Chapter Text
“Grab them.” Bad opened the door, his armor clanking against the iron. “Just Phil and River.”
“Come on…” Skeppy sighed, moving away the vines to grab their arm. They mumbled something, but didn’t struggle as he picked them up.
“For an old man, he is quite light…” Punz lifted Phil’s arm over his shoulder.
“Just get him out of here.” Bad sighed, tapping his foot as Punz took his sweet time. A large boom went off, sending a strong gust of wind into the room.
“They're here…” he muttered, helping Punz with Phil.
“TUBBO! OVER HERE- Skeppy, I will beat your ass.” River hissed, slamming their captor into the wall with a sickening crack.
“And so will I.” He brought his foot down on their ankle, a smirk forming on his face.
“Enough fighting. You’ll stop, or Phil gets it.” Bad narrowed his eyes at them, as he brought up a small dagger to Phil’s neck.
River opened their mouth for a second, before closing it. “Phil…?” They whimpered, watching the avain slowly open his eyes.
“Mate-” Phil faltered, feeling the dagger’s blade press against his skin.
“Get moving.” Skeppy sighed, shoving River forward. “Scream, I dare you.” He whispered in their ear, letting a thorned vine climb up their arm.
“Oi.” Phil sidestepped Skeppy, moving him away from River.
“Phil?” A voice spoke.
“Hello, Tubbo. Have you come to join us?” A smile appeared on Bad’s face, as he stood in front of Phil and River.
Avoiding eye contact, Tubbo looked at his friends. River didn’t look any better than the last time he saw them. While Phil looked fine besides a few cuts here and there. There was no sign of Techno, Nikki or Ranboo.
“No. I’ve come for my friends.” Tubbo looked up at Bad, ignoring the sight of his blank white eyes.
“That’s going to be a problem. You shouldn’t have come alone, Tubbo.” Bad sighed, sending Punz towards him. Tubbo stepped back, tripping on a stray vine.
“TUBBO, RUN!” River shouted, throwing a dagger that landed close to Punz’s head. “Come get me.” They grinned, hands untied. Sprinting, they disappeared around the corner with him close behind.
“Skeppy!-” Bad spun around to find Phil standing over his unconscious friend. Phil grabbed Skeppy’s fallen sword and pointed it at Bad.
“You’ll pay for what you did to my friends.” Phil snarled, his wings flaring behind him.
“This is my home, River. I know it better than you do.” Punz laughed, watching them get caught behind vines.
“You wouldn’t kill me.” They let out a breathy laugh, stepping away from a wall of vines.
“You’ve proven to the Egg that you're too difficult.” Punz shrugged, grabbing a splash potion. “I will, but I’ll delay your death for so long, you’ll beg me to end it.”
“Is that why Dream paid you?” They asked, eyeing the splash potion in his hand. “To make the deaths long and delaying?”
Punz stopped, no one knew much about why Dream paid him to kill people. For those who knew, he had dealt with them his way. In anger, he threw the weakness potion at their feet. “You don’t get to speak of that.”
Ignoring the way their arms and legs ached, River pressed on the subject, stalling for time. “What? About Dream? What’s wrong with the guy? Heard he was in prison.” They winced as the thorny vines squeezed harder on their arm.
“Shut. Up.” Punz snapped, lifting his axe to their throat.
“Hah…” They lowered their head, their hair falling over their eyes. “If only it were that easy…” River looked back up, their eyes pitch black. What was left was a red glowing slit. “Surprise…” They pulled, using Punz’s axe to cut the vines around them. Caught off guard, his axe slipped out of his hands and into their waiting hand.
“What are you?!” Punz unclipped his sword, blocking a blow from his own axe.
“Something all mortals would fear if they knew I existed.” They snapped their canines close to his face, causing Punz to flinch.
“You're immortal?” He grunted, using his feet to kick them in the chest to gain ground.
“More or less.” They frowned, as if he offended them in some way. Their stance, relaxed and carless. “Nearly every man I have ever fought, fights the same.” They dodged the swing with a roll of their eyes. “But you fight with grace and skill. Not something I see everyday.” For what seemed a long time, they traded attacks. Punz’s endurance was slowly draining, he wasn’t used to fighting for long periods of time. River didn’t even break a single sweat, but with every strike they grew more amused.
“Tired yet?” They mocked. The weakness potion effects had worn off ages ago, which had given Punz the upper hand.
“Never.” Punz forced out, he could feel his attacks getting slower and slower. Their laugh sounded harsh, nothing like the kid he captured weeks ago.
“Liar.” They pushed away his sword with a hand, ignoring the cut it left. “Surrender, and I might let you live.” They frowned, when he still held his sword. “I’m not giving you a choice, Punz.”
“I’m making my own choice.” He held a harming potion above his head. With what was left of his strength, he chucked it at their feet. A small grin appeared on his face, as he watched them collapse with what little health they had. Suddenly, something hard hit his head, and his vision went dark.