turned to his friend.

"I said where do you think she came from?"

He scratched his head. What a question.

"I, uh…"

Their low talking made the child stir. Rayman reached over at the basket and rocked it gently, letting out a deep sigh.

"…I don't know. That's a good question. Maybe…"

Rayman's voice was cut off by the sound of his friend's snoring. He couldn't help but smile and chuckle a bit to himself.

…Maybe Betilla will know. I'll go see her tomorrow.

Although not knowing where the child came from, or whether or not it was a horrible trap waiting to happen, he laid down close beside it. Soon enough, he drifted off to rest.

When the light of the sun shone on the Guardian's face, he began to stir. He fluttered his eyes a bit before his vision cleared – morning. A yawn escaped him, and he turned to see the child still resting before him.

A sigh escaped him as he looked at her. I admit, kid's pretty cute.

Rayman had only experienced being around children when he would sometimes babysit for Globox. But they were children. This was a baby. He felt in his heart the aura of tenderness when he looked at her. It was a feeling he wasn't familiar with, but he didn't mind it.

He searched around for his best friend, but looked down to see he was already awake and playing with his herd of children. Rayman smiled and grabbed the basket gently. He climbed down and looked over at him.

"I'm going to go see Betilla," the hero called to his friend. "I wanna see what she-"

His words were interrupted by the glute children running over to him and jumping on him happily. The kids truly adored him.

"Hi, Rayman!" they began.

Rayman chuckled and sat up. "Hey, kids. It's good to see you guys too, but I really gotta see Betilla. She-"

"Rayman, what's that?" a curious glute child asked, pointing at the basket. Globox soon came over.

"Oh, that? It's uh… well, I don't know yet. That's why I'm gonna see Betilla. But as soon as I get back, I'm sure we'll all know."

"C'mon, kids." Globox huddled them and lead them back to play. He waved at his friend, and a wave was returned before the hero got up and took the mystery in the basket with him to see his creator.

The creator of Rayman himself, the lovely red-haired nymph, Betilla, was sitting down on a branch of a small tree, observing a group of young teensy children below, not too far away from her. They were laughing and tagging each other playfully. Betilla giggled as she soon joined them. Thanks to her ability to fly, she had no problem hiding. However, this was unfair to the children so she instead helped find hidden kids and help a few find superb hiding areas.

She loved playing with the creatures of the Glade, big or small, rich or poor, shy or obnoxious, she loved playing with them all. The beautiful nymph had a big heart, and didn't mind sharing her love with others. Besides the fact that the nymph created Rayman to protect the Glade, perhaps her love for creatures was also a big inspiration.

"Betilla?"

Speaking of a certain creation.

The nymph turned and flew down to meet with him.

"Rayman, hello. What brings you here?" she asked.

"I, uh… need your help with something." The limbless hero put down the basket in front of her. "Take a look."

Betilla hesitated, but looked over. Her hesitation quickly turned to a squeal of joy, but she quickly covered her mouth with her hands before awaking the entire Glade of Dreams with it.

"It- she- I-"

Rayman smiled a bit. "Yeah, something dropped her with me and Globox last night." A small smirk took over his lips. "It was you, wasn't it?"

Betilla's wide smile turned to a blank expression after hearing his words. "Me? I didn't-"

Rayman snickered a bit and crossed his hands a bit. "C'mon, Betilla, you created me, didn't you? You could have created her as well. So is she my new sister, or something?"

The nymph's expression slowly turned to confusion and worry. "…Rayman, I'm not joking with you. I didn't create her. I thought- erm…"

The Guardian cocked his head in confusion. "Thought… what?"

"Well, that, you… 'created' your own baby…"

It took some thought, but he then understood what his creator was telling him and he tensed up a bit.

"What?! Me? N-no!" Rayman stuttered.

If Betilla didn't create her… who did?

The Guardian scratched the back of his head and sighed. "Well… thanks anyway."

Betilla thought for a bit. "Hold on a moment. Maybe you could try taking her to Polokus?"

Rayman raised a brow. "Polokus…? Hm… yeah, yeah." He smiled a bit at understanding what she wanted him to do. "He'll definitely know where she's from!"

"I afraid I don't know where this little one is from," Polokus's words echoed softly throughout the snoring tree. "She looks very similar to you, Rayman, just like you mentioned, but even I, the world's creator, have no idea where this child is from."

Rayman let out a deep sigh. "Aw, man… that's impossible…"

He looked down at the mysterious child. She was now awake, and had beautiful sapphire eyes. She let out a soft giggle and reached out to the hero.

"Well… what do I then?" Rayman asked.

"Well…" Polokus looked at the child, who merely wanted the limbless one's attention.

"Maybe you should take care of her until we find out who she belongs to."

The limbless one's jaw dropped.

"What?! ME?! But I-"

He looked over at the baby, still reaching for him and picked her up gently. He sighed and looked at her deep ocean eyes.

"I… I can't take care of a baby… I really don't know much about them."

"Come now, Rayman…it's only until we find her rightful parents."

"But you don't even know where she's from… the creator of the Glade of Dreams itself… how will we ever find her parents?"

"Perhaps, we won't have to. The parents might come to us. Just be patient, little one."

Rayman's eyes never left the child's. "I… all right."

Without another word, Rayman left with the child resting in his hands. He's never taken care a baby before.

What exactly do you do with a kid?