Work Text:
Since they were children it was assumed that George would take the crown, and from childhood he was raised to be prepared for it.
George was the King and Queen's real son, Karl was merely his cousin who was left to them at 5 years old when his mom disappeared into the night. It’s unknown as to where she went, or exactly why.
George’s mom seemed certain that it was because of her flightiness.
When Karl had asked, she went on about all the ridiculous ideas of adventure she liked to fantasize about. She said his mom wasn’t made for staying in one place and having Karl was like wearing a shackle attached to an iron ball at the bottom of the sea.
Karl cried when she told him that. She must have thought he needed to hear it, like he would get over it if he knew she didn’t care for him in the first place.
After 15 years though, it didn’t bother him anymore.
He knew the bias the King and Queen held for their son, he knew they didn’t want him, so he made it his goal to outshine George in every way he could.
Karl would sit in front of the door to George's private tutoring lessons and eavesdrop on the lessons, book and quill in lap, ear pressed to the door so that he could study at the same pace as his cousin.
He found politics infinitely boring in all honesty but loved the flabbergasted look on George’s face when he displayed his equal knowledge in their normal classes.
So he studied politics for hours on end, even if he was drop dead exhausted.
Fortunately, George was bad at socializing, he hated social gatherings with a burning passion, but to Karl, socializing was like second nature to him. He loved making nobles laugh at the dinner table, not in the way he loved one-upping George but in the way that fed his soul.
Talking energized him and after a while he became pretty good at it, which in turn made him popular among nobles and the castle staff, unlike George.
Heck, he was even better at gardening than George.
Karl outshone George in many ways, but no matter how much he achieved, no matter how charming he was, George was their favourite, their son.
Karl could never be that.
So when choosing day came, Karl and George, kneeling side by side before the statue of XD, his aunt and uncle somewhere watching behind them.
An adrenaline rush shot through him once the high priest placed his hands on Karl’s head and announced him as Crown Prince of Kinoko Kingdom.
His eyes popped open and he stared up at the priest in awe, the priest smiled and bowed his head whispering “Congratulations.” under his breath.
Karl beamed and turned to look at his aunt and uncle, whose faces were pale and stricken with horror.
He turned to George, but he was already storming out of the chapel, fury in each booming stride.
The man his aunt and uncle thought was always destined to be, was not that.
The truth of the matter seemed to settle into their bones on their carriage ride back, their silence spoke volumes.
-
George ignored him the following 3 days after the announcement, by then the whole palace knew what happened, and they could tell the prince was pissed about it.
A few servants were happy with the revelation, many of whom came to congratulate Karl on his promotion, telling him they were glad it was him.
He appreciated their words, but the only attention he cared for after the choosing were his family’s.
And boy did he relish in how uncomfortable the King and Queen were around him, it was like revenge for dismissing him all his life.
Even more than that though, he liked the invisible stormy cloud over George’s head, the way he scowls at him when their eyes meet in the palace gardens, when a noble leaves George in favour of speaking with him.
Karl had never felt more powerful.
On the fourth day since the choosing, the royal family was in the middle of a not-so chatty dinner when the Queen set her fork down, hands folded in front of her. She did that when she had something important to say.
The servants must have recognized the meaning as well because they were gone in a snap, leaving the royal family to talk privately.
Karl set his own cutlery down and looked to her, wondering if she would finally address what everyone but Karl was ignoring.
She took a deep breath, nails picking at the fabric of her sleeve, and then it came out “So… as we all know, recently, Karl has been chosen to be the next King.” She swallowed, as if struggling to keep from throwing up all over the mushrooms she was previously picking at.
“We think that,” she took her husband's hand, “we think that Karl’s studies should continue abroad, a year should suffice.” Her eyes met Karl’s, he smiled at her.
Her gaze instantly darted away, unable to look at the fake glee on his face.
Karl knew they didn’t want to see him, that was the only real reason he was being sent away, but he knew they couldn't take his title as the heir, no matter what they did, their son was not the future of Kinoko, so it hardly bothered him.
The Queen took a sip of her chalice, allowing the King to step in, “When you come back, you will become more involved with the kingdom's affairs.”
Karl’s eye’s flitted to George, who was staring at his plate like it had personally offended him, his gaze returned to the King.
“Sounds amazing, your majesties.” he chirped, and with that, dinner continued in silence.
-
The following day, Karl’s servants were readying his luggage while he sat down at his desk to write a letter.
The letter was addressed to Tina Kittan, daughter of the High Priest and studying abroad in Daisy Hollow.
She also happened to be his best friend.
They exchanged letters regularly and so he figured he should let her know he would be moving to Daisy Hollow as well to pursue more advanced studies there. He also gave her a quick update on how his crimson mushroom plant was doing.
After sealing the letter he handed it off to a servant and made his way to the castle doors.
He took his time, drinking in the red and green patterned walls of the palace hallways, the familiar way his steps muffled against the carpets along the floors.
He passed by the library one last time. Karl had never left the palace for so long, in fact, he could recall maybe 3 times he got to visit the kingdom's main city.
So this was a big step for him.
As he approached the main entrance, the guards on either side of the doors opened them for him, revealing a brightly coloured coach pulled by 2 pairs of horses waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs.
Surrounding the coach were knights, all clad in shining iron armour on the backs of horses.
Baskets of mushrooms hung off the sides of the carriage and poked out of bags strapped to the horses backs, protection from the giant spiders that inhabited Kinoko’s dark oak forests.
At the bottom of the steps were the Queen, King, and George.
The monarchs looked a little better than they had at dinner the night before, their previously tired demeanors were gone.
They stood with the usual regalness they tried their best to maintain.
George’s eyes met his, and confliction was visible in his eyes, the downturn of his lips indicated that he was worried, about what?
Strange.
George eventually looked away.
Karl made his way down the marble steps, long purple cloak billowing behind him, he stopped in front of his family.
“Safe travels, Karl.” The Queen said, she didn’t smile at him.
His uncle at least had the decency to give him a harty pat on the back that had Karl coughing exaggeratedly.
The King huffed and Karl moved onto George.
To Karl’s surprise George put a hand on his shoulder, eyebrows knitted together like he was considering whether to say something or not.
“Be careful, Karl.” He said solemnly, his hand returned to his side.
Karl blinked, in an attempt to lighten the mood, a grin spread across his face “‘Course i’ll be careful, I’ve got big strong, hot, knights to protect me.”
He managed to get a small pity chuckle out of George, but there was still an inherent melancholy in his face.
Finally Karl walked up to the carriage and gave his family a final wave goodbye.
He ducked inside, door shutting behind him and sat on the plump, cushioned bench.
He heard the reins snap and the carriage lurched forward, marking the beginning of a two week journey.
-
Hours had passed without an issue, it was nearly noon and in about an hour the procession would stop for a lunch break.
Karl spent most of his time reading or watching the forest, towering dark oak trees surrounding them on both sides of the path, the leaves nearly blocking out the sun on some parts of the road.
The forest was lush, dark, and infinitely intriguing to him, but he would never venture into it without a knight, the forest was beautiful but unfortunately dangerous at times.
The mushrooms poking out from trophs underneath the windows reminded him of that.
Finally lunch hour came around and the procession stopped on the side of the road just in front of the treeline.
Karl stepped out of the coach, his eyes drew to a white butterfly fluttering around a cluster of daisies, he smiled.
The knights were unloading food so Karl made his way to the back of the coach to help, but as he was turning the corner he slammed into someone, apples spilling all over his shoes.
“Oh shit-! I’m sorry your majesty.” Hands shot out to stop Karl from stumbling over.
“No, no, it’s ok, I’m fine.” He reassured, he lifted the hands off of him and looked at the person he bumped into.
A shorter man dressed in shining armour with a beanie rather than a helmet pulled over raven black hair was staring at him.
His eyes though- a thin scar cut down from the left top of his forehead through his left eye, which was a milky white unlike his other dark one.
“Oh- um, I’m sorry that was my fault, I’ll get those for you.” He bent down to gather up the apples, the knight kneeled down to help.
Together they hastily picked up all the apples and got them in the bag again.
The knight chuckled, “Thanks.”
“Are those for your horse?” Karl asked looking at the apples, the knight’s eyes flitted up to his.
“No, these are for the carriage horses, I figured they deserve a treat.”
“Can I help?” The knight blinked in surprise, clearly taken aback by the offer.
“Y-yeah, sure.” Karl smiled and followed him to the front of the coach, the knight handed him an apple.
He took it and offered the treat to the chestnut stallion.
The horse prodded and sniffed the apple, then ate it from his hand.
Its snout brushed against his palm and he smiled.
The knight handed him another apple, and Karl offered it once again to the horse.
"So… How does it feel to be the next king?" The knight asked in an attempt to make conversation. Karl tapped his chin thoughtfully with his free hand.
“I’m stoked.” He felt a plethora of different emotions about the situation, but that summed it up simply.
The knight chuckled, “That’s all? You’re just, stoked.” he moved on to the next horse, apple in palm.
“Well, like, I've been working my whole life for this, and now here I am.” The horse gobbled up the rest of his apple and Karl wiped his slightly slobbery hand on his pants, “I can finally be who I’m meant to be.”
The knight snorted but quickly smothered the grin on his face.
Karl turned to him looking utterly confused and borderline offended.
"What?"
"Sorry- I mean… That can’t be all you're meant to be."
“Whad’ya mean? I’m the Crown Prince, of course it's what I'm meant to be.”
The knight looked at him, lips quirked as if he might smile again.
“No, it’s what you’re told you’re meant to be. Being the king or a prince is the only thing you’re allowed to be, have you ever thought you might want to be something different, something more?”
“Being the king sounds like the limit to be honest.”
The knight shook his head, “No, no, like…,” he paused, “I could never imagine my life being so linear, like, I personally want to explore who I am, and I want to find something in life that really speaks to me.
I’m a knight now, but soon I’ll be done here. I'll go and find a home for myself, I wanna change and grow, have experiences, leave a legacy of my own. Not be cooped up in this.” He gestured to all around them, the knights, carriage, himself.
Karl… hadn’t thought of it that way, his whole life had been about one-upping George and proving himself to his family, being something different was never in the question.
The idea of exploring not only new lands, but different parts of himself was intriguing.
It was intriguing in the way that the forest intrigued him.
It was a wonderful, wistful idea, but it was also dangerous.
"I've never thought about it that way, my life has been sorta like a narrow tunnel y'know."
The knight hummed "Yeah, I've been there."
“And I know what you mean… but I think I'm happy with where I am.” Karl said sincerely.
The knight smiled at him, “If that’s where you think you belong, then I'm happy for you.”
There was so much genuinity in the way he said it Karl couldn't help but stare at him, stunned.
He stared at him until the knight's cheeks turned pink, his eyes started darting around nervously, posture stiffening, “What? Is there something on my face?” He touched around his face to find something that wasn't there.
He snapped out of the trance and gasped, “There’s a massive cockroach on your neck!”
Fear flashed across the knight's face and he nearly shrieked, “Actually!?” He slapped frantically around his neck and started shaking every part of himself to get the non-existent bug off.
Karl couldn't contain the giggles that spilled out of him at the sudden frenzy, and his shoulders shook with pure joy.
At some point the knight noticed his growing merriment.
The man stopped flailing and scowled at him, “There isnt a cockroach on me is there?”
Karl shook his head while trying to squash his smile, the knight gaped at him and punched him in the arm, “You dick!”
His eyes blew wide open and suddenly he yanked his hand back, other hand slapped over his mouth “Oh god- i’m so sorry your majesty-”
He blinked at the sudden reaction and then remembered he was the Crown Prince.
"Dude it's fine, you're all good, I'm not gonna chop your head off or anything."
The man grimaced, “You’d actually be surprised by how many guillotine threats we’ve gotten from Prince George.”
A surprised cackle burst from Karls chest, “No way! Y’know what- that actually sounds just like him.” The knight giggled along with him and was about to say something more when a voice boomed from the crowd of knights “Prepare to leave in 5 minutes!”
Eyes drooping, the man sighed, “I better go.”
“Oh, yeah me too.” Disappointment twinged his heart, and was evident in his voice. As the knight was turning to walk away though he grabbed his shoulder.
“Wait, I didn’t catch your name?” The knight's eyes darted between the hand on his shoulder and his eyes, seeming to be struggling to get out the words.
“Quackity.”
“Quackity. ‘Has a nice ring to it.”
“Hey Q, could you help me out over here?!” A voice called.
Quackity turned toward the sound and yelled “Coming!” The knight looked back at him, an apologetic look on his face.
“I’ll talk to you later.” He said, and then took off to go find his colleague in need, Karl waved goodbye as he left.
-
Hours had passed and the evening was approaching.
Karl had propped himself up against one wall, legs stretched out over the bench, journal open in his lap.
He was playing with the feather of his quill when his eyes caught sight of movement in the window.
It was Quackity riding up beside the window, only the bottom of his face visible through the glass. He put his book and quill down on the floor, moving to sit on his knees and lean nearer to the window. He knocked on the glass, to which the sound successfully grabbed the knight's attention.
Quackity turned to him, and when their gazes met Karl waved enthusiastically at him, the man grinned and waved back.
The carriage halted abruptly making Karl lurch slightly forward, his hand shot out to steady himself instantly.
Several high horse whines rang out, followed by alarmed shouts.
Confused, Karls head snapped back to Quackity, that’s when a body slammed into the window, splattering blood all over the pane.
Karl leapt back, screaming in terror.
He hardly had time to process what just happened before the carriage started jostling and rocking, in a panic Karl scrambled across the bench and burst through the carriage door.
He nearly stepped on Quackity who lay groaning, an arrow stuck through his arm, blood leaking from the wound.
“O-oh my god, oh my god, oh my god-” A wave of nausea hit him and he stumbled back against the carriage.
He tried to look at Quackity again but the blood oozing out of his arm made him look away.
All around them he heard swords being unsheathed, fuck. Karl took a big breath before stooping down, he wrapped his arm around the knight's waist and swung his good arm over his shoulder.
He hoisted up the bleeding man and dove into the bushes.
He ran, barrelled through the grass and ferns that stood in his path, and tried his best to ignore the pained groans of his companion and the way his legs felt like fire.
Behind them he heard something crash through the brambles he just narrowly avoided, followed by pounding steps. A pursuer was on his tail and was getting closer. Karl veered right, eyes searching for somewhere to hide. He kept going, his legs eventually turned numb and his strides became uncertain- that’s when he heard rushing water.
Karl dashed in that direction, the sound became louder and louder until he could see the edge of a cliff.
At his side Quackity gripped his shirt tighter, “Wh- your- what are you doing!” but he ignored the man, only a mere meter away was the precipice of a raging river, and their key to escape.
Karl launched them both off the edge and into the waves below.
The river swallowed them up, ice encased Karls body and shoved him into motion. He tumbled and spun, until his head broke the surface. He gasped for air and turned to look for Quackity but another wave shoved him under. His arms flailed and grabbed for purchase, stray branches slipped from his fingers and the rocks provided no gripping so he blindly kicked and flapped his arms until the current pulled him to the surface again, coughing and gasping.
“YOUR HIGHNESS!” Just ahead of him was Quackity, holding onto a moldy log for dear life.
“QUA-” His head bobbed under the water, he came back up sputtering, eventually he let himself be dragged until the log had washed up beside him, his hands reaching for purchase frantically. The log kept ducking and dodging out of Karls grasp, Quackity could only watch as he struggled.
Karl swiped at the log and dug his nails into the bark, he heaved his other arm over the top and leaned on it, his body sagged in sweet relief.
The two stayed clutching desperately to the log for what seemed like ages. There was no rest, it was a constant fight for their life whenever the log dove down a steep wave or bumped into boulders.
Eventually the tide started to ease and the pace of the current slowed, up ahead Karl could see a mess of roots sticking out from a fallen tree on the right side of the river.
Despite his exhaustion he paddled the log toward the roots and seized them, the log would have continued floating down the river if not for the iron grip Karl had on it.
He pulled himself onto the tree and began hoisting the log onto the roots, once it had been secured in the grip of the roots he fell on his back. All the tension and fear in his body melted away, leaving him limp like a soggy slice of bread.
His eyes drooped and the urge to sleep was so overpowering that for a moment his eyes closed and he felt his body sink into rest.
Coughing interrupted his sleep. Reluctantly he raised his head, the knight was bent over the log, coughing and spitting water.
He sat up and crawled over to the log and offered his hand to the knight, “Here, take my hand.” Quackity looked back at him and grabbed his hand, Karl pulled him onto the tree and together they carefully shimmied along the tree and onto solid ground.
Quackity kneeled on the ground and began fiddling with the straps of his armour.
Karl finally noticed the fact that the shaft of the arrow protruding from his arm had been snapped in half.
He grimaced just thinking about the pain he was in.
"Fucking hell this hurts." Quackity muttered under his breath. Karl sat down beside him, "Need help?"
The knight thought for a few moments, "No, I'm fine." His finger slipped as it was struggling to loosen a strap and the armour plate bumped the arrow, Quackity hissed painfully.
"Actually, yeah." So he went to work.
He finished unbuckling the forearm plate, then unbuckled the other plate which covered his humerus and shoulder.
Once he'd set the armour on the ground Quackity wrapped his hand around the shaft, and then ripped the arrow out of his arm.
It made a small squelch sound that had Karls face scrunching up in discomfort.
Blood started welling up again, less than it had before luckily.
Quackity was patting himself in search of something. He then grabbed a piece of shirt poking out from under his chestplate and ripped.
He held up the strip to Karl, “Can you do this for me?”
Karls eyes looked from the cloth to the wound and blood gathered around it. He gulped and nodded, taking the strip of clothing from his hand.
He resituated so that he was sitting directly in front of Quackity, he began to wrap the cloth around the wound. Before he could even tie it together Quackity stopped him, “Tighten it.” Karl huffed and tightened it firmly, blood already started to stain the cloth.
When he finished, Quackity looked it over and then nodded, “Thanks.”
Karl sighed and sat back, he felt beat, and soaked, he became suddenly aware of how wet his clothes were actually.
If his mood wasn't already in a horrible state it happened to sour even more when he noticed how itchy and cold he was. His cloak had been lost in the river too. Just great.
He wrapped his arms around himself in an effort to comfort himself but the more he was able to process the situation they’d just run from the more upset he became.
That went the worst way it could have gone, someone tried to kill him, and because he’d stupidly jumped into a rushing river they were both stuck in the middle of nowhere.
Oh god, he’s lost, he can’t go to Daisy Hollow if he’s lost , what if he never makes it back, what if he dies, or even worse what if he’s pronounced dead and the throne goes to George?!
Tears started to well up in his eyes, things were finally fitting into place for him but just like that it had all gone to shit, all of it.
“Hey, hey, don’t cry.” Something warm touched his shoulder and he looked up to find Quackity looking at him with an expression filled with worry and gentleness.
He blinked rapidly in order to dispel the tears but they just rolled down his cheeks.
“You’re safe now.” Karl looked away from him, embarrassed by the way he felt like crying harder.
“Y-yeah I know, I’m fine.” He looked at him again, somehow his beanie had managed to cling to his head during all of that “Sorry about the river, that was really stupid.”
Quackity’s face scrunched, “Yeah well, you saved me, I’ll jump in a river anytime if it means not being fucking killed.” His face softened, “Thanks, by the way.”
Karl chuckled wetly, then cleared his throat, “No biggie.”
He consciously shoved his problems into a corner of his mind to deal with later and got to his feet, wiping the tears off as he did.
“Ok, it’s getting really dark, we need to uh…”
“Find shelter, then start a fire.” Quackity cut in, Karl hummed in response.
They set off to find shelter, the two ended up finding a partially hollowed out dark oak log that was rotting from the inside. Karl had suggested literally anything else they could sleep in but Quackity insisted, Karl begrudgingly complied.
They swiftly gathered up sticks and started a small fire, well, Quackity started it with minimum help from Karl.
They huddled close to the flames, so close that it threatened to burn them, but Karl hardly cared.
He tried to ignore the dark foreboding atmosphere of the forest, and didn't let himself think about what might be lurking out of reach of the campfire. Quackity reassured him that they weren’t in spider country so he had nothing to truly fear, but anxiety still prickled at his neck.
Once the fire had died out, they settled themselves inside the log. It was soft and mushy in some places, wood chips dangled from the ceiling and beetles nestled in little nooks and crannies of the interior. It was gross, and slightly cramped.
Karl desperately missed his bed.
-
Smoke wafted into his face, he breathed it in and awoke coughing.
“Ugh…” His eyes cracked open, the smoke stung his eyes and he flipped on his other side. He assumed Quackity started a fire, but when he opened his eyes again he was looking at Quackity’s back.
He’s still sleeping…Who the fuck started the fire?
Dread seeped into his bones and Karl jabbed the knight in the back. Quackity made a disgruntled noise, “What th-”
“Shh!” Karl shushed him, Quackity turned his face to look at him, confusion evident in his glare.
Karl jerked his head toward the opening in the log and Quackity’s eyes flitted to it, they widened.
Soft footsteps were approaching, Karl scrambled further into the log, wedging himself beside Quackity who’d already somewhat sat up.
A figure walked up to the logs mouth, then crouched down, they both flinched at the sudden drop.
A man wearing a white bandana under choppy black, fangs protruded from his lips and a black pointed tail swished in and out of view behind him occasionally.
“Dreaaaam, they’re awake!” He called behind him.
Another person walked into view just a bit further behind the first guy. He wore a green cloak that covered his whole body, and on his face he wore a white, wooden mask with a simple smile carved into it.
Chills crawled up his spine when the mask’s gaze landed on him.
“Oh, perfect.” Despite his creepy demeanor, Dream’s voice was warm, “Hi there!”
“What the hell do you want from us?” Quackity bit out viciously.
“Whoa, dude, chill out,” Bandana guy said, “we wanna help, you guys look lost.”
That was definitely true, if they knew how to help that meant they could get him to his school, and he could continue his studies and become king like he was supposed to.
“Well we’re not, we are fine and don’t need your help.” Quackity shot back, Karl looked at him incredulously.
The bandana guy snorted, “Not to be rude, but you two look like shit.” Quackity’s scowl was scathing.
“He’s right.” Karl whispered, “We have literally nothing, no directions, no food, you lost your sword, we need help.”
“Your highness- there’s no way they don’t know who you are, they’re either here because they want money or they want to kill you. We can’t trust them.”
“Ok, so you mean to tell me you know where the fuck we are?”
Quackity’s brows pinched together in thought, the two people standing outside waited patiently while they pretended not to hear them.
Quackity huffed, “Fine.” He looked back at bandana guy and raised his voice to normal volume, “Fine, we need help.”
Bandana guy smirked, “Yeah, you do.”
Karl smiled and crawled past Quackity, once he was on his feet he stretched his back and felt something pop. Behind him Quackity hesitantly stepped out, he reached back into the log and pulled out armour pieces.
Dreams head tilted, “You’re a knight?”
“What makes you think that?” Quackity challenged.
Dream lifted his hand to point at the armour, “The royal insignia is melded into the shoulder.”
Sure enough, a crowned hare in the center of a wreath made of mushrooms and leaves was melded into the iron of the armour.
“Oh.” Was all Quackity said.
Karl caught bandana guy looking at him from the corner of his eye, the man looked away when Karl turned to him.
“So where are you guys headed?” The guy asked as he walked towards the little camp he and his companion had set up.
“Daisy Hollow.” Karl answered, Quackity walked up and planted himself slightly in front of Karl, putting a subtle barrier between him and the stranger. He rolled his eyes.
Bandana guy pulled a map from one of the packs lying limp on the ground next to a thin bedroll. He spread it out on the ground, Dream walking up beside him to look.
Bandana guy pointed at the map, then dragged his finger to another point on the paper.
He blew out a whistle, “Damn, that’s far.”
Karl frowned, “How far?”
Dream looked at him, “3 weeks if we’re efficient.”
He whinced, 3 weeks of walking sounded torturous, it also gave George an advantage, he couldnt have that.
“Is there a faster way to get there?” He asked in a clipped tone.
Dream hummed and looked back at the map. Bandana guy sucked in a breath, “Fastest way to get there would be to travel through spider territory.”
Karl stiffened, "Is that really the only way?"
Bandana guy looked back at the map, "Yeah, thats our only option."
"We are not going through spider territory." Quackity said looking directly at Karl.
He didn't like it either, the thought of encountering a giant spider more than frightened him, it terrified him. But if all meant necessary, he'd do it.
"We'll be fine as long as we have mushrooms right?"
"We were actually planning to restock on those," Dream said "there's a farm town not too far from here."
Quackity shook his head, “Too unsafe. We should take the safe route.”
Karl frowned, "But it's our best option. I am getting to Daisy Hollow as fast as possible." He said a little more seriously than he intended.
Quackity narrowed suspicious eyes at him, before he could continue to argue though, bandana guy cut in, "Well, either way we're stopping for mushrooms."
“Perfect.” Karl chirped, he propped his arm on Quackity’s shoulder, “No need to worry Q, we’ll smell so bad spiders won't come near us.” He smiled smugly when Quackity resigned, sighing heavily.