Chapter Text
“Okay, so. Who are we meeting again?”
Bad and Skeppy walked down a large, sloping hill, warm wind slowly drifting through the air. Around them, small trees cast shadows on the two warriors, as the wheat that was planted in the field they were walking down brushed their fingertips.
“Bad, I told you. You’re just gonna have to wait.” Skeppy replied, a tired yet cheeky grin on his face.
“This better not be another troll, Skeppy.” Bad warned, giving Skeppy his signature look of false grumpiness.
“It’s not! C’mon, don’t you trust me?”
“Honestly? Not really, Skeppy.”
“What!?” Skeppy pouted, pretending to sulk. “But seriously, this isn’t a prank. I wanted you to meet some of my friends! I have a feeling you’ll really like some of them.”
“I don’t know, Skeppy. If they’re anything like you, I don’t think I’ll be able to handle them.” Bad’s face paled at the thought of 7 or so Skeppys running around, wreaking havoc wherever they pleased.
“Bad, please? If you don’t like them, I’ll never force you to talk to them again. Just this once? Please?”
“…Okay, Skeppy. If you’re sure.”
“Don’t worry, you’ll have a great time! All my friends are the bestest.”
“That’s not a word, you muffin! If they’re so great, why won’t you tell me who they are?”
“Because it’s a surprise, Bad. Jeez, I didn’t think you were this dumb.”
“Hey!”
“I’m joking, I’m joking! Stop! Stop!” Skeppy laughed, putting his hands up in retaliation as Bad attempted to punch him in the stomach, before realizing that
he could just activate his ability.
Bad’s punching slowed to a stop as he felt Skeppy’s skin transform from its usual soft smoothness to hardened plates of diamond underneath his hoodie. “Ugh, Skeppy! Don’t do that! You’re such a muffin!”
“Ha ha! You’re just jealous because now you can’t hit me!” Skeppy cackled.
“Whatever, you muffinhead.” Bad said, fighting a smile. “Now, where are we going?”
By the time they had reached the park, the day had gone from early and damp to warm and lazy.
Together, Bad and Skeppy set up a picnic banket along with a few chairs, hidden just slightly underneath a large tree.
Skeppy went to go grab more food, so Bad was alone in the clearing. Just as he began to wonder if it really was a prank, and Skeppy was just going to leave him here, lost in a park, he heard a rustle in the bushes. Quickly activating his powers, he crept over to the bush, trying not to make any noise. He peered through the thin leaves of the bush, looking for any signs of movement, before a blur of neon green tackled him from behind, throwing him to the ground.
He got up in a flash and threw the person on top of him into the dirt, ready to defend against whoever attacked him, when he heard a familiar voice shouting
“Bad! Stop! It’s just me!”
As Bad’s vision cleared from his panic, he blinked in surprise at the man lying on the ground underneath him. “Dream? What are you doing here?”
“I could say the same to you.” Dream chuckled, pulling himself back up onto his feet. “Jeez, you’ve gotten stronger.”
Dream was one of the first people Bad met in this realm. He was a tall, lanky man with thick, dirty blonde hair and his signature mask he refused to take off. His sister had given the mask to him a gift when he was younger while he had a black eye so others wouldn’t notice, and he’d been wearing it ever since. Only a few people ever saw his real face, Bad among them. It had been an accident, but they’ve been closer ever since. At least, until Bad ran off to have adventures with Skeppy. He hadn’t seen any of his old friends for quite some time.
“Ah! Sorry!” Bad exclaimed, then quickly pulled Dream into a tight hug.
“Muffins, I missed you. Wait, does this mean that the other muffins are here as well?”
“Huh? Oh, yeah. Georgie and Sap are right over there.” Dream replied, pointing over his shoulder. Behind him, George and Sapnap were chatting with Skeppy, who was walking back from the village, his arms full of food. Bad quickly detached himself from Dream’s arms and ran over to them, engulfing his old friends in an equally air-crushing hug as the one he gave Dream.
“George! Sapnap! I missed you guys so much!”
“Jeez Bad, we only just got here, don’t kill us yet!” Sapnap laughed, but was holding on to the demon just as tight.
“Wait, what? Am I missing something here?” Skeppy asked, confused.
“Dream, George and Sapnap are some old friends of mine.” Bad explained, still holding on to George, who was struggling to breathe.
He had met George and Dream at the same time, during one of their first manhunts where George was being chased by dream. They accidentally ran smack-dab into the face of Badboyhalo. But instead of being mad, he asked if he could play as well. He met Sapnap shortly after, and the four became fast friends. They never teased him about not being as strong as them, and he never teased them about being human. George was the closest to his age, with dark hair and a strong British accent, and Sapnap was closer to Skeppy’s age, with wavy hair slightly longer than most and a headband that might as well be surgically attached to his hairline.
“Speaking of old friends, what are you guys doing here?”
“We’ve been told to meet here for a, and I quote, ‘Super-awesome best friends meetup.’” Dream replied, not-so discreetly trying to pry George from Bad’s iron grip. He was starting to turn an unhealthy shade of purple. Jeez, demons were strong.
“Wow, so Skeppy knew you guys too? That means we could’ve met for the first time ages ago!” Bad cried, throwing his hands up in frustration.
In doing so, he released George, who crumpled to the ground in a heap, gasping for air.
“Oh, well. Hey Bad, come help me set all this food up.” Skeppy said, seemingly oblivious as the Dream team tried desperately to revive George. Just then, a loud, screeching voice coming from the trees nearby cut through the air. “Tubbo, what the fuck!?”
“Language!” Bad yelled back to the mysterious voice, making everyone around him chuckle.
“Sorry!” A kinder, quieter voice returned back.
“That must be Tommy and his crew,” Skeppy muttered. “watch out for Tommy, he’s a total brat.”
“Language.” Bad whispered back.
Sure enough, 3 players walked out of the forest. The first was tall (taller than Bad, at least, but not nearly as tall as the giant that was Dream). He had dark curly hair framing his pale face, covered by a grey hat. He wore a military uniform, as did the other two, but his seemed to be of a higher rank, and had a large medallion on the front of his blazer with the number ‘10’ embedded on it. He was yelling at his companion, a short boy whose hair seemed so blonde it was practically yellow. He wore the same uniform the first Player did, but the pin on the front of his coat had the number ‘8’.
“It wasn’t my fault!” the boy with the yellow hair (who bad now identified as the
voice that came from the forest) cried, shoving a thumb over his shoulder, “It was fucking Tubbo! One of his stupid animals tripped me!”
“language!”
The boy behind the other two then stepped forward towards Bad, extending his hand. “Hey, I’m Tubbo! Nice to meet you! Sorry about them, they both really like to yell. But don’t worry, they’re nice, I promise!”
Tubbo was taller than the yellow-haired boy, although not by much. He had a more natural blonde color for his hair and was wearing an oversized green flannel over his uniform, but Bad could make out his medallion, the number ‘9’. Both of the blondes looked young, around 15 or 16, where the brunette looked a little older, although not by much.
“Bad, this is Wilbur, Tommy and Tubbo.” Skeppy said, pointing to each of the Players as he spoke. “They work for the royal guard, hence the uniforms.”
“Nice to meet you all! I’m Badboyhalo.” Bad reached out and shook Tubbo’s hand, smiling politely.
Wilbur, the man with the dark hair, immediately stopped shouting at the yellow-haired boy, Tommy.
“Hey, nice to meet you. I’m Wilbur.” He made a lazy salute as greeting, flashing pearly whites.
“And I’m Tommy! I’m sure you’ve heard of me before. After all, I am number eight on the Ability tier.” The loud one boasted proudly.
“Ah, yeah. You’re Tommyinnit, right?”
“That’s me, all right! Best in all the land!”
“…Um, actually, I thin-”
“But enough about me!” interrupted Tommy, “Tell me about you, BadBoyHalo. What do you desire most in life? Is it women?”
“Um, no. bu-”
Tommy continued. “I love women. Let me tell you about women, BadBoyHalo…”
As Tommy rambled on, Bad turned back to the others, who all had apologetic looks on their faces. “Is he… always like this?”
The looks on their faces suggested that yes, yes he was.