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Puffy didn’t know what to expect when she stepped into the egg room. From the dark, eerie chamber covered in red vines it became a beautiful banquet hall with a feast table and a dance floor. She had to admit the effort Bad had put into the whole thing was quite admirable. It made her feel like the Eggpire was actually telling the truth and they really wanted to turn over this new leaf.
She was pleasantly greeted by Bad and Antfrost and she didn’t have to fake her smile as she returned the gesture. For once she had hope that maybe she was wrong and she wouldn’t have to fight her friends once again.
She idle chatted with the others until all the guests arrived. It was pleasant and when the music started and everyone paired off to dance with someone, Puffy looked around to find a partner. She immediately noticed Niki, laughing with a glass of wine in hand at something Eret had said.
Puffy noticed her when she first arrived, long red dress and beautiful braided hair, a delicious red velvet cake in her hands. Eret came alongside her holding a tray of different assortments of sweets. Antfrost immediately claimed the red velvet cake for himself but Niki didn’t seem to mind. She just smiled and petted his ears softly.
It made Puffy happy, seeing Niki with baked goods again. She knew how much she had suffered after L’manburg’s destruction and Wilbur’s death. Despite the fact that she wished she could be there for her and help her heal, Puffy was simply happy that she was happy. They haven’t spoken in ages and Puffy was the only one to blame for this. She hated herself all the time knowing Niki had reached out to her only to be ignored because of the egg situation.
But maybe this banquet could be the best moment to reconnect again. With a deep breath Puffy stepped towards Niki. When she was close enough she bowed and extended her hand.
“May I have this dance?”
Niki laughed softly and handed the wine glass to Eret. She took Puffy’s hand.
“Of course!”
They walked in the middle of the dance floor and began dancing. The song was slow so they were just moving softly to the rhythm. Puffy wished she knew what to say but she didn’t want to break up their moment. The last time Puffy could enjoy such a wonderful and peaceful moment was their first date. Only suffering followed after for the both of them.
Rather than breaking the silence she just watched Niki and pretended that they weren’t at a banquet hosted by a cult with a sentient, murderous egg just a few feet away from them. It was peaceful and nice and Puffy felt so happy just enjoying herself with Niki.
The song ended far too soon but Puffy was pleased to see Niki was smiling and for the first time in a long time it didn’t look forced.
“Niki… After all this is over, would you like to come over for tea?”
She seemed surprised but she did not hesitate to answer. “I’d love that.”
Puffy let out a breath of relief she didn’t even know she was holding in, but before she could speak again a tap on her shoulder got her attention.
She turned to see Bad looking at Niki with a smile, his white fangs peaking out. “May I steal Puffy from you for a second?”
Niki smiled as well. “If she allows herself to be stolen then yes.”
He turned towards Puffy waiting for her to take his hand in dance. She waved to Niki and turned her attention towards Bad. He had adjusted his height so he was no longer 9’6 and he was the perfect height for him to dance with Puffy. She appreciated that.
The song playing was a waltz. It started out slow, almost haunting and Bad led Puffy through the dance. At first she was surprised by how swiftly he was moving as if he had practiced his whole life. It made sense though, since Bad was always very good at the most obscure things. She just assumed demons had a mandatory dance class they had to take in hell.
The image of seeing everyone dancing around them and simply dancing herself was strange. No one really danced on the Dream SMP. Wars were fought over music discs yet no one ever danced.
She looked into Bad’s eyes and for a moment the life returned to them and she felt like she was looking at her old friend. He seemed to catch onto this as sorrow suddenly painted his expression. He looked down at his shoes.
“Listen Puffy…” He paused to gather his thoughts. “I’m sorry... I’m sorry for everything.”
His expression said more than his words did and Puffy suddenly felt like maybe there was no trick and this banquet really was what Bad said it would be. With a soft smile, Puffy removed her hand from his shoulder to pinch the demon’s cheek.
“It’s okay, you muffinhead.” Puffy could tell Bad was holding back a smile.
Suddenly they were back to months ago when it was just her, Bad and Skeppy laughing together under the night sky.
Puffy’s gaze slipped to Bad’s chest where a band encrusted with red stones was hanging from his neck. She knew for a fact the red colour had nothing to do with the egg though and glancing at Bad’s left hand she noticed a similar blue band on his ring finger.
She remembered laughing at them when she first saw it, teasing them asking if they got married because it was funny to see them flustered. But they responded the bands were just a symbol of their bond, they held their memories and promises for the future.
Skeppy had removed his band from his finger the day after he got corrupted by the egg. Puffy knew this because Bad had found it on the ground by the front door and he went to her for comfort. She helped him put the band on a chain and he has worn it around his neck ever since to give it back to Skeppy when he got back to normal. Months have passed since then and nothing changed.
Puffy looked towards the egg to see if she could spot Skeppy. He usually hung out around it, barely leaving its side. When she couldn’t see him anywhere she turned back to her dancing partner.
“Bad, where is Skeppy?”
For a moment he didn’t speak and he swiftly removed his hand from hers to place the chain hanging from his neck back into his clothes. He returned back to dancing a second later and without halting his waltz steps he looked into Puffy’s eyes, unshed tears threatening to spill.
“I didn’t mean to, I swear!” His tone was rushed and his voice cracked. He seemed desperate to make Puffy understand.
She was confused. “What happened?”
“I killed him…” he said through his shaky voice, but his dance steps never faltered.
Puffy’s stomach dropped and she suddenly felt dizzy. It became increasingly difficult for her to keep up with the music.
“You did what?”
Bad shook his head and tears began falling down his cheeks. “We had a fight, and without meaning to I pushed him… And he was gone just like that. I didn’t mean to!”
The dance continued perfectly and despite his shaking shoulders and tears on his face, from the outside nothing seemed wrong with the picture they painted. Puffy stared at him with wide eyes for a few moments as the song ended. She felt a pang in her heart to see him cry so when they split apart, Puffy reached her hand towards Bad to wipe the tears on his cheeks. Without warning he grasped her hand and pushed her away.
He bowed as if to thank her for the dance and when he raised his head again the tears and sorrow on his face was gone, replaced with a mischievous grin. The vines near his feet were moving as if they were impatient and Puffy soon realised that the person who danced with her just a moment ago was now gone.
“I think now would be a good time to start the feast…”
He disappeared without a word and Puffy was left alone to wonder how much longer of this she could take. At least Skeppy would be free of corruption now that he lost one of his lives… right?
~~~~~
It was only much later into the night, after she watched Antfrost kill Foolish without hesitation that she realised how sick of it all she was. She has always been the one who understood, who was kind and willing to forgive. But not any longer.
She was sick of being trampled all over just because she was willing to be kind in this fucked up world they were living in. So when Quackity showed up with Technoblade and Purpled she saw an opportunity and she took it.
Puffy didn’t hesitate. She aimed her axe at Antfrost’s abdomen and ended his life the way he did to her son. For a moment as his limp body fell to the ground her mind filled with memories of him and their friendship. The most recent one when he saw him hold the red velvet cake as if it was the most precious thing in the world. She couldn’t help wondering how that person was the same as the one who slaughtered her son in cold blood.
It made sense though. She became the exact same thing the moment she picked up the axe. Puffy was fine with it though. She was fine because that’s the type of people that lived on this server and it was finally her turn. She was sick of being kind and forgiving. She would forgive no more.
She turned around at the perfect moment to see Bad’s and Quackity’s swords clash. For once while watching her old friend, she felt nothing.
It was only much later that the gravity of what she’d done caught up to her. While the others were figuring out ways to contain the egg and leave the now destroyed banquet room, their voices were barely background noise. She could only think about Foolish, his last moments replaying again and again in her head while the last look Antfrost gave to her was engraved in her mind.
It was dawn. Puffy was finally alone. She sat down on the prime path, clutched her head in her hands and cried. She cried for what seemed like hours, until tears wouldn’t come out anymore. She cried until the sun was up in the sky and her body was too weary to do anything other than sleep.
So she didn’t fight it anymore. She just let herself be pulled in by the darkness...