Diamonds and Demons

Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at http://archiveofourown.org/works/38340250.

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warning: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Categories: Gen, M/M
Fandom: Minecraft (Video Game)
Relationship: Skeppy and BadBoyHalo - Relationship
Characters: Skeppy (Character), BadBoyHalo (Character), Other members of the
DreamSmp who will show up later, Rat | Darryl Noveschosch's Dog
Additional Tags: Magic, Demons, Will add more tags as work progresses, does anyone
actually read these?, No Smut, Fluff, demon badboyhalo, What is
Skeppy?, some good old angst, Fantasy World + Minecraft, Trauma,
Debating what kind of relationship I want to make, Rat is a wolf in this
world, curses?, Skephalo, Zak Ahmed is Called Skeppy, Darryl
Noveschosch is Called BadBoyHalo | BBH, Touch-Starved, outcast, Bad
has Trauma, Skeppy has even more trauma, Panic Attacks, Anxiety,
Misunderstandings, I'm Bad At Tagging, Don't know how to open up,
Feelings are funny things, Self-Harm, Self-Worth Issues, Mental Health
Issues, Blood and Injury, Trust Issues, Bad has wings, Swearing, no beta
we die like skeppy, Baking, Funny upload schedule, Thrive on
comments, And caffiene, Author Is Sleep Deprived, I brought cookies,
How Do I Tag
Language: English
Stats: Published: 2022-04-12 Updated: 2024-03-15 Words: 85,602 Chapters:
40/?
 Diamonds and Demons
by PacifistSadist

Summary

He could already tell that the night was going to be a good one, relishing in the slight breeze
ruffling his hair as he turned his gaze up to a darkened sky so clear he could see every
twinkling star. Skeppy wonders if the villagers could see him from their windows, judging by
the silence around him everyone had already locked themselves up for the night. He was the
only one willing to still be out at once the sun sets, the only one not scared off by some
simple stories intended for children.

Hovering over his curled up form, torch in hand, is a fucking demon. Because of course there
is, Skeppy should’ve known that with all his bad luck of course he was going to encounter a
demon. A demon that he’s run from multiple times, a demon he’s gone out of his way to piss
off, a demon who is closing in on him fast.
--

OR: I'm adding another traumatic Skeppy and BadBoyHalo au to the pile!!!

Notes

I've seen multiple stories where Skeppy is forced into becoming friends with Demon
BadBoyHalo and went, "Why not write one myself?"
So here you are world, yet another au exploring the possibility of "What if?"

Note: This is all off the character's online personas, nothing is real, reality's an illusion, the
universe is a hologram, buy gold! Byeeee!

See the end of the work for more notes

 Stories Suck

Don’t go out at night. Especially don’t go outside the village at night. Just lock your doors
and stay inside. If you don’t? Then you’re monster food.

There are plenty of monsters in this world, like the shambling zombies that will tear into your
flesh, eating the meat from your still living body while paying no heed to your screams as
you fade from life. Accompanying them are the silent killers known as creepers, the only hint
of their existence being the smell of gunpowder coupled with a light hiss before your world is
filled with light and pain as you’re blown into oblivion.

Spiders, skeletons, enderman, even normal predatory animals willing to kill if you enter their
territory. Yes, there are plenty of monsters who have no qualms about murder and as a result
people decided that the best thing to do was avoid said monsters at all costs, hiding
themselves when it came time for evil to emerge under the protection of night.

Idiots.

For something to exist there needs to be proof, otherwise it’s like claiming the boogeyman is
real and will come to devour wicked children. Maybe that’s why monsters were invented in
the first place, to act as a warning for children refusing to come home before dark, scaring
them into obedience. If there really is a creature designed to rid the world of evil, then people
shouldn’t be alive. It’s ironic, the way that people are so persistent on the idea of only
allowing good when the world itself seems to openly create and accept bad.

Take the idea of demons for example, creatures that are described as evil incarnate. Beings
whose black skin is so dark it almost draws in light, the color reflecting their shadowy soul
tainted with wickedness. Beasts so evil in nature that if one was to encounter a demon, the
best you could hope for would be a quick and painless death, and that’s if you’re lucky.
That’s how he knows that the stories of monsters are fake, because if any stories on demons
are to be believed, then humanity should have been killed off long ago. Maybe then, would
things be for the better.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Skeppy banged his head against the window frame, not enough to hurt at least enough to
keep him awake. The sunset was nice, a vivid mix of oranges and pinks slowly being
swallowed by a darkening blue. He just had to wait, wait for the sun to vanish and then he
could leave.

He smiles at the thought. ‘Leave.’ It sounds as if he won’t be coming back. Then again, it
may be true.

Skeppy’s quick to push those thoughts out, chiding himself. He isn’t going anywhere and it’s
foolish to think otherwise. His gaze returns to the horizon, watching as the last flickers of
sunlight are finally extinguished.

Only then does he rise, grunting slightly at the snaps emitting from his joints as he shifts into
a standing position. Rolling his shoulders, he heads for the doorway, only pausing to glance
at himself in the mirror and sling a simple bag over his shoulder before reaching for the
handle.

As he steps outside Skeppy can feel the final touches of grogginess leave his system, the
already cooling air giving his body a boost of energy as he inhales with a shiver. Whether he
wanted to admit it or not, summer was gone, and fall was its replacement.

Bending down, Skeppy lightly digs his fingers into a bucket of dirt that sits by the door,
covering his hands in a fine layer before rubbing his cheeks and neck. As the earthy tones hit
his nose Skeppy can feel himself relax, enjoying the layer of protection the soil provided.
Dusting his hands off, Skeppy begins his nightly walk, making sure to be facing away from
the village before letting his feet take him wherever.

He could already tell that the night was going to be a good one, relishing in the slight breeze
ruffling his hair as he turned his gaze up to a darkened sky so clear he could see every
twinkling star. Skeppy wonders if the villagers could see him from their windows, judging by
the silence around him everyone had already locked themselves up for the night. He was the
only one willing to still be out at once the sun sets, the only one not scared off by some
simple stories intended for children. That isn’t the only thing that sets him apart, however,
add the fact that his house is on the outskirts of the village and his preference of avoiding
most of the residents and you get the suspicious stares Skeppy endures daily coupled with the
whispers that he’s crazy or a witch.

In a way, he is thankful for the rumors, better to have people avoid you than you avoid
people, less energy is wasted that way. Skeppy runs his hands through his hair, accidentally
leaving the remaining soil he didn’t manage to dust off.

It’s only when he has removed his hands and looked around that Skeppy has realized he’s
reached his destination, a random boulder located in what must be the forest, judging by the
trees surrounding him. All he can do is shrug, remove the bag from his shoulder and pull out
a pickaxe, it’s not as if his instincts have been wrong before. Circling the boulder Skeppy
finally decides on a crack to aim for with his pickaxe, striking with enough force to split the
rock. Only then can Skeppy see the iron that lays inside, only needing to be smelted before
being viable. He grabs enough to fill his bag before heading back from where he came, if
need be, he can try to come back another night.

It’s only when he looks for the path that Skeppy realizes how lost he is. He must have gone
quite far into the forest, the surrounding foliage so thick he can’t even see a hint of the
village. Eventually he gives up and just starts walking in a random direction, letting his
instincts take over.

But they don’t.

That realization shakes him more than he would think, not realizing how much trust he was
placing in them. Or maybe it’s just strengthened due to the panic he can feel settling in.
Either way, something’s wrong.

He surveys the area around him, taking in everything from the trees to the night sky above
him. For once his instincts are silent, not feeling any inclination to head in a certain direction.
He resolves to just start walking; trying to convince himself that the area must get familiar
once he’s gone far enough.

Five minutes pass, then ten, then twenty and yet nothing changes. Only then does he stop to
look around and realize something that makes him freeze. He’s been in this area before, it
was the area that he was at when he realized he was lost.

“Shit.” He mutters, tightening his bag's strap as if it could protect him.

Just to make sure he isn’t crazy, Skeppy grabs a stick from the ground and stabs it into the
earth, making sure it won’t move before he starts walking away, heading towards what he
hopes is the exit. Five minutes later and Skeppy almost stops breathing when he finds the
stick exactly how he left it except this time there’s a red bow tied to it.
 Night in the Woods
Chapter Summary

Skeppy can feel his pupils constrict at the sudden introduction of light, having to
squeeze watering eyes shut for a moment. When he opens them however, he wishes he
had kept them closed.

Time to read about the fateful meetup, I wonder how long it'll be till Skeppy screams

Chapter Notes

Skeppy is basically running on adrenaline right now so his mind isn't exactly
functioning.
In a way though it's also keeping him grounded, refusing to let him retreat into his
headspace and disassociate.

Whelp, time to make it even worse and introduce a new character while we're at it.

See the end of the chapter for more notes

The bow is made of what appears to be a strip of blood red cloth, tied firmly as if the stick
was a present. Skeppy reaches out with trembling fingers towards the bow, wanting to make
sure he isn’t hallucinating. The motion is stopped when a loud snap is heard behind him.

Spinning to face the noise, Skeppy is almost sure he feels his heart stop when he spots two
pairs of eyes looking at him, one pair blood red and the other pure white.

As soon as he sees them the white pair quickly blinks out of existence, simply vanishing as if
they had never been there, but the red eyes remain, locked onto him.

Skeppy can’t muffle the whimper he feels rising in his throat, letting it free as the blood
drains from his face. Without a second thought he turns and runs, knowing he’ll circle back
eventually but he needs to get away.
Spurred by adrenaline it only takes a few minutes to return to the spot but as the stick comes
into view Skeppy has to stop for air, leaning against a tree as his body is wracked with
shuddering gasps. Of course now is the time for his body to give out, even with his
adrenaline high Skeppy’s mind feels fuzzy around the edges and he doubts it’s due to a lack
of oxygen. Scanning his surroundings he feels relieved when the blood eyes are no longer
looking at him, relief that is short lived when he realizes that the bow is now missing from
the stick.

“Fuck, I need to get home.” Skeppy whimpers, trying to shove down the panic attack he can
feel swelling inside of him. He startles when a bird screeches into the night as it flies off a
branch, not realizing it almost gave Skeppy a heart attack. At that moment he would give
anything to be that bird, free to leave this cursed forest on a whim, only needing to lift its
wings and fly.

Who knows? Maybe the eyes belonged to some innocent forest animals. Animals that were
simply curious about a new addition to their forest. Maybe he wasn’t crazy, just paranoid.
Yeah, maybe this was all because his lack of sleep was finally catching up to him.

“I knew I should have gone to sleep.” he mutters under his breath, “If I just listened then-”
his next words are suddenly cut off by a loud thump and the crackling of sticks.

He’s surprised he doesn’t whirl around like last time, it seems that his fear has him rooted to
the spot, turning him into a statue as he hears what sounds like a person coming closer. That
can’t be right though, he’s the only person for miles who goes out at night. His worst fears
are confirmed when the figure begins to speak. With a voice like that, it leaves no doubt in
Skeppy’s mind that whatever’s behind him is most certainly not human.

“Lost little adventurer?” The creature hums with a voice that was all wrong, a voice that
seems to echo and flow together as if multiple people were speaking at once. It sends a chill
down his spine, shivering with such an intensity that he’s able to break from his daze and turn
to face the speaker.

Upon seeing the figure he regrets turning, eyes widening as he takes in the tall form in front
of him who has white eyes . White eyes that look oddly similar to the ones he saw only a few
minutes ago.
Just the identification of the eyes' owners was enough to make him stumble, backpedaling
until he forcefully collided with a tree, the advancing shape remaining close enough that his
entire body refused to move, not wanting to test the possibility of being grabbed. Skeppy
can’t help but let out a small hiss of pain as he tries to ignore the screaming nerves in his
back, blocking out the complaints rising from his aching muscles yelling how dare he run
like a mad man and crash into trees. He returns his focus to the shadow in front of him,
having to look up in order to meet the eyes.

“What do you want?” Skeppy demands, trying to cover the fear in his voice by being gruff.
The creature doesn’t seem to fall for the illusion, rather it appears to savor the fearful
emotions that lace the air, all emitting from Skeppy.

“I could ask you the same question, my little intruder.” is the shadow’s reply, white eyes
seeming to bore into Skeppy’s soul, as if trying to find the very essence of Skeppy’s being.
Whatever this is in front of him, it’s not to be trusted.

“Intruder?” Skeppy can’t help but scoff at the word, his own amusement overtaking his fear
for a moment, “I’ve been accused of many things in my life but this is the first time I’ve been
labeled as an intruder.” He can already feel a hysterical laugh starting to form inside of him,
with only a few threads of sanity and fear keeping in caught in his throat. What’s the point of
trying to stay calm? He already knows that whatever is in front of him will kill him once it’s
bored of the new plaything. Might as well spend the last moments of his life pissing it off,
maybe that way he’ll be granted a quick death, the monster too consumed in its own fury to
consider torture as a way of payback.

Instead of getting mad however, the figure seems to enjoy the reaction that Skeppy has to the
accusation, slightly edging away from him and tilting its head in a curious manner. Skeppy
refuses to be fooled though, having witnessed first hand how deceiving humans can be, it
makes sense that inhuman beings can be deceptive as well.

Even with the extra space now between the two of them, Skeppy forces himself into an even
smaller shape, trying to flatten his entire body against the tree as if that will give him
protection. He’s had plenty of experience with making himself small, unnoticeable, weak .
It’s almost second nature now to slowly curl in on himself, both his bag and back scraping
down the trees bark until Skeppy is sitting on the ground, knees curled into his chest. Though
the creature now looms over him, Skeppy feels safer in this position, compacted in a way
similar to a turtle retreating into its shell although Skeppy had no shell, just a thin pair of
clothes and a bag currently digging into his back.

The shadow has yet to move, staying fixed in the same position it took after stepping back
from Skeppy. The only reason why Skeppy knows it’s still there are the eyes, two beams of
white light that track his slow descent to the ground, their owner not even blinking as Skeppy
curls up.

The silence is deafening, the being not speaking, no forest animals making noise in the
treetops, even the fucking breeze seems to have vanished.

Skeppy hates it. He’s used to silence, having lived on his own for quite some time. But this is
too forced , it’s as if the world has frozen around that one area, everything holding its breath
to see what happens next. He knows that the figure won’t speak so of course it’s up to him to
break the silence, but instead of screaming obscenities or begging for his life, all he could
vocalize was a single question.

“What are you?”

It’s as if he said the magic words, the individual stopping its impersonation of a statue and
finally moving, crossing over and grabbing the stick that Skeppy had plunged into the
ground. The red cloth makes its appearance again, this time being firmly wrapped around the
stick. A shadowy hand smothers the cloth and a weird hum fills the air as the makeshift torch
is lit with a burst of fire .

Skeppy can feel his pupils constrict at the sudden introduction of light, having to squeeze
watering eyes shut for a moment. When he opens them however, he wishes he had kept them
closed.

Hovering over his curled up form, torch in hand, is a fucking demon. Because of course there
is, Skeppy should’ve known that with all his bad luck of course he was going to encounter a
demon. A demon that he’s run from multiple times, a demon he’s gone out of his way to piss
off, a demon who is closing in on him fast .
 The only weapon Skeppy has is a pickaxe, so beaten and chipped he doubted it would do
anything to what towers above him. Hell, he doesn’t even think he could get on his feet fast
enough to pull the tool out of his bag. It’s too late anyway, the demon is less than a foot away
now, frozen in place yet again. If Skeppy reached out his hand he could easily touch the cloak
draping the demon’s long form.

He doesn’t want to move though, doesn’t want to disturb the shape he’s twisted himself into,
body forming a tight ball whose center is a mass of twitching nerves and racing thoughts.

Instead, the demon does the moving for him.

The cloak slowly starts to bunch on the floor, gathering into little piles as the demon lowers
its form to be eye to eye with Skeppy, torch only increasing the shadow the cloak's hood casts
across its face. Skeppy can see a gleam of white fangs emerging from the darkness however,
similar to demon’s eyes in serving as a stark contrast to all of the black. Was it laughing at
him?

“Intruder or not, you’re coming with me.” It says, before slowly extending the hand not
holding the torch towards him. Skeppy’s panic reawakens with heightened vigor, arms
quickly releasing themselves from the lock on his body, fingers scrambling in the dirt as he
tries to get away.

He needs to run, get away from this abomination, this demon but it’s too late. All it takes is a
single tap to his forehead and Skeppy can feel his grip on consciousness slip, his body simply
giving up and letting sleep take charge.

With nothing more than a strangled whimper, Skeppy falls to the ground, leaving his fate to
the demon now kneeling over his body.

Chapter End Notes

Let's see...
We got a traumatized Skeppy with an unknown past?
Check
A Demon BadBoyHalo who will prove you shouldn't judge a book by its cover?
Check
A fateful night where the universe decides to make the main characters meet under less
than ideal circumstances?
Check

Alrighty then, looks like this author has everything it needs to get the ball rolling on
what should hopefully be quite an interesting read.

Open for constructive criticism. Comments are much appreciated, and help feed my
writing drive :)
 What's friendship?
Chapter Summary

Bad's backstory part 1!

Does anyone actually read these?

Chapter Notes

In this au, I like to think of Bad as an extremely powerful demon which only makes him
suffer more for not acting like a 'proper' demon since he could easily bully those around
him into submission.

But this is Bad we are talking about so his power makes him nothing more than a tool
for others to use and discard, with no one caring about the effect it has on Bad.

Also (I don't know how to do warnings) but there are some mentions of peer-pressure,
substances, and animal injury/blood so I hope you're okay with it!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Bad is a demon.

Because of course he is, of course out of anything in the world that he could be, he had to be
a demon.

Demon . A word to describe evil incarnate. A creature whose sole purpose in life is to cause
misery, reveling in the wake of destruction they leave. Demons are supposed to be cold,
soulless creatures that have no need for friends or comfort.

And yet a friend is the only thing Bad wants.

Bad is a broken demon. A freak of nature. Weak.

An ironic statement, because Bad is powerful , even for a demon. Yet having power couldn’t
cover his true values, his desire for a friend, his distaste of swearing, his love of baking.

Bad tried to hide, to create an act more similar to that of other demons. Creating a persona
composed of less noble characteristics at least got other demons to notice him, but it wasn’t
for the right reasons. Demons don’t make friends, they simply take advantage of one another,
bullying the weak and aligning with the strong.

Bad was taken advantage of. A lot.

He’d wake up in a stranger's bed, head pounding from being peer-pressured into trying
substances he was unfamiliar with. Anything valuable he left laying around would be quick
to vanish, taken with false promises that it’s only a quick borrow.

Bad was too kind to ask for anything back. Too scared to show his true feelings. Too lonely
to break away.

But of course, everything has its breaking point.

All of his attempts at friendship always ended up broken, with Bad being the only one to feel
remorse and sorrow, every failure just carving a deeper hole into his heart.

When Bad no longer left his home in fear of encountering his false friends, that’s when he
realized he needed change. So, he left the Nether and headed to the Overworld, not even
bothering to say goodbye.

—
Bad was still lonely in the Overworld.

He didn’t know why he expected anything different.

It had been ages since a demon even wanted to explore the Overworld, yet the tales still
remain. Any time Bad even dared show himself to humans he was instantly met by fear and
violence, people grabbing whatever was closest to use as a weapon against him.

It…hurt. More than Bad thought it would.

It was a demon’s nature to be unfriendly, but Bad hoped that humans would be different.
Wishing that they would look past his form and see him for what he truly is.

Maybe that’s why he resolves to stay in the forest, to make friends with the woodland
creatures instead. Animals are good friends, they don’t judge Bad for his looks or for being
soft. Sure, they’re awful at conversation but they have other ways of expressing their
feelings, birds landing on his shoulders and rabbits asking for pets.

Bad doesn’t know how long he spends living in the Overworld. He becomes a wanderer of
sorts, sleeping in trees at night before continuing his travels the next morning, always making
sure to stay away from villages.

Bad is lying in a tree, his tail gently wrapped around a tree limb to act as an anchor as he
gazes at the last rays of sunlight being extinguished by the approaching night. With a sigh he
nestles onto the large branch he’s currently reclining on, wrapping his wings around his body
to hold warmth as he leans against the sturdy trunk.

For the moment, there’s only the sound of his breathing, a quiet noise in a rather silent world.
Then he hears a whimper.

Bad bolts upward, his ears swiveling as he tries to peer into the trees around him, trying to
locate the source of the noise. Yet there is nothing, as if the noise was simply a figment of his
imagination.

Still, Bad refuses to stop listening, carefully climbing down the tree as his ears strain for any
noise.

From the darkness emerges a whine.

Then a howl .

Bad bolts towards the sound, thankful for his night vision as he ducks beneath branches and
jumps over rocks, letting his hearing do most of the work in pinpointing where the noises are
coming from.

Though it means that something is suffering, Bad can’t help but hope to keep hearing the
shrieks of pain, to hear the confirmation that whatever is creating such haunting sounds is
still alive.

Bad stumbles into a clearing and that’s where he sees it. Or rather, them .

A large wolf pack is gathered, with nine adult wolves all looming over something. Every now
and then one darts in and attacks, their prey letting out the unearthly scream of pain. Again
and again, the assault continues yet the noise doesn’t end. The wolves are toying with their
victim.

Bad can’t take it anymore.

With a flap of his wings he shoots from the ground, speeding straight towards the wolves. At
the very last moment he drops to the ground, his momentum carrying him through the tight
formation the wolves had made and instantly scattering them.

It’s almost funny how easy it is to turn the tide, to make them the ones who are fearing for
their lives.

He whirls to face them, letting his true 9’6 form show itself as he summons fire into his hand
and spreads his wings. This is who he should be, a demon not afraid to show power, a demon
that lives on in legend, a demon who is a cancer to the rest of the world, choking the life
from anything good.

Bad felt himself considering the possibility of killing the wolves, to simply wave his hand
and light them up, listening to their howls of pain as they turn to ash.

He’s quick to stuff that thought down, to wad it up and throw it into the darkness of his mind
where it will never escape. Instead he just watches as the wolves turn tail and run, valuing
their lives far more than any plaything.

Speaking of which…

Bad turns his attention to the form he had protected, quickly shrinking down to his smaller
height of 7’0 before kneeling on the ground.

Blood was saturated through the animal's fur, ebbing from multiple gashes all across the
creature's body. Up close, he realized that it was a wolf , but not like the ones that had been
attacking it.

What first struck Bad was the size of the canine, it was less than half the size of the adults
that had attacked it. Even now, as it laid on its side, Bad could probably carry it with one
hand without fear of dropping it.
 Bad’s hands hover over the wolf, he knows he has to help it but how ? The only sign of life
was the rising and falling of the animal's chest, he didn’t even know if it knew that he was
there.

Bad clenches his jaw, now is not the time to be weak.

He reaches for the edge of his cloak and begins to tear strips off to act as bandages, using
sharp claws to make quick work of the fabric. Ever so gently he brushes over the wolf's body,
watching for any signs of discomfort as fingertips dance over some of the more abused parts,
breath held as Bad tenses for an attack.

Yet the wolf doesn’t move. That is, until Bad touches its leg.

Bad didn’t mean to hurt it, he was simply running over each limb to make sure none were
broken. He should have seen the puncture wound on the back leg, should have noticed the
darker patch of blood. But he didn’t and as fingers touched the gaping hole, Bad had to jerk
back from a mouth that narrowly missed his hand.

The wolf was growling at him, hackles raised in an attempt to make itself look more
threatening, even in its injured state. That wasn’t the scary thing about the situation however.
No, Bad would have to give the award to the blood red eyes glaring at him.

Chapter End Notes

So yeah, the blood red eyes Skeppy saw belonged to Rat (who is currently unnamed
right now).

The reason why Rat was being attacked was because she was 'different' than the rest of
the wolves (in more ways than just her size) and if Bad hadn't heard her then she would
have probably been killed after the wolves were bored with their new toy.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Don't forget to comment what you think and if you have
any ideas.
 Healing battle wounds
Chapter Summary

Bad's backstory part 2!

Chapter Notes

Hi to anyone who is following along with my story, hope you're enjoying the read!

This is right where the last chapter left off so the wolf is still injured and some mentions
of wound cleaning/blood are in the chapter as a small warning (nothing bad though, I've
seen worse in Disney stuff).

Have a good day and remember to drink water!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Okay, so the wolf clearly didn’t know what was going on and wasn’t happy with Bad’s
attempts at help. Yet even with the ball of fangs and fur currently growling at him, Bad can’t
help but notice the pain and fear hiding in those red eyes.

If it wasn’t for the more serious injuries, Bad was pretty sure that the wolf would run away,
hiding itself somewhere where it could rest without fear of the wolves coming back and
finishing the job. But with so many gashes, and the puncture in its leg, Bad knew that if it
was to leave now, the wolf would surely perish.

So, despite the gleaming fangs flashing ominously towards him, Bad slowly extends a hand
to the wolf, wrist slack in order to hide the sharp claws he has for nails.

“Sorry if I hurt you.” Bad whispers, hovering his hand near the wolf’s face and letting it sniff
his hand. “Can I make it up to you?”
The wolf continues to smell his skin, wet nose gently tapping against his hand as it appears to
evaluate the demon kneeling beside it. Slowly its lips uncurl, hiding its teeth as it looks up at
Bad. As the tension eases from its body, the wolf’s eyes seem to fade, with once red eyes
shifting to a dark brown. A single pained whine escapes from the wolf’s chest as it leans into
Bad’s hand, as if asking for his help before thankfully falling unconscious.

Bad is more than happy to oblige.

He collects the strips he had already torn from his clothes, tying them around the wolf’s body
wherever there is a gash. It’s a good thing the wolf is so small, allowing Bad to create
multiple layers around a wound with a single piece of fabric.

Bad knows enough about healing to know that he should clean the wounds but to do that he
needs water, something he doesn’t have. After he completes the task of staunching the blood,
Bad takes a second to look around him.

The clearing he’s in is tiny and unfamiliar. Bad wonders why the wolves decided to mess
with another wolf in such an open area. With no real reference to where he had come from,
this means that Bad has no idea where to go for water. And, that leaves only one choice.

Bad tugs his cloak closer to his body, as if trying to ward off what he has to do next. He gazes
down at the wolf who is doing its best mummy impression, so much of its tiny body covered
by rough pieces of Bad’s cloak. He needs water to clean the wounds, to wash the blood away,
or else the small creature could get an infection which Bad has no supplies to fight against.

Clenching his fists, Bad rises above the sleeping figure. Walking over to a tree Bad snaps off
a small branch, flattening his palm and placing the stick into the awaiting hand. Bad closes
his eyes and concentrates, ignoring his own magic and instead expanding into the magic of
the world, focusing it all into the twig that lays in his hand, into what he needs to help the
wolf.

He feels the stick seemingly snap to life in his palm, twisting until it faces a certain direction.
Bad opens his eyes, still holding on to the magic currently fueling his makeshift compass.
Without a word he retrieves the wolf from the ground, carefully cupping it in the arm not
occupied with guiding them to a water source.
Trying to ignore the hum of magic surrounding him, Bad heads off into the forest.

The stick leads them into a much bigger clearing than the one that they had left. In it is a
large pond, glittering under the moonlight. Bad quickly severs the magic connection to the
stick, letting it drop to the ground as he carries the wolf with him to the water’s edge.

The water is clear, perfect for what he needs.

Bad is careful as he places the wolf down, taking heed of every injury that may come in
contact with the ground. He decides to first start with cleaning the smaller wounds, ones that
have likely sealed over by now so are less likely to bleed when touched.

Tearing yet another strip of cloth from his cloak, Bad dampens it with water from the pond
before unwrapping the first of many bandages from the wolf. He can’t wash all of the grime
from the wolf’s fur, that would require a bath and the wolf is definitely not ready for that.
Instead Bad just focuses on cleaning the debris that may lie within every gash, trying to be as
delicate as possible.

Of course, being delicate can only go so far.

It’s when Bad’s finishing up on the wolf’s wounds, cleaning the very worst of them, that the
creature stirs beneath his hands, yet another whine bubbling up as eyes turn to look at him.

(Bad’s mainly just happy that they are brown eyes).

“Sorry.” He whispers yet again, gently passing his fingers over the wolf’s head. “I’m almost
done.”
The wolf doesn’t move, continuing to stare at Bad as he returns his attention to the wound he
was dreading the most: the puncture in the wolf’s hind leg.

Now that he wasn’t being scared away by snapping teeth, Bad could tell that this injury was a
lot more serious than the other ones. He had a clear view into the wolf’s leg, skin giving way
to muscle and muscle giving way to bone. Bone that was cracked, small shards impaled into
the muscle that’s supposed to help it move.

Bad sucks in a breath. This was bad. Even if the hole somehow sealed over naturally, without
any chance of infection, the wolf’s movement would forever be impared. Would the wolf be
able to run? To bolt through the forest’s greenery in search of prey?

Looking at the wound, Bad could already tell the answer. If the healing process was left up to
nature the wolf would forever be lame, would not be able to hunt for food, unable to move
any faster than a stuttering run.

Nature can’t fix this.

Bad sucks in a breath, raising his hands to run over his face, startling when a whine comes
from the wolf. The wolf, who is still looking at him. Pain still evident in those eyes but
slowly being replaced by a new emotion.

Trust.

Bad stares back at the wolf, holding eye contact before the wolf breaks its gaze and lowers its
head to the floor. The wolf doesn’t need to watch him, it trusts that he is going to help it, that
he knows what to do to help it.

Bad once again pulls his cloak tight against him, trying to ignore the patches where fabric
used to be. He can fix that later, what matters now is that he does know how to help the wolf.
He doesn’t like it, but after seeing the amount of trust the wolf is placing in him, the least he
could do is show that the trust isn’t misplaced.
“This may feel weird.” Bad warns, lightly placing a hand over the puncture. The wolf seems
to have already resigned itself to that fact, only letting out a long sigh before going still.

Bad once again reaches out for magic only this time he’s not summoning it from the world,
he’s summoning it from himself.

Bad concentrates on what he wants his magic to do, guiding it into the wound that lays under
his palm, commanding it to bond bone, knit muscle, smooth skin. Even through closed eyes,
Bad can see a dark blue light illuminate the darkness, emitting from his palm as he releases
his magic for the first time in a while. Bad makes sure to be careful, not wanting to go too
fast and risk improperly fixing the wolf’s leg. As he feels skin ease together under his palm
Bad starts to retract his magic, trying to bring it back to its source.

It’s like placing a hand over a gushing faucet.

It had been too long since Bad had used his magic and now it wanted to run rampant, to be
free and change the environment around him. Bad bites his lip, trying to hold back a growl as
he fights back, slowly easing off the magic trying to pour from him. There’s still too much
however, and it needs to go somewhere.

Bad grinds his teeth as he sets his other hand upon the wolf’s body, letting the remnants of
magic flow across the creature’s body and heal whatever gash it finds.

Then, it’s all over and Bad finds himself laying on the forest floor, eyes closed and chest
heaving from the inner battle he hadn’t planned on having. Then, a nose is prodding against
his cheek, accompanied by a wet tongue.

Bad cracks open an eye.

The wolf is currently standing by his head, its own head cocked as if confused by what had
just happened. Bad sits back up, gently petting the wolf to show that he was okay.
Bad wasn’t the only one okay however. The wolf looked good as new, brown eyes shining
under the moon and not a single mark left from where the puncture once was on its leg.
Cautiously Bad picks up the wolf, ready to set it down at any sign of struggle. Finding none,
Bad places the wolf into his lap before gently unwinding every scrap of cloth that previously
covered wounds.

He’s not surprised to find unbroken skin under every bandage, after all that was quite a bit of
healing magic he had unintentionally cast upon the wolf. While the wounds are gone
however, the blood stains they made still remain.

Bad glances at the sky. Judging by the moon’s position they still have more than half a night
left, and he didn’t want to risk the dog spending that much time wet and cold while they
waited for the sun to rise.

“If it’s okay with you, do you want to go to sleep and get cleaned up in the morning?” Bad
asks the wolf, looking done at it. He wasn’t exactly expecting a response, yet was touched
nevertheless when the wolf gave a small bark before exiting his lap to sit beside a tree in the
clearing, a tree big enough for Bad to curl under if he wanted to.

“Alrighty then.” Bad can’t help but chuckle, gathering every scrap of his cloak before joining
the wolf under the tree. Unclipping his cloak, Bad gently lays it across the ground before
arranging the scraps of cloth he had torn from it into where they used to lay.

Humming fills the air as the cloak is put back together again with invisible stitches, once
more being reunited to form a single article of clothing. Bad then folds the cloak up into a
makeshift pillow, placing it under his head as he lays down on the ground. The wolf is quick
to join him, curling up by his chest and Bad can’t help but smile as he carefully drapes his
wings around the two of them.

For the first time, Bad had made a friend.

And now, Bad has a human lying at his feet.

Chapter End Notes

I've been watching the Owl House (Lumity forever) so I like to think that magic can
have a 'tint' to it depending on who casts it/the spell being used.

Also, the reason why Bad's cloak put itself back together was because it has mending
(and a few other touches).
 Interesting Encounter
Chapter Summary

Basically a 'how did we get here' chapter on how Bad managed to encounter Skeppy just
randomly wandering in the forest.

Chapter Notes

This chapter is definitely a long one but I couldn't find a good place to cut it so that's
why it took so long to finish.

Hope everyone is doing good and enjoying life.

Don't forget to sleep and always drink water!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Bad steps away from the unconscious figure, trying to give himself space in order to figure
out his next plan.

He just knocked out a human.

The human.

The human he may or may not might have been semi-stalking for the last few weeks. The
human who lives in the nearby village, who may have people in said village that would
wonder where he went and come searching.

This isn’t good.

Bad clenches his hands together as he fights the urge to run fingers through his hair.
Bad has known about the village for a while, having discovered it a while back after getting
lost while hunting for food. He had to admit that he had been tempted to explore the village
right then and there, foot already exiting the forest’s boundary before his past experiences
snapped him back to reality.

Humans weren’t kind to Bad when he first came to the Overworld and he had a feeling that
the sentiment wasn’t going to change anytime soon.

So, he resigned himself into mere observation for the moment, using the shadows and foliage
of the woods to his advantage as he observed the village from afar.

It was a rather big one (not that Bad had much of a reference), with houses clustering around
what seemed to be a town square of sorts, their occupants wandering the streets as merchants
called out their wares from store fronts.

At least, most of the merchants tried to attract the attention of the residents walking by.

There was one person, a man with tan skin, who was more reserved than the other traders, his
own stall separated from the rest as he stood off to the side, hands fidgeting with something
as his stance cast the clear message of, ignore me, ignore me, ignore me.

The entire time Bad watched, only one person came by the man’s store, a man with pink hair
who stopped to purchase what looked like raw gold and lapis lazuli. As the man left, Bad
couldn’t help but notice the looks of worry the villagers gave the customer, and the disdain
they cast upon the merchant.

The man seemed to pay them no heed however, instead he looked relieved that someone had
stopped by his place at all, running hands through dark hair as he gazed at the emeralds the
buyer had used as payment.

Without waiting around to see if he may have any more customers, the man immediately
started to pack up his wares, haphazardly tossing them into a bag that he then slung over his
shoulder. He then crossed over to another store, a bakery by the looks of it, and left minutes
later, clutching a variety of baked goods before beelining out of the town square.

Bad found the series of events odd, it wasn’t even midday yet here the man was already
closing up shop. He didn’t even seem to care about his products, judging by the rough way he
shoved everything together. As soon as he had money he was ready to leave, ready to get
away from everyone else in the village.

Bad didn’t know why he followed the man, making sure to keep the figure in sight as he
skirted around the edges of the forest. He was just so different from the other villagers, if the
way they treated him was any indication.

The man kept walking through the village, never once greeting anyone he passed on the street
or entering anymore stores. He came to a halt at the last house on the street, one that, just like
his stall, was obviously separated from the rest of the ‘community.’

Without a glance to the world around him, the man entered his home and shut the door,
cutting Bad’s line of sight to him.

Bad had gone back to watching the rest of the town, but the mundaneness of normalness did
little to hold his attention, so he instead returned his attention to his original goal of hunting.
His new wolf friend (aptly named Rat due to both her size and her appearance after she got a
bath) always enjoyed it when he gets some deer for the both of them to enjoy.

It was now a week after Bad had first seen the human and almost everyday had a part of it
reserved to watching the human live their life.

They were just so odd compared to everyone else in the village, in more ways than one. The
day after Bad had watched the human close their door he returned to watch the marketplace
from afar in an attempt to better understand the oddity. Yet, he wasn’t there.
Bad had found him at his home, messing with some crops in a rather sad looking field, dirt
and sweat covering every inch of him as he dug through soil as if looking for something.

The next day the human had spent entirely inside of his house, the only indication of life
being when he had apparently dropped something judging by a loud crash and the swearing
that followed it.

It was the fourth visit that Bad had seen the human’s odd custom.

It was at night, a time where Bad didn’t have to worry so much about being seen. He had
spent enough time living in the Overworld to know that people shut themselves away at
night, locking the doors until the sun once again rose in the morning.

He had even been brave enough to enter the village, although his wings were tense in case he
had to make an early exit. Thankfully, he had the darkness of the night to use to his
advantage, easily blending into the shadows with his pitch-black skin and black outfit. At the
moment, there wasn’t any evidence of life, with tightly closed doors and windows doing well
to hide their owners from view of whatever scares them into hiding in the first place.

With this in mind, imagine the surprise Bad had felt when he had seen a lone figure slowly
wandering around. A figure that, judging by the aura of ignore me, was in fact Bad’s new
human interest who at the moment was walking with the stance of a man on a mission.

A bag was slung over his arm, gently bouncing up and down as the man started heading
towards the forest edge. Without a moment of hesitation he plunged into the treeline, taking
no heed of the environment as he continued his wandering towards something.

Bad couldn’t help but go after the disappearing figure, fighting to keep his steps silent as he
practically ran to keep the man within eyesight, making sure to slip into the trees as soon as
he entered the forest. Yet again he was thankful for his shadow-like skin color, allowing him
to get in close to the man without worry of being spotted.

As he got a look at the man’s face however, Bad doubted that he could be seen. There was
almost a glaze over the human’s eyes, a clear indication that he wasn’t thinking about where
he is, or at least, not where he is going.

Yet even with his mind obviously being elsewhere, the man continues forward as if he knew
where he’s going by heart. Not once does he look around, checking his position with
landmarks or the stars in the sky. He just continued onward, walking as if he didn’t have a
care in the world.

Only when he reaches his destination, a small rocky area rather close to the village (that’s
already been picked clean by every adventurer that finds it) does he stop, a look of
resignation passing over his features as he opens his bag and extracts a pickaxe.

Bad hides in the trees, hoping the human doesn’t notice the white eyes currently watching his
every movement.

The human starts to slowly chip away at a certain area of the stone floor, stone dust flying as
the strikes increase in strength. A few minutes later, the human takes a quick break to remove
the debris from the hole they made, uncovering some kind of ore that hid below it. A few
more strikes and the man is quickly stuffing what appears to be coal into his bag, yet again
not appearing to care about what happens to it in transit.

Clambering out of the space the man quickly wipes off his body, trying to rid it of the stone
and coal dust that had collected as he mined. Bad watches with muffled breath as the man
collects his items and returns back to the forest, again following in the shadows.

The man has to know where he’s going, his steps are too sure to mean otherwise. Yet Bad
can’t help but feel off at the glaze that takes over the man’s eyes, even a demon like he who
can use night vision would have to stay on alert to be able to get through the forest yet this
person can move with ease.

Bad follows the man as he walks, keeping an eye on him up until the village is in front of
them. Only when the man enters his house does Bad leave, heading back to his own home.
He doesn’t know who the man is, but he can’t deny the fascination he holds for him.

As Bad walks, all he can think about is the human.

—

It was two weeks after first spotting the human, and Bad was still fascinated by them.

They seemed to follow no schedule, never rising at a certain time or going to sell stuff on
certain days. Most of their time was spent in their house, although what they did Bad could
never tell. If he had to guess, he would label the man as a crafter of some kind, being able to
hear the unmistakable sounds of hammer against anvil throughout the day (not to mention the
amount of coal the man seemed to keep stockpiled).

The man’s lack of a schedule was also reflected on the odd trips he would partake in as the
sun dipped below the horizon. Bad could never predict when the man would head out, or
where he was going. While the man had the habit of walking around the town every night,
Bad had only seen him leave the village once, a few nights ago where yet again that glaze
overtook the man’s eyes as he somehow found his way to a patch of gold ore.

It was this ore that made its way onto the man’s stall the following morning, still preserved in
its raw state, having yet to be turned into gold ingots.

A lot of the man’s wares seemed to be in their ‘just harvested’ states, from simple redstone
dust to pieces of copper. The only whole products were that of which the man had crafted, a
few simple iron weapons and tools clustered together in a basic crate. Bad was confused by
the lack of diamond equipment, the man must have found some during one of his adventures.

Yet not a single diamond was available for purchase, not even its raw form like the other
ores.

The lack of diamonds hardly seemed to matter anyway, it was obvious that no one was
interested in buying from the man. Barely anyone even seemed to acknowledge him, besides
the venomous glares he’d receive as people walked by his stall. He didn’t seem to notice,
eyes glued to the floor he continued to give off the sense that he hated having to sell things in
the first place.
Bad couldn’t help but feel pity for the man, he had no idea what he had done to deserve such
treatment but to him it seemed like the villagers were taking things too far. He watched as
person after person walked right by the store, some going so far as to change direction when
they saw who they were getting close to.

Then, just like when Bad had first come across the village, the man had a sale.

This time it was a woman, with white puffy hair and an oddly shaped red coat. Going by the
fact that Bad had never seen her in the village before, she must have been an adventurer who
was simply passing through. She had walked up to the man, obviously ignoring the negative
emotions he gave off, and was perusing the box of tools the man had.

At the sudden attention the man had perked up, breaking from his closed off stance in order
to stand by the woman and seeming to answer her questions. Bad wished he could exit the
forest, to walk into the village and talk to the man. But he couldn’t, because he was a
disgusting demon. And so he watched, hidden in the shadows as, just like before, the man
immediately started to pack up shop once he had one customer, again throwing everything
together with no heed about possible damage or organization.

It was at this moment that Bad also decided to stop his observations of the market, after all he
knew that the man would seal himself away until night came, and he had already stalked the
human enough for one day.

At least that was the plan until that night, when Bad jolted at the sensation of his border
alarms going off. Alarms that only went off when someone got too close to his house,
whether by accident or on purpose. Without a thought Bad immediately warps the magic of
the field, turning it into one that ensnares those that step on it, creating a small pocket that
contains its prey no matter how much they run.

In an instant Bad was to his feet, quickly strapping a set of throwing knives to himself as he
ran to the door. He pulled the door open and ran outside, wincing when he heard the resulting
bang of shoving the door a bit too hard upon his exit. It wasn’t until he heard the
unmistakable sound of paws hitting the ground that Bad realized that Rat had followed him
outside. Knowing her short legs could do little in keeping up with him, Bad slows his pace as
he nears the treeline surrounding his home. He needs to be quiet anyways, not wanting to risk
accidentally giving away his position to whoever is trespassing.
Bad’s mind reaches out, summoning the magic he used to create his ‘alarm’ in order to better
pinpoint where it was set off. With a quick glance to Rat (who at this point had already
caught up) the duo enter the forest, Bad leading the way as they move to confront their
intruder.

It takes a while for them to reach the spot, Bad having to use different means of movement to
help both him and Rat get around various obstacles while still preserving their stealth.

Then he hears it, the unmistakable sound of someone moving through the forest, their harsh
ragged breath cutting through the normal background noise.

Bad automatically extends his wings, wrapping them around himself to better blend into the
natural shadows surrounding him. Rat freezes at the noise, but slowly her lips start to peel
back in an unmistakable snarl as she peers at whoever triggered the alarm. Bad slowly edges
through the foliage, making sure to avoid any stray twigs or rocks that may give away his
location. This progress is halted when he finally gets a good look at the person who got close
to his house, so close Bad had no choice but to lock them in place, not allowing them to
proceed or leave.

It's the human.

Because of course it is.

The human is nervous, judging by the darting eyes and slight tremors they must know that
something is up. As he watches, the human mutters something to himself, slowly rotating to
take in the world around him. He then grabs a stick and plunges it into the ground, making
sure it’s upright before walking away.

Huh, so the human is smart .

The human’s action reminds Bad of a story he once heard where a human kept track of where
to dig up a mythical creature’s gold by tying red cloth around a stick. Of course, this didn’t
end too well for the human when the creature responded by planting similar sticks all over
the place but Bad was never that mischievous. Still, he couldn’t help but smile as he gently
tore red fabric from his cloak, stepping out of the shadows long enough to tie it around the
stick. Maybe this way the human would know that he didn’t mean any harm, Bad thought,
returning to Rat and gently scratching her behind the ears.

This hope was quickly killed when the human had returned from their walk and noticed
Bad’s present. It was pretty hard to miss the blood rushing out of the man’s face, turning it
into a pale white better suited for the moon.

Yet even with the obvious display of fear, Bad can’t help but notice that the human reaches
out for the fabric, ignoring the obvious tremors in his hand.

Both he and Bad jolt at the loud crack that fills the air, seemingly coming out of nowhere.

That is, until Bad looks down and sees Rat’s paw over a now broken branch. The wolf's fur is
bristled across her entire body, giving her the appearance of being several sizes bigger than
she actually is. What worries Bad however, is that instead of her normal brown eyes, her
murderous red eyes are now glowing in the night.

With a stab of fear Bad directs his gaze back to the humans and feels his eyes lock with
theirs, sees them take in both his white eyes and Rat’s red ones staring at them from the
darkness. Bad quickly squeezes his eyes shut, allowing the darkness of his eyelids to replace
the soft white light his eyes emit. He wishes Rat would do the same but he knows it's futile,
Rat has always seemed to hold certain disdain towards any that intrude on her territory and
seems to almost get satisfaction from scaring them.

Bad winces as he hears footsteps pounding away from him, their owner obvious in their
intent to get away. He knows that he has to act fast, or else his meet up with the human will
be under even less than ideal circumstances.

He snaps a finger in front of Rat’s face, the action breaking her from her scary side.
“Listen Rat,” Bad commands, quickly rising to grab the strip of cloth still tied around the
stick and stuffing it away, “I need you to go back to the house.”

Bad tries to ignore the whine Rat makes with the order, he knows that she was only trying to
protect them but he can’t handle having the human pass out from fear.

“I promise that I’ll call for you. I will need your help after I’m done talking to the human. For
now though, you should go back to the house and wait.”

Again Rat whines, brown eyes melting as she levels her gaze at Bad. He crouches, giving her
a quick scratch as his ears strain for any noise that may hint at the human approaching.

“Please Rat, if you do this for me I’ll make you something good later. Okay?”

It’s as if a switch had been flipped, the wolf instantly bounding to her feet as she turned to
head back into the forest. A few more pats later and she’s off like a shot, probably planning to
sleep as soon as she gets back home, burning time till Bad has to call for her.

Bad watches her leave, a small smile of fondness painting his features before he brings
himself back into his current predicament. He quickly scales a nearby tree, yet again using his
wings as both a cover and a balance, delicately crouching over a tree limb as he waits for the
human to resurface.

He doesn’t have to wait long, the pounding steps giving away the human long before the
figure reenters the clearing, leaning against a tree as their chest heaves for oxygen.

They turn their gaze to where Bad once was and seem relieved when there aren’t any eyes
looking back at them. Relief that is short lived when they realized the cloth was removed
from view as well.

Bad can hear the human mutter something to himself, and he instinctively moves closer to
hear, accidentally scaring away a bird that was nestled close to him. The sudden action
startles the human, who whirls around to face the sound as they continue to mutter to
themselves. Bad has already moved from the spot however, now he is behind the human and
he knows he has to do something or else risk the human passing out from overexertion or
fear.

So, he decides to drop all sense of decorum and treat the situation as any demon should.

He releases himself from the tree, not even attempting to silence his contact with the ground,
a multitude of sticks snapping at the sudden force.

The human seems to be frozen in place, not even moving to look at the source of the noise.

Bad hesitates at what he should do next, he’s only interacted with one Overworlder and it had
been a few years since they last talked. Finding no other option, Bad decides to go with a
more demonic introduction, if the human is paralyzed by fear then they hopefully shouldn’t
be driven to violence.

Bad brushes against the world’s magic, allowing it to manifest in his vocal cords as he gently
hums, “Lost little adventurer?”

The human shivers at the question, finally turning to look at him. Bad can’t help but notice
the evident fear on his face, the way his eyes widen as he has to look up to see his eyes. The
eyes he had seen minutes before.

The effect is instantaneous, with the human stumbling backwards with such an intensity that
they collide with a tree, a noise of pain escaping them as Bad careful works to maintain the
distance between the two of them. If he got too far the human may run again, too close and
they may lash out.

“What do you want?” The human snaps up at him, the fear in their eyes betraying him even
with the blunt tone being used. Bad can’t help but feel a little happy, after all, the human was
yelling at him instead of laying unresponsive on the ground.
“I could ask you the same question, my little intruder.” Bad replies, trying to maintain eye
contact with the human in order to observe any reactions. You can easily cover up your
speech and mannerisms, your eyes, the very windows into your soul, are another story.

The human seems to take great amusement in the statement, head tilting back in an obvious
scoff. “Intruder? I’ve been accused of many things in my life but this is the first time I’ve
been labeled as an intruder.” Bad can’t help but notice the trace of hysteria on the edges of
the words and knows he needs to wrap this up. The human is obviously under a lot of stress
and this isn’t helping.

Bad backs away slightly, cocking his head curiously as he took in the form currently pressed
tight against a tree. As he watches, the human slowly starts to move, forcing their body into a
tight ball as they gradually make their way to the ground. The action seems strangely
rehearsed to the human, as if it was one he had done on multiple occasions. This wasn’t
something that the human was doing on a whim because there was a giant demon looming
over them, no this was something they were used to doing whenever they were threatened,
shutting themselves out from the world.

“What are you?”

The question brings Bad out of his thoughts, shoving him back into the reality that he has
created for himself.

It makes sense that the human would ask the question, Bad doubted that he had ever seen a
monster in his life, much less a demon.

Remembering the stick that was still plunged into the ground, Bad quickly fetched it and,
retrieving the red cloth from his pocket, fashioned a makeshift torch. Once again he calls for
the magic of the world, the ever present hum becoming quite a bit louder as he envelops a
hand around the fabric and lights it on fire.

The human quickly blinks at the sudden introduction of light and Bad takes the opportunity
to approach them, making sure to go slow in order to not panic them.
 He stops less than a foot away, making sure that the human is in arms reach. The human only
twitches at the proximity, too coiled in on themselves to be able to move properly. Bad
slowly crouches, making sure to keep the torch from extinguishing as he lowers his body to
be face to face with the human. Greeted by panic blown eyes, he tries to smile at the human
to show that he wasn’t going to hurt him. Even still, he has to do something to them, the
forest is no place to have a meeting.

“Intruder or not, you’re coming with me.” Bad remarks before gently extending a finger
towards the human’s forehead. It’s then that the human tries to move, tries to uncoil himself
from the ball he had twisted himself into but it was too late. With a little bit of concentration
(and some inner magic) all it takes is a simple tap against the human’s forehead for them to
fall unconscious, nothing more than a short lived whimper filling the silence as the human
falls to the ground.

And now, Bad has a human lying at his feet.

Chapter End Notes

The next chapter should feature a conscious Skeppy so that's always good.

Bad has a house in the clearing where he healed Rat, and since he's worried someone
may came across it he's created an alarm system of sorts to go off whenever anyone gets
too close.
As a part of the alarm, Bad can basically 'trap' whoever triggers it until he's able to go
and investigate the trespasser.
It has been a while since anyone set off the alarm so Bad is a little rusty when it comes
to human interaction (while he wants to go out and make friends, his experiences with
demons has made him hide his more friendly side in order to not be taken advantage of
again).

Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Don't forget to comment what you think and if you have
any ideas.
 Let's Talk
Chapter Summary

Bad needs to get Skeppy somewhere safe so they can finally talk.

Might as well use his mountain retreat.

Chapter Notes

The mountain retreat in question is a small area Bad created for him to stay in while he
mines the exposed ores found in mountain biomes. He's hesitant to bring Skeppy to his
house because he doesn't know if he can trust Skeppy yet (being betrayed for most of
your life will do that to you). But, the forest is full of dangerous mobs, so Bad goes with
the next best thing.

Hope everyone has a good day today.

Don't forget to sleep and always drink water!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Bad’s first action is to move the human somewhere else, even for a demon, the forest isn’t a
good meeting spot in the dark.

He also knows his house wouldn’t be a good choice either, saying how he knows nothing
about the human. He doesn’t want to freak them out again, doesn't want them to try to use
Bad’s things against the demon in order to get away.

There was also the issue of Rat. Bad had a feeling that if he were to suddenly bring the
human to the house, the wolf wouldn’t hesitate to display some of her more…violent
tendencies she typically reserved for enemies. The fact that her eyes changed as soon as she
saw the human was trespassing was good enough proof for Bad that they had to go
somewhere, other than the house.

Which left one option.

Bad unfurls his wings, twisting his spine back and forth as leathery appendages stretch to
their full potential. Not a lot of demons have wings, but Bad is one of the lucky ones. In a
way he’s the perfect demon stereotype: black skin, leathery wings, dark horns, and a long,
limber tail with a spaded tip. If only he had the personality to match.

With a sigh Bad gently scoops the human off the ground, delicately clasping them to his chest
in what he hopes is a comfortable position. It’s a good thing magic is what’s keeping the
human unconscious right now, Bad would hate for them to wake up during transit.

He starts to run with long, smooth strides, being mindful to not jostle his package too harshly.
With a quick jump and some wing flapping, Bad is airborne, quickly flying above the
treetops as he orients himself with his surroundings.

After pointing himself in the right direction Bad shoots off into the sky, his mountain camp
shouldn’t be too far away but Bad feels awkward kidnapping an unconscious person. Once
the sun comes back up and burns the monsters away Bad will summon Rat to help him
evaluate the human. Then…

Well Bad hasn’t planned that far ahead.

All he can do right now is get somewhere safe so that’s what Bad focuses on, making sure to
protect the human currently curled against his chest as he quietly flies through the night, a
mere shadow to any creature who chances to gaze at the sky.

The world is fuzzy.

Skeppy’s brain is fuzzy, mind caught in a battle between conscious and unconscious as his
aching body screams for him to close his eyes and allow everything to fade to black once
more.
He wants to obey, to sink back into the place where he can forget, but then he starts to
remember. The world starts to clear. And Skeppy realizes he has no idea where he is.

Skeppy jolts upward, wincing at the cacophony of cracks his joints make as they’re finally
stretched. His surroundings are foreign, unfamiliar, wrong .

He’s on the ground somewhere, in what looks to be a cave if the natural stone walls are any
indication. Skeppy clutches at his head, all remnants of sleep vanishing as he starts to
remember what has happened to him.

He was following his instincts. Mining iron. Trying to leave and somehow not.

The red bow. The red eyes. The white eyes. Their owner, the demon.

But the demon isn’t here, wherever here is. Skeppy is by himself, laying on top of what
appears to be a makeshift bed, judging by the blankets over his lower half and the folded
sheet serving as a pillow.

Skeppy is quick to scan his surroundings, trying to identify anything that may allude to where
he is.

For a cave, the place seems very lived in, with multiple amenities filling the area that’s been
gently carved out from the stone wall. Whoever has created this place must have put a lot of
time and effort into it, judging by the chests that line the walls.

Skeppy feels a flicker of hope in his chest. Maybe the demon isn’t the one that brought him
here. Maybe someone came by and rescued him, killing the demon in the process. Once that
person sees that Skeppy is alright, they’ll help him return to his village and he can put one
bad night behind him…
This hope is quickly killed when a figure fills the entrance of the cave, too tall to be human
but just right for an evil demon.

The demon seems surprised to see Skeppy awake, white eyes slightly widening as the
shadow enters the cave.

Before Skeppy can even move, the demon snaps its fingers.

Skeppy feels a sensation deaden his limbs, constricting them as if he were tied with an
invisible rope. He tries to flail, tries to get out of his defenseless sitting position on the floor,
tries to move , but nothing happens.

Skeppy feels a whimper start to build in his throat and is quick to shove it down. No. He can’t
show weakness. Showing weakness just means you paint an even bigger target on your back.

The demon is quick to close the distance between them, kneeling down so they are eye to
eye.

It smiles again, white fangs gleaming as lips stretch too far for a kind gesture. No, this was an
expression better fit for a predator sizing up its prey.

Seeming to note the fear in Skeppy’s eyes, the demon backs away slightly before sitting criss
cross opposite him, gently swaying back and forth as it stares at Skeppy.

It seems comfortable as they stew in prolonged silence, the demon almost being frozen in
place if it wasn’t for its gentle rocking.

Once again it is Skeppy who breaks the silence. He doesn't do well with quiet, having lived
his entire life surrounded by some type of noise. Even isolated in the village he could always
hear something so long as he strained his ears. So, after a few minutes of stillness, Skeppy
tests his communication skills, first trying to move his tongue before attempting speech.
“What do you want?”

Skeppy’s surprised his voice is even coherent, with the amount of fear coursing through his
veins he would’ve expected any attempts at communication to be amalgamated screaming.

The demon stops its rocking, letting out a low hum as it casually props its head up in one
hand, tail gently flicking behind it in a style similar to a cat’s. Skeppy doesn’t like it, doesn’t
like how white eyes stare into his, as if the demon is trying to peel back his layers to reveal
his most hidden secrets. With the little information Skeppy does know about demons, he can
only assume he was the next entry on a long list of souls the demon has devoured in its
lifetime. The fact that the demon is so calm about the whole situation isn’t helping either.

“Right now,” the demon practically sings, tapping a finger against its chin, “I want you to
wait for a second.”

Skeppy can feel his grip on reality slipping. Here was a demon, a demon that kidnapped him .
And it wanted him to wait?!

“Wait?” Skeppy can’t help but sputter, feeling panic blossom in his chest as he struggles
against invisible bonds, “Wait for what?”

“For a friend of mine.” Is the demon’s reply, gently lacing its fingers together as it watches
Skeppy. Did that sick fuck enjoy watching him struggle?

Then, its attention is diverted, the demon’s head raising to look at the cave entrance. Skeppy
can hear something approaching, probably the friend of the demon who was a demon
themselves.

Skeppy braces himself, preparing to see another creature of nightmares, ready to be made a
plaything of evil incarnate.
 What he was not expecting was a small white wolf to enter the cave. Or for it to jump into the
demon’s awaiting arms. Or the red eyes that immediately appeared when the wolf locked
eyes with Skeppy.

Chapter End Notes

Skeppy is dead tired right now, his sleep schedule is practically non-existent and being
forced into a magical slumber did little to fix the problem.

Since Bad is Netherborn he hates the colder temperatures of the mountains so he prefers
to fly back to his house whenever he wants to sleep, hence why Skeppy wakes up on the
floor and not a bed. After watching Skeppy shiver during the flight over though, Bad
quickly dropped Skeppy off before fetching multiple blankets from his home, attempting
to make the human's sleeping situation as comfortable as possible.

When the sun was high enough to burn away mobs Bad had left the cave to summon
Rat, that's why he was gone when Skeppy woke up.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Don't forget to comment what you think and if you have
any ideas.
 Anxiety first, questions later
Chapter Summary

So... what now?

Chapter Notes

I'm not dead, I'm just having issues getting these things out.
As an apology I made sure to make this chapter nice and long so I hope you enjoy :)

Drink water and eat some chocolate!

Semi-warning: Skeppy has a bit of a panic/anxiety attack when he realizes just how
absurd the entire situation is and he chews a hole in his lip but that's it! Nothing bad
happens and Bad is there to help him (even if it's with magic).

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Bad had to admit, so far things were going better than he planned. The human was safely
tucked away from any stray mobs, and the demon was pretty sure that he hadn’t freaked them
out too much.

That was… until Rat finally showed up.

Bad had done nothing but stand around after fetching the human some blankets. Though he
knew it was unlikely for the man-made cave to spawn any baddies, he was determined to be
ready if anything showed its face. Besides, he could live with a little sleep deprivation but
doubted he could forgive himself if the human got injured under his watch.

Actually what was the human to him? A kidnapee? A victim? Someone who was in the
wrong place at the wrong time?
To Bad, none of these were the answer (although he had a feeling the human would beg to
differ). The human was an oddity who just happened to intrude on his land. So what if the
demon had taken an interest in them? Bad was just performing his right to protect his
property and punish trespassers.

Still, he had technically grabbed them from their home so he resolved to watch over them as
he waited for the sun to rise. Though he knew Rat could easily dispel any mob that got in her
way, Bad disliked making her travel through dangerous areas. And so, waiting for daybreak it
was, giving enough time for the sun’s rays to burn away any violent entities before whistling
for Rat.

When he returned to the cave he was surprised to see the human awake, head nervously
swiveling around the cave as they tried to decipher where they were. Still, it was hard to
mistake the obvious hope painted across their features, as if they were wishing that the figure
they saw last night wasn’t the one that brought them there.

Hope that was quickly killed when they laid eyes on Bad, the optimism in their eyes
extinguishing as they took in the demon.

Bad doesn’t know why he casts the spell. Why he summons invisible ropes to bind the human
in place. It was a spur of the moment action, something to ensure that they didn’t try to do
anything and accidentally get hurt in the process.

The human understandably doesn’t like the sudden feeling of being immobilized but as much
as Bad wishes he could reverse the spell, he can’t. Not when he doesn’t know the human’s
agenda. He needs to know why the human was so close to his home and while he could
technically drag out the truth through torture Bad would rather rely on Rat for assistance.

And so Bad has to keep up his intimidation farce.

Closing the distance between the two of them is easy, Bad making use of his long legs to
quickly get close to the human. Looming feels awkward though (even with Bad in his shorter
form) so he kneels down, carefully balancing on the balls of his feet as he meets the eyes of
the human sitting before him.
They look petrified.

Come on Bad you’ve gotta keep up the facade. You know what happens if you’re kind.

You know what happens if you’re weak .

Bad slowly curls his lip upward, making sure to expose his fangs to the human in what he
hopes is a deadly grin. He needs the human scared. Needs them to worry about what he could
do, even if he never will.

It’s only when he smells the fear rolling off the human that Bad backs off, gently edging
himself backwards before settling down criss cross. He automatically finds himself gently
rocking back and forth, a nervous habit he uses to focus when he doesn’t know what to do.

It’s quiet.

Bad likes the quiet, likes the peace that’s associated with it. In the Nether there was always
something making noise, from bubbling lava to far off ghast cries. Peace and safety were
practically nonexistent, a mere illusion cast by those that proclaimed themselves to be strong
enough to protect anyone that followed them. But demon’s always have to be the strongest,
and if anyone dared challenge their abilities then whatever semblance of quiet was quickly
shattered by screams of agony and the hiss of lava burning away the loser's corpse.

Bad likes the calm. It’s his security blanket, proof that nothing bad has happened.

So it makes sense that the kidnapped human is the one to break the silence.

“What do you want?”

Though the human tries to hide it, the fear in their voice is almost palpable as they speak.
Seems the distance between the two did little to make them feel at ease.
Bad quits rocking as he ponders the question. A small hum builds in his throat as he
considers his situation. What did he want?

He gently tilts his head to the side, propping it with a hand as he studies the human. They
balk at the eye contact, doing what little they can to avoid the demon’s eyes.

He has to stay like this. Has to keep up appearances. Has to be what he never was.

“Right now,” Bad begins, morphing his humming into actual words as he taps a finger against
his face, “I want you to wait for a second.”

The human blanches at the words, usually tan skin turning ghastly white as they once again
struggle against the ropes that hold them in place.

“Wait?” They practically screech, movements frantic as they try to get away from what they
cannot see, “Wait for what?”

“For a friend of mine.”

Bad twines his fingers together as he forces himself to observe the human’s struggles with
casual indifference. He doesn’t like this, doesn’t like hurting others no matter the
circumstance. When he was in the Nether he could at least tell himself he acted in self-
defense but here? Here he is practically torturing someone who stumbled into his magic. He
could’ve let them go but no, he had to entertain his own curiosity and actually interact with
the human.

And now that human is here, tied down in an unfamiliar area with an unfamiliar demon
awaiting for an unfamiliar friend.

Bad hates himself.

And then he hears footsteps. Or rather, paw steps.

Bad turns to the entrance of the cave, thankful for the opportunity to look away from the
human. Rat is quick to reveal herself, bounding into the cave and heading straight for Bad’s
already open arms. Even though it had only been a few hours, Bad had felt bad about sending
the wolf away so he made sure to make up for it with a few head scratches.

Upon seeing Rat for the first time the human had adopted an almost comical look of
confusion, apparently not expecting a small wolf to be the friend Bad had referenced. An
expression that quickly morphed into terror upon making eye contact with Rat, seemingly
locked in place as Rat’s eyes switch from their usual brown to aggressive red.

The demon frowns at the wolf, obviously displeased with its reaction. It snaps its fingers in
front of the wolf’s face, forcing it to break its glare.

“No, bad.” the demon chides, tapping its finger on the wolf’s snout. “You know why you’re
here and I won’t allow you to terrify our guest.”

The wolf lets out a low whine, fur smoothing under the demon’s disapproving look. The red
eyes are still there though, still flickering over to Skeppy’s defenseless form.

The demon sighs with exasperation, picking up the wolf and forcing it to make eye contact.

“Calm down or I go back on my promise.”

The effect is instantaneous, the wolf’s ears flattening and its tail starting to gently wag as the
demon returns it to the floor. When it refocuses on Skeppy he is greeted by brown eyes this
time, although distrust still lurks in their depths.
Skeppy blinks back dumbly, trying to process what just happened. His mouth opens, words
spilling out before his tired mind is able to reign them back in.

“That’s a wolf.”

The demon’s tail flicks back and forth as it returns its attention to him, ignoring the wolf that
is now working on positioning itself comfortably onto the figure's lap while keeping an eye
on Skeppy. The demon lifts a hand to scratch clawed fingers through the wolf’s fur, petting it
with a gentleness Skeppy didn’t think possible.

“This,” the demon begins, using its free hand to gesture to the wolf, “is Rat.”

The wolf sighs in greeting, melting under the demon’s affection even as its gaze remains
fixed on Skeppy. Skeppy looks at the demon, trying to figure out if it’s fucking with him on
purpose.

“That is not a rat.” Skeppy declares, “That is a wolf.”

The demon’s eyebrows crease slightly in confusion as it returns its attention to Skeppy. It
seems… puzzled by the reaction Skeppy had.

“Yes,” it begins slowly, “but her name is Rat.”

Skeppy barks out a hysterical laugh, the stress of the past twelve hours making the situation
seem just that much funnier . Here he was, captured by a demon, in a place he’d never seen
before, and the demon has a wolf named Rat .

“And why the fuck did you name a wolf Rat ?” Skeppy chokes out through an uncontrolled
giggle fit.
“Her real name is Lucy but Rat suited her better.” the demon defends, speaking as if it was
worried anything it says would break Skeppy completely.

Which in a way, is exactly what happened.

Skeppy’s glad that the rest of his body is frozen in place, or else he thinks he would’ve
become a crumpled ball lying on the floor. Still, his head is free so he decides to use this to
his advantage, shaking his head rapidly side to side in an attempt to distort his surroundings
to the point where he can’t see the demon before him. Already he’s chewed a hole in his lip,
skin torn between teeth to create a rather deep gash.

“Lucy?” Skeppy practically spits, trying to clear his mouth of the rotten taste of blood. “As in
Lucifer? You named your wolf after the fucking devil?”

The demon twitches at the question, going eerily still as it takes in the nervous wreck of a
human it decided to kidnap. Good, let’s anger the bastard more, it’s not as if Skeppy is going
to get out of this anyway. The thing probably just wanted to play with its food before
mealtime, so at least Skeppy can make it feel just a little powerless in this situation. Give it a
taste of its own medicine. And who knows? Maybe stress makes your meat tough.

Then it snaps their fingers and Skeppy’s body is encased in an almost numb sensation, limbs
automatically relaxing even around whatever holds him still. Skeppy sobers up instantly,
whatever hysteria he had immediately being calmed. The demon’s gaze bores into Skeppy, a
cool fire filling their milky white depths with the message of Don’t push it .

It is at this moment that the wolf leaves the demon’s lap, careful clambering onto the floor
and walking towards Skeppy. Unlike the demon, there is no attempt to placate Skeppy, the
canine’s footing quick and sure as it comes to stand before Skeppy. Still, the red eyes are yet
to appear so Skeppy can at least be thankful about that.

The wolf is tiny, way smaller than any of the wolves adventures sometimes had with them
when they came to the village to restock and and rest. Yet now, as it stands before Skeppy,
he’s pretty sure that if it wanted to (and if the demon allowed it) it would have no problems in
ripping his throat out. Red eyes and diminutive stature aside, there just seemed to be
something that made it different from most wolves that Skeppy couldn’t put his finger on.
 The two make eye contact again yet it’s different from before. While the first stare down was
more of an intimidation tactic, this seems to be one of curiosity, of evaluation. Skeppy’s dark
eyes meet the wolf’s brown, now containing no hint of their former red coloring. And then,
the moment is over, with the wolf being the one to break eye contact.

It once again returns to the demon’s lap and gratefully receives ear scratches, leaving Skeppy
to dumbly blink as his sleep-deprived brain struggles to figure out what just happened.

“You asked me what I wanted earlier and now I’m ready to tell you.”

Skeppy’s head jolts upward at the statement, realizing that the demon was looking pointedly
down at the wolf instead of up at him.

“Yes?” Skeppy begins eagerly, “What do I have to do for you to let me go?”

“I want you to…” The demon pauses slightly, quickly glancing at Skeppy before returning its
attention to the wolf (Rat, Skeppy had to remind himself). Looking a bit embarrassed it
continues.

“I want you to become my friend.”

Chapter End Notes

If you guys remember back to when Bad first met Rat he described a look she gave him
as 'evaluative.'
Well in this au Rat isn't exactly...normal (as seen in her color changing eyes and odd
size) and she has the ability to be a good judge of character. That's why Bad wanted her
to be present when he talked to Skeppy, so she could pick-up on if he was trying to trick
Bad or had other ulterior motives. She does have other abilities but I'll get to those
eventually ;)

Also, the spell that Bad cast when Skeppy was panicking was something to help ease
him back into reality. Seeing Skeppy wildly shaking his head scared Bad more than he'd
like to admit and he knew if he froze Skeppy's head that it would only make things
worse so instead he decided to help Skeppy's emotional turmoil through a calming spell
(which Bad has a lot of experience with himself).

Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Don't forget to comment what you think and if you have
any ideas.
 Keeping Up A-fear-ances
Chapter Summary

Look, it's hard to make friends okay?!

Chapter Notes

(Yes the title is a reference to the Owl House)

Back again with another chapter containing a hint of angst (it's a slow burn).

Wonder what it'd take for someone to become friends with a demon...

Hope everyone has a good day and stays safe!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

“I want you to become my friend.”

Skeppy’s eagerness is replaced with disbelief, confused if he heard the demon’s request
correctly. A friend? It wants Skeppy to be its friend.

A demon, out of all the creatures in the universe, brought Skeppy to the middle of nowhere
after knocking him unconscious and instead of asking for the human’s soul or turning him
into a slave, he wants a fucking friend.

The demon has to be pulling his leg, just wanting to screw with him one final time before
plunging its hand into his chest and eating his heart. Just another game in the overall plot of
stealing another soul. Maybe it doesn’t even want his soul. Maybe it heard about Skeppy’s
curse and wants to be the next one to take advantage of the human. A simple toy only pulled
out whenever the demon wanted to impress its buddies. No one wants to be friends with
Skeppy so it would make sense for evil incarnate to feel the same way.
Yet as Skeppy stares at the demon and the demon stares back, it looks like it’s being serious.
Though its hood casts a shadow across its entire face, Skeppy can’t help but notice the
tension in the demon’s shoulders, the claws fidgeting with the wolf’s fur. White eyes meet his
yet the demon looks like it wants to look away.

“Uhh,” Skeppy begins before choking on his own words, having to cough to release some of
the tension in his throat. “That’s what you want from me?”

The demon blinks at him, white eyes momentarily vanishing into shadows before once again
reappearing. Then, almost hesitantly, it nods at Skeppy, seemingly refusing to actually use its
words.

“And you’re actually serious about that?” Skeppy can’t help but remark, fighting to hide his
amusement at the rather stupid request.

Apparently that was the wrong thing to ask.

The demon bristles at the question, a low humming filling the quiet as shadows seem to form
from the demon, a dark mist surrounding the figure sitting across from him. Skeppy’s breath
hitches as he tries to lean away from the display of power and once again finds himself
powerless to do so. The demon smiles at the pitiful struggle, tilting its head in amusement as
Skeppy once again struggles against invisible bonds. Why does Skeppy have to be so good at
ticking off those that can hurt him?

“Oh I’m sorry little human,” it practically coos, venom dripping from every word, “do you
want to do something else?”

The demon reaches towards its cloak and pulls a section of it away from its body, revealing
what appears to be multiple knives all strapped to its leg for easy access. Its fingers dance
over the selection before finally pulling one out, a small knife that would fit quite easily
between Skeppy’s ribs with a simple throw. Though its edge appears to be razor sharp the
demon shows no hesitation as it handles the instrument, twirling it around with ease as the
knife is passed from hand to hand.
“If being my friend is too hard for a simple little human then I have another idea we can try.”
The demon giggles, tossing the knife into the air and catching it, “I could always use a new
target to practice with. If you survive a simple hunt then I’ll let you go.”

The demon laughs at the frightened look on Skeppy’s face before returning the knife to its
sheath and pulling out another, longer, one. Rather than play catch with it however, the
demon simply fidgets with it, lifting it into a mock throwing position.

“Thanks to my time in the Nether I’ve become quite good at using throwing knives,” the
demon continues, using Skeppy’s silence as an opportunity to continue talking, “but the
animals in the Overworld are too slow for target practice.”

The demon mimes a throw, movements smooth and practiced. Skeppy had no doubt that if it
wanted to, the demon could easily hit any part of his body no matter how fast he ran.

Then the show is over, the knife returning to rest with the others as the demon once again
turns its full attention to Skeppy. “Hopefully you’re faster than my previous targets.” it
speaks in a low tone, words humming with a force that instinctively makes Skeppy want to
flee or freeze. “Or you won’t be going home.”

Skeppy finds himself panting, trying to get himself out of the odd headspace the demon’s
threat brought him to. He feels confused. He feels tired. But most of all, he feels terrified .

“No I- ” Skeppy begins, trying to speak around the knot in his throat. The demon merely tilts
his head, seemingly content to watch Skeppy squirm. “I’ll be your friend. Just please don’t-”

Skeppy’s words are cut off when the demon raises a finger to its lips, effectively silencing the
human’s pleas. Though no words are spoken, Skeppy can’t help but notice what appears to be
relief flash over the demon’s face, the emotion only appearing for a split second as the dark
aura surrounding the creature dissipates. Then the demon is shifting, allowing the wolf to hop
from its lap before rising into a standing position. The gleaming knives are once again hidden
under the folds of its cloak and though it doesn’t amount to much, Skeppy finds some solace
in the fact that he at least can’t see the weapons.
He doesn’t do well with knives.

The demon crosses the distance between the two of them, leaning down so it doesn’t loom
over Skeppy’s still sitting figure. One of its claws finds itself underneath Skeppy’s chin and
with the same gentleness displayed to the wolf, the demon raises the human’s head so they’re
staring into one another’s eyes.

“I’m glad you’ve reached a decision.” It says, other hand running through Skeppy’s hair,
seemingly ignoring the confused noise Skeppy makes, “Just remember that both me and Rat
would have no problems with tearing you into pieces if you give us grief.”

“Or,” the demon continues as the hand in Skeppy’s hair stills. “You doubt my decisions.”

The claw currently raising Skeppy’s head digs in slightly, a hair away from slicing through
skin. A quiet whimper forces past Skeppy’s lips, wanting to tear his head away but fearing
the repercussions. The demon is too close , mere inches from his face. Even with the dirt
currently coating Skeppy’s face, all it would take is a beam of light and his secret would be
exposed to his kidnapper.

“I won't.” Skeppy whispers. He wishes he could say more but what else is there to say?
Skeppy is a mere puppet in this situation, doing all he can to avoid his strings getting cut. The
demon is the one with the power, the one in control. All it would take is another snide remark
and Skeppy could find himself with a slashed throat. Or worse…

Then the demon is retreating, simply straightening up and taking a step away from Skeppy.
Rat is its replacement, placing a paw on Skeppy’s leg before letting out a single bark and
joining its owner. The demon stands within arms reach of Skeppy, tail gently waving back
and forth as it seemed to think.

White eyes pierce through Skeppy as a snap echos through the cave. Once frozen limbs are
now filled with a tingling sensation as whatever spell the demon used to hold Skeppy is
lifted. Still, Skeppy remains on the floor, refusing to raise himself up from the sitting position
he was immobilized in. Rather, he lets himself lower even further to the ground, thankful for
the collection of blankets that once served as his bed. He adjusts his limbs until he’s
completely sprawled out on the ground, making sure to look at the ceiling of the cave rather
than the demon.
 “Are you just gonna lay there?” The demon asks, watching Skeppy from the sidelines. To
Skeppy’s surprise though, the question isn’t filled with annoyance or frustration. Rather, the
demon seems amused by the humans actions, as if talking to a small child or a pet.

“Yes.” Skeppy mutters. He may be the demon’s friend against his will but it’s a position he
won’t fulfill happily.

“Alright but just so you know, I’m not against picking you up to bring you home.”

Skeppy blinks at the new information, using his arms to prop himself up. “Home? Aren’t we
in your home?”

The demon chuckles lightly at the question, hands fidgeting with the edge of its cloak. “No,
no. This,” the demon gestures around the space, “is a mining shelter I have. My home is
nothing like this.”

The demon steps closer to Skeppy’s body, casually extending a hand for him to grab onto.
“Once we step out I can bring you there.”

Skeppy ignores the hand, choosing to instead remain on the ground. “What if I like it here?”

“Then know I was being serious about picking you up.”

And that is enough to have Skeppy clambering to his feet (although he pointedly ignores the
hand the demon offers him).

Chapter End Notes

So, if you remember back to Bad first leaving his house to eventually find Skeppy, he
grabs a thing of knives that then make their appearance in this chapter.
Since his real-life persona throws knives I thought it'd be nice for the au character to use
them too (and the fact that it'd be hard to get the supplies for bows in the Nether).

With Bad not having much interaction with humans (and being a demon) he doesn't
exactly know what 'personal space' is, so he sees no harm in getting close to Skeppy to
threaten him (and using a little magic to drive the point home).

P.S: Now that Skeppy's become his friend, it's time for Bad to show his softer side!
 A 'Touching' Moment
Chapter Summary

So... how are they going to get home exactly?

Chapter Notes

Sup people of the universe guess who is still alive!

So...yeah. It's been a while since I've posted. Hope I didn't keep anyone waiting. I just
had to deal with a lot of personal things and didn't get a lot of time to write.

However! I have been relatively freed and you know what that means: an extra long
chapter!

In all honesty though my dear readers, I truly didn't mean to take so long of a break and
I'm sorry it's taken so long for me to dust off this story. The fact that this story has
almost 600 hits with so few chapters means a lot to me and shows that you guys have
enjoyed the ride so far.

I'll add some more things to the end chapter notes but for now you guys know the drill:

Stay safe and drink some water as you read!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

As he exits the cave Skeppy has to fight the urge to shield his eyes from the sun’s glare. Why
was everything so fucking bright?

Blinking the spots out of his eyes, Skeppy can almost feel his pupils adjust to the intrusion of
light, narrowing to pinpricks to allow him to look around. The demon doesn’t even comment
on Skeppy’s interest in his surroundings, its attention too focused on giving Rat belly rubs to
keep an eye on a human who can’t even run away

The cave seems to open into a rocky outcropping on what appears to be a small mountain, if
the open sky is any indication. While the area itself seems relatively safe, after a short
distance it simply drops away, loose gravel being the only form of traction to keep one from a
deadly fall.

Judging by his surroundings, Skeppy had to conclude that this demon was not one for
furniture. In fact, besides a small cooking area filling a portion of the clearing the duo are
standing in, the place is virtually bare with nothing giving away the species of the occupant
who owns the home.

Or mining shelter , as Skeppy has to keep reminding himself.

He turns his gaze to his kidnapper who seems to be in no rush to bring its new friend home.
As if noticing his attention, the demon mutters something to the wolf before rising to face
Skeppy, seemingly trusting the canine enough to do whatever she was told.

The demon was tall, there was no doubt about that. Skeppy doesn’t know his own height (and
it’s not like there’s been anyone who cares enough to check) but the demon looms over him
with ease.

Most of its figure is obscured by a black cloak with red accents, buttons littering the fabric
for seemingly easy access to the demon’s attire. Some are already unbuttoned from the
demon needing to reach its knives strapped to its pants. Though the cloak is long enough to
reach the floor, underneath it the demon is wearing a charcoal sweater and black pants.
Compared to his own outfit consisting of a simple light blue shirt and worn pants, Skeppy has
no idea how the demon isn’t drenched in sweat right now. And does it not know that other
colors exist?

Besides its baggy wardrobe, the most obvious feature of the demon is its eyes, the same
blinding white that Skeppy had locked eyes with only hours before. Besides the glowing
orbits though, very little can be seen of the demon’s face, the hood effectively creating a
shadow of mystery over the demon’s features. But with daytime now helping his vision,
Skeppy can now see two inky black horns that emerge from underneath the demon's hood
before slightly sloping back. With them only being a few inches long, the horns are clearly a
feature meant to intimidate, not protect.

Not that the demon needs any help, having already been shown just how dangerous its claws
can be, Skeppy has no doubt that it would take little effort from the sadistic creature to
extinguish his life.

Monsters of Hell. Creatures of suffering. Not fit to live. Monsters. Monsters, the whole lot of
them! Created to prey on the innocent. Wretched souls, tainting this world!

She always was passionate about her lessons. Too bad she didn’t put some of that energy into
actually teaching useful things. Rather rant about demons and how certain people weren’t fit
to live in this world. How they too were monsters…

“Gonna keep staring?”

He hears the question, but his brain doesn’t seem to pick it up. His head feels like it’s stuffed
with cotton, thick and smothering, preventing his mind from working. Drifting away, hiding
your emotions. Just like at the market, standing silent as everyone wishes for your demise.
Tuning out your troubles and leaving them for a future you.

“If you blank out on me just know I have no qualms about carrying you home.”

Annnnnd Skeppy’s back. On top of a mountain. With a demon that wants him to be its friend.
Who just sent away a Rat that might hate him.

Skeppy blinks to orient himself, noticing that he had previously been staring at the demon’s
cloaked face. What he was looking at was anyone’s guess. Still, Skeppy could feel himself
redden after his eyes land on the gleam of a fang, a clear indication of the demon smiling at
him in amusement.

Fucker .

“Not much of a decorator are you?” Skeppy snarks, absently waving a hand at the clearing.
“Though I guess you don’t have any friends you need to impress.”
The demon merely tilts its head at the statement, eyes seemingly following Skeppy’s hand.
Not exactly the reaction he was expecting but then again, this is his first time dealing with a
demon. Maybe they aren’t as predictable as humans. Or they don’t care about being insulted.

“I would say that I’m one who appreciates natural beauty,” the demon calmly replies as it
leans over to smooth out its cloak, “Besides, I don’t spend enough time up here to justify
furniture and I was told it would make the cave’s entrance too obvious anyways.”

It is at this point that Skeppy’s brain decides to short-circuit, leaving him staring slack-jawed
and wide-eyed at a demon. With all the ridiculous things he’s been told growing up, one
thing’s for sure, no demon is supposed to be that mundane. Or care about natural beauty of
all fucking things.

Skeppy fumbles for words, feeling like an idiot. The demon (in all of its helpfulness) decides
to simply watch him struggle. They stand frozen for a few seconds, simply looking at one
another before the demon seems to read something in his expression. Something that seems
to ease the amusement from its eyes and replace it with a shadowed emotion Skeppy can’t
quite identify.

“Actually, scratch what I said earlier about not carrying you.” the demon remarks, turning to
face the horizon. “You’re in no shape to walk and I don’t want to take forever to get back to
the house.”

Skeppy has barely any time to process what it is the demon said before it makes a beeline
towards him, not stopping until they’re less than a foot apart. Skeppy almost leaps back, feet
already backpedaling before one of its hands darts out and grabs his arm in a tight grip just
teetering on the edge of bone crushing. Has it never heard of personal space before?

“But before that can happen,” the demon continues, white eyes piercing into Skeppy’s “you
need a key.”

Before Skeppy can protest, the hand holding him raises, bringing his arm with it. The demon
raises its unoccupied hand and uses its finger to trace a circle into the open air. As Skeppy
watches a deep golden ray seems to ebb from its finger, hovering in place until an entire ring
of light sits above the demon’s hand.
It’s only when the demon starts to bring the ring towards Skeppy’s confined arm does he
begin to struggle, trying to jerk out of the demon’s grasp. He’s more than aware that when
something glows gold, that means it’s going to hurt when pressed to his skin. Still, the demon
brings the ring closer, somehow making it stretch wider in preparation for fitting past
Skeppy’s hand.

“No! I don’t want it!” Skeppy begins to shout, tugging frantically at his arm.

The demon looks at him, as if only now noticing his struggle. If that’s the case Skeppy
wonders if he’s going to be able to keep the demon from doing something he doesn’t want if
all of his strength didn’t even distract the creature’s attention.

“Sorry,” the demon begins, its voice breaking through Skeppy’s jumbled thoughts, “but I am
doing you a favor. If you don’t let me give you a key before we head back you’ll be instantly
trapped once again in my protection ring. It’s not exactly something you can do without.”

“No, I don’t want it! I refuse to let you put anything on me!” Skeppy practically screams,
trying to turn his back on the demon, but the demon merely pulls him towards itself,
decreasing the space between them even more.

“I’m not putting anything on you though,” the demon protests, looking Skeppy in the eyes
with a grin, as if trying not to appear menacing. “It’s a simple spell so you don’t get trapped
in the bigger spell. Just watch.” And before Skeppy can utter any more protests the demon
guides his hand through the circle until the light more or less resembles an odd bracelet
hovering around his wrists.

Skeppy’s ready to yank his arm away, to deal with the crippling sensation of burning flesh as
the bracelet is permanently etched into his skin. Yet nothing accompanies the spell’s
deliverance, aside from the demon actually releasing his arm and stepping back slightly.

With his arm now free Skeppy finds himself hovering anxiously over the golden light
encircling his wrist. There’s no way the demon could keep itself from hurting him and what
better way than dashing his hopes of a pain free experience? Yet under Skeppy’s watchful eye
the bracelet seems to simply fade into his arm, leaving not so much as a bleached area to
show that anything had been done at all.

He looks up at the demon (craning his neck far more than he’d like) and glares at it
suspiciously. It looks… satisfied with its work?

“And now that's out of the way,” the demon practically chirps , “we can go home.”

Without another word it stretches its arms above its head and rotates its midriff, grunting at
the cracking sounds its back makes. This action makes fucking wings stretch out from where
they had apparently been mantled against the demon’s back.

In a matter of seconds the wings stretch out so far and wide they encircle the air around the
demon’s body, filling Skeppy’s vision with the sight of void colored leather. By the demon’s
feet sweeps its spaded tail, easily long enough to reach the ground yet moving in a way
similar to how Rat wagged her tail before she headed off.

Was the demon happy about carrying him?

As soon as the demon is done stretching it steps closer to Skeppy once again, taking
advantage of Skeppy’s disoriented state to quickly maneuver itself before the human can back
away. Still, Skeppy tries to move, to create some semblance of space but his efforts are soon
dashed when the demon sets a hand behind his back and knee, swiping a foot through his legs
to knock him off balance. Instead of falling to the ground though, Skeppy finds the demon
holding him aloft, making small adjustments so Skeppy is in an actual hold, instead of being
carried like a sack of potatoes.

“Wait wait! What if I would much rather stay on solid ground?” Skeppy begins, trying to
push on the demon’s chest to break its hold of him. He doesn’t like this, doesn’t like having
the demon so close to him. He doesn’t like having anyone so close to him. Just having the
demon’s hands brush against his clothes is enough to make him want to recoil. But he can’t,
he can’t show the demon his weakness. It’ll only give it an advantage when it comes to
hurting him later.
He feels the demon move slightly but it’s impossible to know whether it is in
acknowledgment or some other response. It has stopped its adjustments though and Skeppy
uses the opportunity to try and disengage from the demon, jerking his arm and using it to try
and break out of the carry position. An effort that is soon made meaningless when the demon
makes a small adjustment and returns Skeppy to its caging embrace. Skeppy turns his face
upward to lock eyes with the demon who merely looks at him with the eyebrow-quirked
expression of simple amusement, like the look you’d give a dog trying to catch its own tail.

“Then know I have no qualms about throwing you down the mountain.”

Again Skeppy feels himself pale at the demon’s words. “You can’t be-” he stutters, trying to
find any semblance of bluffing in the creature’s face.

Yet there is none to find.

Finding a now compliant (more like scared stiff) Skeppy in its arms, the demon nods
seemingly self-satisfied before once again returning to making sure its friend is secure in its
arms.

Now that he is actually close enough to touch the demon, Skeppy realizes just how warm the
creature is, to the point where being in its arms makes Skeppy think of standing too close to a
bonfire. It’s an all encompassing heat just teetering on the edge of actually starting to hurt
your skin yet you refuse to move away, confident that you won’t lose your footing and
stumble too close. Skeppy unintentionally shivers in the demon’s arms, not noticing how cold
the mountain air had made him until now.

Skeppy can feel the demon look down at him after he shivers, no doubt noticing his internal
conflict between getting closer and trying to get away. Not wanting to stand down he raises
his eyes to meet the demon’s, just challenging it to say something and risk having its friend
jump off the mountain.

The demon looks at him intensely, staring at him like it wants to say something but
apparently deciding against it. Rather, it fixes its gaze to somewhere off in the distance as its
void wings make a reappearance, slowly edging their way above the demon’s back till they
seemingly block out the sun.
 “I recommend you try to enjoy the flight.” It says, staring straight ahead rather than looking
at Skeppy.

Before Skeppy can protest anymore the demon’s entire body tenses around him before
breaking into a heavy sprint aimed directly towards the end of the rocky outcropping. Skeppy
can do little more than bury his face into his hands as the cliff gets closer and closer with
every stride, waiting for the demon’s wings to unfurl and lift them off the mountain.

“Hang on tight!” is the last thing the demon yells before launching the two of them off the
side of the mountain, wings stretched wide to ride the air currents before immediately
plunging into a dive.

And if Skeppy can’t help but let out a shriek that echoes across the mountainside, the demon
makes no comment (even though he can feel it wince).

Skeppy squeezes his eyes tight with the sudden drop, knowing it’ll only be a few seconds
before they smash into their surroundings.

That’s not what happened.

After only a few moments of free fall Skeppy’s entire being jerks as the demon seemingly
breaks from its dive to shoot forward with the gained momentum. Even with the wind
whistling in his ears, Skeppy can hear the demon’s laughter and cheers as they glide through
the air.

Still, he refuses to look, to do anything other than wish he wasn’t in this situation. He doesn’t
even try to uncurl himself from the ball he instinctively formed when the demon dived
bombed. The demon may not have done anything to hurt him physically so far, but if it
continues to act so recklessly this fucking demon will give him a heart attack.

Chapter End Notes

I like to think of Bad's wings as a better version of an elytra in that he can do everything
a player can do in Minecraft (get some insane speed or simply glide) but doesn't need
anything to help boost him (whether it's height or rockets). And just like an elytra his
wings are easily tucked away when he's not using them (though Bad makes sure to keep
them tight against his back).

If you remember back to Bad healing Rat I commented that the spell's 'aura' (color)
changes depending on what's happening to the magic. So instead of a dark blue glow,
the key makes a nice golden color that Bad then decides to make into a ring/bracelet
(since it's a key 'ring')! ;)

Also, Skeppy has SEVERE problems when it comes to physical contact/people getting
into his personal space. There's a reason why this is labeled as angsty after all. But of
course, Bad's a demon and only sees Skeppy's reactions as normal human things, so he
doesn't notice the distress he puts Skeppy under (at least, not until it's vocalized).

Question for my readers (who are still reading): I am currently working on two stories
(this one and one with Phil+Techno). Should I try to keep both of them relatively
consistent with new chapters (which means longer waits) or focus on this one since it
seems more popular?
 A Semblance of Trying
Chapter Summary

Bad hasn't had human friends before so cut him some slack.

¯\_ (ツ)_/¯

Chapter Notes

Wow guys here we are at chapter 10 with almost 700 hits.

I was...not expecting this when I started writing this story and I owe it all to you guys.

Thanks for every hit, for every kudos, and for every comment (I've read them all and I
will keep re-reading them for as long as I keep writing this story). Honestly every time I
read the comments I can't help but smile at the people who are enjoying the ride and
can't wait for more.

I'm glad that you guys haven't ditched this story and instead keep coming back for more.
I can't make any promises but I will try to write more when I can.

Also, most of this chapter was written as I watched Skeppy, Bad, George, and Dream
win MCC. Go Yellow Yaks!

Don't forget to read the end notes for actual story comments :)

And as always:
Stay safe and drink some water!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Skeppy doesn’t know how long he spends in the air, or rather, how long his kidnapper takes
to return home. The entire journey had been done in complete silence, the demon only faced
with the troubles of carrying a Skeppy that refused to even uncurl himself from a tight ball,
much less attempt conversation with the wind whistling in his ears. Instead he keeps his eyes
closed and tries not to think about what is touching him, tries to block out the demon’s hands
curled over his knees and chest. The demon’s body heat is currently cocooning his body and
preventing the chill of the wind from touching its human cargo, as if trying to make him relax
in the demon’s secure embrace.
He hates it, hates the unnatural warmth that makes his skin burn .

So instead of leaning in to false comfort, he squeezes his eyes even tighter and tries to make
his mind drift, determined to not let the demon see just how its touch is enough to fuck with
him.

After an indeterminable amount of time Skeppy can feel something in the demon’s torso shift
before a light gust lifts up through his hair. Cautiously he cracks an eye open and relief floods
through him as he watches the precious ground slowly get closer. Compared to the free fall of
its first dive, the demon seems oddly hesitant as it shifts to a relaxed dive, making sure to
have a lot of clearance before touching down in a clearing.

As soon as the demon’s feet hit the ground Skeppy shoves against its chest with all of the
strength he can muster, the surprise action forcing the demon to release his body and let him
fall onto the soft grass with a grunt. Yet, just like in the cave, Skeppy refuses to get up from
the ground, simply taking the opportunity to uncoil and breathe in the sweet smell of soil.

Apparently Skeppy hates heights.

Or flying.

Or both.

He lays there for a few moments, merely content to enjoy the sun warmed earth filling his
senses, relaxing in a way similar to when he applies dirt to his face before leaving his home.
Soil just has that effect on him so he might as well take advantage of it.

But then something that feels suspiciously like a shoe nudges against his leg and all
semblance of calm is instantly gone from Skeppy, tension and annoyance quickly taking its
place. Disgruntled, he rolls onto his back, lifting an arm to shield his eyes from the sun’s
glare as he gazes up at the demon currently in the motions of backing away from his prone
figure. That stupid smirk is back in all of its glory however, and Skeppy wants nothing more
than to smack it off.

“What do you want?” Skeppy grinds out from clenched teeth, already sick of the demon’s
bullshit.

“I feel like I just asked this, but are you going to lay there all day?” It asks, casually slipping
its hands inside the pockets of its pants. Because of course it's relaxed, of course it has room
to joke. It wasn’t kidnapped against its will and forced to make friends.

Skeppy opens his mouth, prepared to let the demon know what he thinks about its questions
but falters when he feels a wet nose prod at his neck. Flinching away he turns to watch Rat
back away, her actions almost an entire parody of her owner’s. But wasn’t Rat just on the
mountain?

“Well someone was a speedy little girl.” the demon coos , kneeling down to scratch behind
the wolf’s ears. If Rat’s tail was wagging any faster she’d probably be able to parody the
demon’s flight as well. After a few seconds of fawning the demon returns its attention to
Skeppy, letting out a small snort at his agape mouth (which he promptly clenches shut).
Without further comment the demon fixes its gaze to a point behind Skeppy before returning
its attention to the human by its feet.

“Well feel free to join us when you’re down soaking up rays.”

Skeppy doesn’t even respond to the remark, choosing to instead close his eyes and wait for
the demon to leave. After a few seconds the demon shifts into motion, stepping over Skeppy
and walking with a brisk pace.

Skeppy refuses to move from his position even as the demon’s steps grow quiet, unironically
making the demon’s comments about basking in the sun’s rays a reality. This is the type of
heat he likes, the balminess of the sun and the mildness of the earth. Not the bonfire of a
demon kidnapper.
And with that stray thought his mind is thrust back into his current situation of laying in a
clearing that belongs to a demon demanding that Skeppy be its friend.

Skeppy groans at the reminder, using one arm to push himself to a sitting position. When he
opens his eyes however, his gaze immediately lands on Rat, who appears to have been
watching over his still form.

Evidently the demon must have told Rat to stay and keep its new friend from running away.
Why else would the wolf stay with Skeppy over getting more pets from her owner?

Actually was the demon her owner? It had said she was a friend but Skeppy doubted the
demon actually had any friends (though he couldn’t imagine why). Probably a form of mind
control then, or simple life-threats, just like Skeppy’s predicament. Hell, maybe she was a
hellhound. At this point, Skeppy doesn’t think anything could surprise him.

No matter the reason for Rat’s existence, Skeppy can’t help but glower at her as he rises to
his feet (he is still a little mad over her hostile attitude in the cave). Looking around he
immediately spots a cabin in the middle of the clearing previously unnoticed, evidently the
‘home’ of the demon and where it had no doubt gone after Skeppy had closed his eyes.

For a demon the home looked surprisingly similar to some of the houses that Skeppy had
seen in the village, if a little more innovative in its complete look. While the main body
seemed to consist of spruce wood, the frames for the windows and door are made out of a
darker wood Skeppy can’t identify. Additionally, the house itself seems to appear taller , no
doubt having a high interior in order to accommodate its towering occupant. And it's hard to
miss the flap built into the bottom of the door, obviously put into place so Rat can enter the
house without assistance.

Next to the house is what appears to be a garden growing all kinds of crops from simple
wheat to plants he doesn’t recognize all caged in with a small fence, one obviously meant
more for decoration than protection judging by the flowering vines entangled around them
(and the small hole underneath it that Rat no doubt dug. Skeppy can see a worn dirt path
leading from the garden and into the woods, though its destination is obscured by the
shadows of the trees.
On the opposite side of the garden is a glimmering pond, its deep blue already sparkling in
the light. With just how big of a water (and probably food) source it is, Skeppy can’t help but
wonder if the pond is the only reason why the demon decided to build its home in the
clearing. He had to admit, he probably would’ve done the same thing.

The entire clearing looks…inviting. And way too quaint for the evil that calls it home.

Skeppy looks up at the sky, taking in the blue vastness and the white clouds that fill the
space. Though the demon probably won’t kill him (judging by the fact it's had multiple
opportunities to) Skeppy still has no way of knowing if this will be the last time he sees the
sky. Might as well enjoy it while he can.

Then, the moment is over and with a sigh Skeppy heads towards the house, willing his tired
limbs forwards even as his mind provides all kinds of ideas over what the demon will do
once he enters its home. As he nears the front door Skeppy can’t help but slow as he takes
notice of the small ornamentals he immediately recognizes as bird feeders that hang close to
the windowsills.

Was the demon serious about liking natural beauty? Or was this a trick to ensnare wild birds
thinking they were in for a treat?

Rat, not seeming to care about Skeppy’s hesitance, continues to the door and runs through
the flap, seemingly determined to reach something inside. Skeppy follows her, only pausing
for a second when moving his hand to the doorknob. He slowly opens the door, expecting the
demon to be doing… something evil? Honestly, Skeppy’s not sure what normal demons do,
much less those that want to make him its friend. Maybe it's hovering right by the door to
grab him as soon as he enters. Or building a cage to throw him in to keep as a little pet.

But the demon is definitely not doing any of those things.

Instead, as Skeppy enters the house, he is greeted to the sight of the demon sipping on a drink
while seated at what appears to be a couch that looks too big even for the demon’s oversized
form. While not originally lifting its head to the sound of Skeppy entering its home, the
demon does lower its cup to smile fondly at Rat as she pads over looking for attention.
Taking advantage of the demon’s diverted attention, Skeppy turns his sights to his
surroundings.

The couch the demon is sitting on is on the far left of the room, angled to face a fireplace in
the middle of the left wall with a small table serving as the midpoint between the two items.
Directly across from the front door is a closed door that no doubt leads to the rest of the
house (that Skeppy has no plans of exploring). Then, on the right side of the house lies a half
wall of sorts, separating the living room from what is undoubtedly the kitchen. A small
counter serves as an island in the space, with a few stools clustered towards an end. Against
the right wall rests a sink that has a small window placed above it with wooden cabinets and
a stove taking up space along the ceiling and floor. Almost as an afterthought, a small dining
table lives in the very corner of the kitchen, surrounded by an assortment of stools to actual
chairs as if haphazardly thrown together.

Skeppy’s observation is ceased when he hears the unmistakable sounds of a whimper,

whirling around to see Rat paw at the demon’s leg incessantly. Instead of getting mad
however, the demon merely sighs in resignation before raising itself from the couch,
seemingly wincing as if sore.

With only a glance at Skeppy still standing in the entryway of the house, the demon walks
towards the kitchen, Rat following closely at its heels. Skeppy watches as it places its cup on
the counter before shuffling around, the clatter of pots and pans quickly filling the house.

“So…are you actually going to come in?” the demon calls from the kitchen, too busy looking
through cabinets to see Skeppy flinch.

Skeppy shrinks on himself before mutely moving into the kitchen, keeping the demon in his
sights the entire time. But the demon makes no move to do anything to him, just a quick
glance to watch him enter the space, and then it's back to whatever it was doing. As Skeppy
watches, the demon pulls a small skillet from a cabinet and places it on the counter before
crossing over to a big cabinet placed in the corner of the room. With a quick tug the demon
opens it, revealing a freezer containing all sorts of meat all neatly hung on little hooks. After
a few seconds of waving its fingers the demon selects a relatively big piece before closing the
door, grabbing a plate to deposit the meat onto.

Rather than carrying the meat to the stove however, the demon grabs both the plate and pan
and places them onto the counter. There it pauses, seemingly contemplating something before
looking up at Skeppy.

“You are alright with eating steak right?”

Alright. Alright? Hell, Skeppy couldn’t remember the last time he had eaten steak. A few
years at least. The dish was always too expensive so he always made sure to enjoy it when he
could. But now he barely has enough money to survive, much less eat one of his favorite
foods.

“Um… yeah. It’s alright.” He answers, noticing the flash of relief that comes over the
demon’s face as it raises its hands towards the slab of meat. Was the demon going to make
him some food? He can already feel his stomach grumble at the prospect of being filled.

But then the demon’s nails tear through the meat and Skeppy doesn’t feel hungry anymore.

The demon traces a finger along the sides of the steak, claw easily tearing through flesh to
separate meat from fat. Skeppy shifts uneasily, biting the inside of his lip to hold the whine
threatening to break through. He was…not expecting this.

“Sorry,” the demon apologizes, obviously noticing Skeppy’s discomfort as it deposits most of
the trimmings onto the plate, “I don’t like giving Rat too much fat.”

So Skeppy was right, the demon wasn’t going to feed him.

“So all of that is for Rat?” Skeppy can’t help but snark, body already braced in case the
demon decides to lash out.

“That’s not what I said.” The demon smoothly replies, placing the trimmed steak into the
skillet and bringing the skillet to the oven. It flicks a switch and suddenly a small fire blooms
underneath the pan, the steak already starting to hiss as it’s quickly cooked.
Skeppy looks in amazement at the fire, before glancing at the sink that appears to have its
own water source and the lights that don’t seem coal fueled.

Redstone. Of course the demon can use redstone.

“Then why prepare the steak for her?”

“It was a condition to make her leave you alone, trust me when I say she’s not getting the
whole thing.” The demon admits, eyes glued to the steak in the pan. But then something
flickers across its face and it turns to face Skeppy. “That reminds me, I actually have
something of yours.” And without another word the demon lifts its free hand to point towards
the door, before once again returning its attention to the steak to make sure it doesn’t burn.

Following the demon's movements, Skeppy’s eyes eventually land on a bag hung near the
front door. His bag. The one he had when he was kidnapped and consequently forgot all
about. One of his only prized possessions, and the demon doesn’t seem to care.

It probably doesn’t even know that Skeppy cares about it so much. Not that he’s complaining
about the creature's ignorance.

“So, what’s your name?” the demon asks, voice once again breaking through Skeppy’s train
of thought. It seems almost tense with the question, eyes never wavering from the meat now
sizzling on the stove. Skeppy merely crosses his arms, eyes narrowing as he glares
suspiciously at the demon.

“Why?” is Skeppy’s response, trying to make disdain drip from his voice. He’s heard about
this before, heard about creatures that can puppet you into doing anything they want so long
as they know your name. Well fuck off demon, Skeppy won’t reveal that information so
easily.

That is, until the demon starts to walk towards him, skillet in hand.
Skeppy instinctively backs up, arms raised in an attempt to shield his face from the burning
metal in case the pan is thrown at him. But the demon merely returns to the plate on the
counter, neatly sliding the still piping hot steak onto the ceramic.

The demon turns towards the sink, setting the pan back onto the stove as it begins to wash its
hands. “It’s in your best interest to answer my questions,” It replies, “Or do you need a
reminder about what I told you in the cave?"

Skeppy can feel himself pale from the threat, having to swallow hard to keep a scream from
erupting out from his throat. “M-my name is Skeppy.” he stammers, wincing at the stutter. So
much for not seeming weak.

The demon turns back from the sink, seemingly content with Skeppy caving so easily. “Well
it’s nice to meet you, Skeppy.” It hums, picking up the now cooked steak and ripping it
roughly into thirds before returning them all to the ceramic plate.

Picking a few bits of fat from the plate, the demon places them back into the skillet before
returning the pan to the stove, the solids quickly melting into a grease that lightly covers the
entire interior. Opening the cabinets again, the demon extracts a small box of sorts and two
more plates, all of which make their way to the counter.

Placing one piece of steak on every plate the demon nods, seemingly self satisfied with the
proportions so far. It returns its attention to Skeppy who was watching the demon grab the
food, completely confused.

“Can you give Rat her plate?” It asks, gesturing to the original plate that still had a few
morsels of fat still spread around. “I have to finish ours.”

Wait so the demon was making food for him? And only wanted Skeppy to give Rat her food.
No, this had to be a trick. Once Skeppy bent over to place the plate by Rat she’d probably rip
his throat out or something.

Yet as Skeppy turns his gaze downwards he can’t help but notice Rat undoubtedly begging
for treats, dancing around the space in anticipation for her own food. Skeppy’s eye flicks
upwards but the demon isn’t paying attention to him and is instead cracking eggs into the pan
one handed while the other uses a utensil to make sure they don’t overcook. Keeping the pan
steady is the demon’s tail, wrapped securely around the handle and not even letting it waver.

So it must have been eggs in the box.

With a sigh of acceptance Skeppy reaches for the plate previously indicated by the demon. As
soon as it’s lifted off the counter Rat is there, circling around Skeppy’s ankles as the last of
her patience runs out. Fearing her razor sharp teeth, Skeppy quickly sets the plate down,
snapping his hand back before she mistakes it for a treat. Instead of instantly devouring the
food however, Rat turns to look at him for a second, tongue lolling out as her mouth stretches
into what could almost be a smile.

Then that moment is gone. And so is the steak.

“She won’t bite you. Not even if you held her treat in your hands.”

Skeppy jumps at the voice, not realizing that the demon had been watching the whole
exchange. He whirls to glare at the creature, only getting more infuriated upon spotting the
unmistakable smile etched on the fuckers face before it returns its attention to the stove.

If there was a list of those who hate this demon, Skeppy would be number one.

“Well I did what you asked so thanks, but no thanks for your advice.” Skeppy practically
snarls. He hates this. Hates being in a demon’s home. Hates how good the food smells (way
better than his own). Hates how tired he is. Hates how his face is becoming itchy. Hates that
he is powerless .

“You know, I’m not the only one who can ask questions. You can ask me something if you
want.” the demon says, casually looking over its shoulder as it prods at the eggs. As if what it
is doing has absolutely no effect on Skeppy.
 Well fine, two can play at that game.

“What’s your name?” Skeppy asks, not skipping a beat.

It’s only with that remark that the demon seems to stall, scraping the eggs around the pan as
if to make sure they were fully cooked in order to buy itself some time. After a few seconds
though, it seems to come to some sort of conclusion and turns to face Skeppy, skillet in hand
as it heads towards the counter.

“You can call me… Bad.” the demon says, gently tipping the pan to have fluffy eggs land
besides roasted steak.

Chapter End Notes

So a lot of you guys wish that Bad would actually learn how to make friends but trust
me when I say he is trying his best (as you'll see later).

Demons are not friendly creatures so Bad has basically zero experience on what it's like
to have friends (especially ones that are human). He does know how to act scary though
in order to avoid people from taking advantage of him, so it's almost natural for him to
make sure Skeppy won't be an actual threat (though he has hated certain actions he's
done without thinking).

He's trying to show Skeppy his softer side, its just that Skeppy is viewing every action
with a tainted lens that results in him not trusting anything the filthy demon says or does
(Bad will crack that shell eventually). It is a slow burn angst after all. ;)

The steak is the treat that Bad promised Rat earlier in the story (so she would go home).
While Minecraft dogs can eat anything from steak to rotten flesh I like to think that,
while Bad only gives Rat 'cleaner' food, cooked steak is the best treat you can give her
since actual prep goes into it and she likes feeling fancy.
 A 'Flash' from the Past
Chapter Summary

Bad's attempts to be helpful don't go as planned

READ THE NOTES FOR WARNINGS

Chapter Notes

Welcome back my dear readers to another helping of good old angst brought to you in
part by WriterGreenReads (whose amazing comments convinced me to do two chapters
this week).

Before I start getting sappy I gotta warn you guys that this chapter gets a littler darker.
No one actually gets hurt but Skeppy experiences a panic attack after being startled and
starts to remember things he usually keeps buried. There's no blood or anything but he
also has suicidal thoughts (and almost starts to scratch himself in a self-harming
manner).

Bad's there to help him snap out of though so nothing bad happens...yet ;)

Also as a side note: yet again I want to thank both new and returning readers for clicking
on my story. Having so many hits (more than 750!) and comments is amazing and I
appreciate every single one of you guys. While this story is a slow burn, I will try to
provide a bit of fluff in some upcoming chapters (and some more writings from Bad's
perspective).

Actual story comments are at the end and don't forget to eat a snack and stay hydrated as
you read!

TL;DR - Warnings for panic attack, distorted eating ideals, and suicidal
thoughts/memories

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Without another word Bad grabs the plates of food and heads to the table, seeming to think
that Skeppy will follow it. Which is exactly what happens, Skeppy moreso following his
stomach than his sleep-addled brain at the moment. Just smelling the food cooking was
enough to make his mouth water, not having anything as savory as steak and eggs in a long
time. After living off bread for far longer than he’d like to admit, Skeppy’s stomach was
screaming that he devoured all that the demon had made.

It sets a plate in front of itself and the other on the edge of the table, positioned so that
Skeppy’s forced to sit atop a stool with his back to the rest of the kitchen. With a small
flourish the demon also sits on a stool, making sure to sweep its tail out of the way before
sitting down. After a quick survey of its plate, it begins to eat, using its claws to both cut and
skewer the food before lifting it to its mouth, the actions smooth and practiced as it
seemingly ignores him.

Skeppy shifts nervously in his seat, looking down at the meal laid before him.

The entire plate is still hot, both the steak and eggs emitting a soft steam. The steak
practically shines in the light, the torn section showing a soft pink center. The eggs are
perfectly cooked (Skeppy always burns his) and give off a slightly meaty smell, probably due
to being cooked in steak fat. Embedded in the eggs are spices of some kind, dark green flakes
giving a stark contrast to the deep yellow.

Surely this plate isn’t for him. He doesn’t deserve food of this quality, much less of this
quantity! He was fine with bread, he could live off bread. He doesn’t need his kidnapper
making him food because that would only give it more power to lord over Skeppy’s head
when it came time to pay his dues.

Bad has to be taunting him. Sure it said that Rat already got her food but maybe it was
waiting for him to try to eat, only to say “sike!” and give it to the wolf. Just to show that a
simple dog got more value and respect than Skeppy.

He can always live off of scraps.

Bad has paused in its eating, having noticed how Skeppy hasn’t even begun. White eyes shift
from the plate to the human, confusion quite evident even with the hood hiding all other
facial features. Understanding quickly takes its place though, as something seems to click in
its mind.

“Do you want a fork? I thought you’d be okay with eating with your fingers but I guess you’d
need some help.”

Before Skeppy can say anything the demon rises to its feet and re-enters the kitchen, drawers
being opened and rifled through in its attempts to find utensils for Skeppy. But it shouldn’t be
a problem. Skeppy doesn’t deserve this.

Why does it care what he needs?

There’s a flash of metal in Skeppy’s peripheral and suddenly a knife is thrust into his face. A
knife mere inches from his flesh. Looking sharp enough to easily pierce skin and carve a path
wherever its wielder desires.

“I couldn’t find a fork but I did find a knife so you can at least cut your steak.” Bad says all
too brightly, hand casually holding the knife aloft.

The effect is instantaneous, Skeppy violently jerking away from the table, his shoulder
accidentally colliding with the demon. He stands up, the stool he was sitting falling onto the
floor from the sudden movement.

Not again. This can’t happen again. He was told no more. He was promised no more.

He can already feel himself shaking as his throat begins to tighten. Dark spots dance across
his vision from lack of oxygen. Yet even as his chest heaves for air it's no use, the
constriction already choking him. Cutting him off from what he so dearly needs.

He has to leave, has to run .

But he can’t, the demon is right in front of him, ready to grab him at the first sign of running.

He can’t escape this.

“Skeppy?” he hears over the blood pounding in his ears and god fucking damnit it’s Bad
looking at him with such concern Skeppy would almost laugh if he didn’t feel like he was
about to shatter into a million pieces. Because why would a shitting demon give a fuck about
good old screw up Skeppy? If it broke its new plaything too soon it could go steal another
one from the village. Maybe then it wouldn’t end up with damaged goods.

I have no idea why we kept you. Should have thrown you into the garbage when we first saw
you. Then you’d finally be with your own kind. Nothing but a cursed freak! What good are
you? I said, what good are you!

He’s no good, and that’s the whole point.

A burning touch lands on his shoulder and Skeppy jerks back yet again, stumbling away from
Bad who raises its hands in a mock surrender, the knife somehow gone. Skeppy can only
whimper in response, hands already reaching towards his face, more than ready to start
scratching feverishly at his cheeks.

“Are you okay?”

Okay? No he wasn’t okay. He never was.

But the demon doesn’t have to know that. Bad obviously knows nothing about Skeppy or else
it would have acted as soon as it kidnapped him. For all it knows Skeppy could be a regular
human. A regular, fucked up human. Who had a perfectly valid reaction to having a knife
shoved in front of their face.
And for such a stupid question as that, the demon had at least given him something to focus
on. Something to pull his mind out of the gutter, to make his hands slowly drop to his sides,
clenched so tight he knows his fingernails are carving marks in his palms.

“I’m-” Skeppy chokes out, hesitant to waste air, “You. The-” He exhales a shaky breath,
"Fuck it all." He whispers, not knowing what else to say.

Bad stills at the final comment, white eyes looking intently at Skeppy. It almost looks like it
wants to say something but thankfully chooses to hold its tongue, instead opting to
exaggerate its breathing, seemingly in an attempt to help Skeppy. Of course, the last time it
had tried to be helpful it managed to trigger this whole event just by grabbing a steak knife .

This time though, its efforts aren’t in vain, Skeppy’s frantic mind desperately latching onto
Bad’s efforts to help calm him. As he breathes with the demon, Skeppy can feel something in
his chest loosen, not falling away like an untied knot but at least allowing him to breathe
without fear of strangulation.

They stay like that for a few minutes, the only noise being their shared breaths. This time
though, it's the demon who breaks the silence, glancing at the table before looking back at
Skeppy.

“Skeppy I’m-”

“Actually I’m not hungry,” Skeppy interjects because he refuses to have this conversation.
Let the demon think whatever it wants about what just happened because Skeppy has his own
story to stick to. If he wants to survive he can’t show the demon how to mess with his
headspace. He has to act like everything is normal.

Put on a mask and hide what’s inside.

“Skeppy you’re-”
“I said,” Skeppy interrupts yet again, fixing the demon with a pointed glare. “I’m not
hungry.”

The duo lock eyes for a few moments and Skeppy fights the urge to shiver under the demon’s
shining gaze. Eventually it’s too much and Skeppy drops his gaze, focusing on the floor and
Rat investigating the overturned stool (the commotion must have drawn her attention).

He doesn’t need to see the demon to know what it’s doing. It’s examining Skeppy, having its
own internal monologue as it figures out where to go now. Because where can they go? The
demon was the one who fucked up its friend selection and now it’s got to pay the price.

Skeppy can only hope the price doesn’t involve that knife making a recurrence.

Skeppy can see Bad’s shoes slowly edge towards his own, the demon’s movements careful as
it makes sure to not crowd him.

“If you want Skeppy, you can go to my room.” It says carefully, seemingly ignoring the
shocked look Skeppy gives it as he jerks his head up, “I didn’t mean to provoke you and I’m
sorry if I crossed a boundary.”

It lifts a thumb over its shoulder, roughly pointing towards the closed door. “My room is back
there, on the left. I have some chores around the house and outside so I’ll try to stay out of
sight.”

Even with the facade of casualness, it’s hard to miss the genuine worry in the demon’s eyes
as it looks at him.

Skeppy merely blinks back, waiting for the demon to do something other than hover over
him. If he’s going to break down, he’d much rather do it without an audience.

Bad shifts nervously, obviously not knowing what to do. Rat walks up to its leg and paws
incessantly at the fabric, making the demon look down at her. Seemingly taking charge, Rat
 plods towards the front door, making it clear she expects the demon to follow before ducking
through the door flap.

The demon follows her example and begins to leave the house before hesitating in the
entryway and looking back at Skeppy (who had yet to move).

“Just…don’t forget to eat.” Bad says with a small smile, before closing the door and leaving
behind a Skeppy desperately clinging to what shreds of sanity he has left.

Chapter End Notes

So...yeah, Skeppy has been through some stuff.

The reason why Bad doesn't use utensils in the first place (which would've avoided this
whole thing) is mostly due to demon culture. Demon's are already equipped with the
perfect eating tools (and razor sharp teeth to chew through meat) so why waste valuable
metals on cutlery that can't last as long? In the Overworld Bad was introduced to the
idea of using a fork and knife and keeps a few around for the messier meals (this time
made out of iron instead of gold) but old habits die hard so he normally uses his hands to
eat.

Ironically, if the same event were to happen in the village, Skeppy would get a lot less
freaked out by the whole thing (and be able to prevent the panic attack). Living off a few
hours of sleep, little food, and being kidnapped by a demon however has kind of messed
with his mind space so he was already a ball of nerves before a deadly instrument was
shoved in his face.

Bad didn't even mean to startle Skeppy, he was just eager to help Skeppy enjoy the food
he had made for him and kind of forgot that less than an hour before he more or less
threatened to kill Skeppy with a knife that looked quite similar to the one being offered
to cut steak. So...oops. ¯\_ (ツ)_/¯
 Two Sides of the Same Messed Up Coin
Chapter Summary

Both perspectives this time!

Chapter Notes

So...how about that last chapter? Lotta people ready to go on a witch hunt in the
comments. Well you'll know who to target soon. ;)

Welcome back to your semi-weekly dose of angst staring Bad and Skeppy (and Rat's
there too)!
This chapter is no where near as dark as the last one and there shouldn't be anything that
deserves a warning. In a way there's even a smidge of fluff (if you squint hard enough).

Thanks to all of my readers getting this far in our journey (850 hits!) and I hope that
you're buckled in for a wild ride. It's been amazing to see the amount of comments
increase every time there is a new chapter and I'm glad to see you've all enjoyed my
story so far (besides the fact you guys want to hurt some villagers).

More story comments are at the end.

Eat a sweet treat and drink some water as you read!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Skeppy stays in the middle of the kitchen for several minutes, paying no heed to the plates of
rapidly cooling food. In a way they were to blame for all of this. No, that isn’t true. The
demon did this, it kidnapped Skeppy and brought him back to its lair. It told Skeppy that it
wanted a friend and then shoved a knife in his face.

Who cares if it looked sorry afterward?

Skeppy rubs tiredly at his eyes, fatigue quickly taking over as his racing pulse begins to slow.
Gods, when was the last time he had a good night's rest? His sleep schedule was shit anyways
and it turns out that having a demon magic you to sleep does little to alleviate one's
weariness. He could almost feel the overwhelming cloud of exhaustion pressing down on
him, smothering any protests from his empty stomach calling to be filled.

He did say he wasn’t hungry after all.

Skeppy turns his gaze to the closed door that Bad had indicated. The demon could just be
fucking with him, leading him into another one of its traps but in all honesty Skeppy was too
tired to care. He could try to escape but his drowsiness would make it easy for Bad to catch
him.

Sleep first, run later.

So Skeppy heads to the door, not even bothering to righten the stool he had knocked over.

The door opens into a short hallway with a door on either side. At the end of the hall was a
third door with a large copper doorknob. Bad had said that its room was on the left so that
was the door Skeppy focused on, not even wanting to imagine the horrors hidden in the other
areas.

Skeppy can feel himself brace as he opens the door. Sure the demon’s home looked nothing
like its owner but Bad’s room had to mirror the demon’s evil character. A dark hellhole filled
with creeping shadows and bubbling lava all to make Bad feel at home .

Yet, just like the rest of the house, the demon’s room is most decidedly not what Skeppy
imagined it to be like.

As the door swings open Skeppy’s eyes immediately choose to focus on the gigantic bed
placed in the middle of the room. Obviously made to accommodate its user’s larger stature,
the bed is practically overflowing with pillows and blankets (most of which are colored red).
Skeppy almost feels envious, his own bed back at the village is only covered by a few thin
blankets no one else would buy. And his pillow was practically flat.
But no, he can’t be jealous of a demon . He can’t stoop that low.

So instead Skeppy chooses to focus on his exhaustion, legs almost collapsing as his fatigue
finally takes hold. He has to sleep while he can, not knowing when the next opportunity will
arise. Bad had said that it’ll be gone for a few hours and that’s plenty of time. Skeppy can
have a quick nap and once he wakes up he can plan his strategy with a clear head. An hour,
tops, and he’ll be ready.

But as soon as Skeppy crawls on top of the bed he loses all sense of reasoning, barely
remembering to take off his shoes before going under the blankets. It was so warm . Not like
the blazing fire of Bad but a comforting, all encompassing warmth that instantly relaxed
Skeppy’s muscles, tension melting away.

Skeppy pays no heed to the rest of the room, mind already slipping away as he settles further
under the blankets. He’s not sure if the demon would appreciate him being in its bed, but he
doesn’t care. Bad said he could go into its room and Skeppy refuses to hold his exhaustion at
bay any longer.

Yet as the last threads of consciousness slip from Skeppy’s fingers he finds himself thinking
back to the look Bad had given him before telling him he could go to its room. It seemed
much too…genuine for Skeppy’s taste, as if the demon actually viewed him as someone of
note. And the demon’s attempt at kindness by making Skeppy a meal far surpassed any
charity Skeppy had experienced from those in the village even after years of living there.

It was…confusing. The way Bad switched personalities as soon as it brought Skeppy back to
its home. The demon that kidnapped him seemed a whole different creature compared to the
one that apologized for scaring Skeppy.

Skeppy doesn’t know what to do. He doesn't know what to think . And as Skeppy closes his
eyes, one final question comes to mind.

What does Bad want with me?

And then Skeppy succumbs to dreamland, falling asleep on Bad’s bed and leaving the
question seemingly unanswered.

~~~

“Just…don’t forget to eat.” Bad says with a small smile, before closing the door with a soft
click .

He wasn’t lying earlier, he does have things to do. The animals need feeding, the garden
should be checked, and he should visit the pond. Yet as he looks around the clearing, Bad
can’t find it in himself to move. To do anything other than replay the last five minutes in his
mind.

Making Skeppy food. Sitting down to eat. Getting him a knife.

And the panic attack that followed.

Bad’s not blind, he recognized Skeppy’s terror, could practically smell the fear rolling off the
human.

All of which was due to him.

Bad buries his face in his hands, trying to deal with the onslaught of guilt coming from his
conscience. He’s a demon, he shouldn’t feel bad about any of this. He should revel in scaring
the human, try to devise other ways to make them fear for their life.

But he doesn’t. He hates what he’s done. If he could go back he would’ve never shown
Skeppy that knife.

The knife he immediately hid under his cloak at the first sign of Skeppy’s terror.
Bad sinks to his knees, his sore wings protesting the motion as they lightly scrape against the
wooden door.

Bad doesn’t know what to do. As if that wasn’t obvious.

He's such an idiot. He should’ve ignored the village. At least then would Skeppy feel safe .

A pawing at his leg makes Bad look up, forgetting that he had an audience to his little
meltdown.

Rat cocks her head, worry evident in her eyes.

“Sorry you had to take charge,” Bad mumbles, scratching behind the wolf’s ears. “What
would I do without you?”

Rat merely licks at his fingers, expertly avoiding the demon’s sharp claws.

Claws.

Bad’s gaze flicks down to his hands. Being a demon, his nails have a tendency to grow into
sharp talons perfect for tearing through flesh. While decidedly deadly, Bad has no intention
of using them as the weapon they were designed to be.

But Skeppy doesn’t know that. Their fear of him was proof of that.

A huff of laughter escapes Bad’s throat at the reminder.

“I really messed up didn’t I?” Bad asks Rat, staring at his hands.

Seemingly understanding his conflict, Rat nuzzles into Bad’s palm, using the demon’s nails
to better scratch under her fur. Because she knows Bad. Knows that when he first met Rat he
was so scared of hurting her that he filed his nails down to rounded edges. It was only after
he trusted himself to be gentle that he allowed his nails to resume their natural sharpness.

How ironic that what once made Bad terrified of hurting her, merely makes head scratches
even better in Rat’s opinion.

Still, before Bad even entertained the notion of letting his claws grow back, there was still an
element of trust between him and Rat. A trust that Bad will do everything in his power to not
hurt Rat. A trust well established the first time the two had met, when Rat had asked for help
with the belief that he would heal her.

A confidence well founded as Bad happily obliged the request.

But Bad and Skeppy don’t have that relationship, don’t have that fateful first meeting of one
helping the other. No, their meeting ended up with Bad kidnapping an unconscious Skeppy
and making him be his friend. There was no foundation of trust, just simple blackmail.

And Bad hates himself for it.

But he can show Skeppy who he really is. That he’s a demon who loves to bake, that sings
silly songs, and dances to warm up when it’s cold. He isn’t like most demons, and he wants to
prove that to Skeppy.

“I’ll do better.” Bad promises, looking down at Rat, “I’ll do all I can to show Skeppy that he
can trust me.”

Rat barks in reply, tail wagging excitedly as if agreeing with Bad.

 Spurred on by her agreement, Bad smiles before rising to his feet. He had told Skeppy that
he’d be out of sight for a few hours and that was a promise he wasn’t planning on breaking.
With renewed energy Bad heads towards the edge of the clearing. Once he finished outside
he could make some more food for Skeppy, something that didn’t require utensils. And if that
was going to happen, he needed to collect some ingredients.

Chapter End Notes

Skeppy is basically coming down from the adrenaline rush of the panic attack (and
overall being kidnapped) so his exhausted body was more than happy with falling asleep
on Bad's bed, consequences be damned. Don't let Skeppy fool you, he's not going to be
waking up in an hour.

I like to imagine Bad's room as his 'safe spot' yet again due to demon heritage. In the
Nether falling asleep is quite a tricky process (with humans not even being able to do it)
and it leaves one quite vulnerable in a hostile world. So for demon's their bed is almost
treated as treasure, hidden so well that no one can find it and kill it's occupant. In fact
demon's would even gather some of their most valuable possessions near their bed just
due to how secure the area is (something you'll see applied to the story). Since I imagine
the beds in the Nether as quite sparse/rickety due to lack of materials, I'd like to think
that Bad went all out when constructing his bed in the Overworld since he actually had
materials to use/decorate with.

Bad has conflicted feelings over his claws (over quite a bit of his physiology in fact). In
the Nether all 'animals' have quite tough skin to deal with the extreme
temperatures/environment so his claws wouldn't damage anything if he pet it. This is not
the case in the Overworld. And so he devised a kit to trim his nails down to where he
didn't injure anything by touching it. Over time however, he learned how to be more
careful and eventually stopped filing down his nails entirely. It also helps that Rat
naturally has a thick pelt so he doesn't have to constantly worry over accidentally
nicking her (and even if that was to happen she would know it was by accident and
wouldn't react).

There's also a slight callback to an earlier chapter!

Hmm, a dish that doesn't need utensils. Whatever could Bad be making?
 Quit 'Horsing' Around
Chapter Summary

A bit of filler?
A bit of lore?
Who knows at this point?

Chapter Notes

I basically wrote this entire chapter in one day because I have 🌟issues!🌟
I also listened to the CG5 song 'Muffin' a million times while writing. Bad and Skeppy
actually sing in it so go listen to it right now!

Well here we are people of Earth at chapter 13 of this...interesting story. With more than
900 hits right now I wonder if this chapter will push me into the four digits. How ironic
that an unlucky number would result in an important story milestone.

Back to reality though, you guys have been an amazing audience so far. It's been
amazing to see the reception of every chapter and to watch the hits/kudos/comments
number go up. I doubt that a lot of you guys read the notes but I honestly appreciate you
guys liking the story so far (and torturing a few of you guys along the way *cough
WriterGreenReads cough*)

Sorry if my random uploading schedule is hard to follow along with, I'm trying to make
something more concrete :)

More story comments are at the end!

Bake some muffins and hydrate!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Bad doesn’t know how long he spends outside, trying to think of every excuse he can to draw
out time before he has to re-enter his home. He doesn’t want to freak Skeppy out again, so he
might as well give the human some space and lots of time to figure things out and calm down
from his panic attack. Then, once Bad comes back he can make a dish that is sure to knock
Skeppy’s socks off and make him realize that Bad truly wanted to be his friend and didn’t
mean to scare him.
But now, many hours later, he has to come to an inevitable conclusion about his plan.

“I have no idea what to make.” Bad confides, looking down at Rat.

The duo were standing in the garden, Bad carefully perusing through his crops as his mind
tried to settle on a dish to make Skeppy. Which in all honesty, was a lot harder than the
demon thought it would be. So far his ingredient basket only had some fresh eggs to replace
the ones he had used earlier.

It wasn’t the idea of baking that scared Bad. In fact it was probably one of his favorite
activities. No, it was the fact that he was baking for someone else that made him nervous.
Someone that he more or less kidnapped and forced to become his friend and as a result,
knew nothing about their eating habits.

Skeppy had said that he was okay with steak, but obviously did not enjoy Bad trying to give
him a knife. So to be on the safe side, Bad should avoid utensils entirely until he could
determine Skeppy’s comfort zone. But what about allergies? Or simply the foods that Skeppy
wasn’t a fan of?

Back on the mountaintop, with Skeppy in his arms, Bad couldn’t help but notice the human’s
rather lean frame. Not necessarily starved, but with a diet that seemingly consists of baked
goods, Skeppy could definitely use a little more meat on his bones. Why was he so thin in the
first place? Even back at the house, before Skeppy had panicked he had seemed daunted by
the plate Bad had given him, as if he couldn’t believe it was for him.

Skeppy obviously liked food you’d find in a bakery. But simple bread seemed too basic. And
Bad didn’t want to risk stressing Skeppy out with more cutlery. So the item had to be stand
alone. And rather hearty to keep Skeppy full. It also had to smell good or else Skeppy would
probably refuse it.

He can’t risk stressing Skeppy out anymore, the human had been through more than enough
in Bad’s opinion. It was up to Bad to play it safe and make sure he made something Skeppy
was sure to enjoy.
But as Bad surveys his garden he can’t help but feel frustrated in not knowing what that thing
is.

Bad’s musings were interrupted by the sound of a soft whinny coming from the edge of the
clearing. Lifting his gaze, he feels a smile break across his face as he notices the horse
watching from the treeline.

The horse has a broad stature, with well muscled limbs and smooth, almost polished hooves
that are undoubtedly sharp enough to do damage to any unfortunate mob. Compared to the
chocolatey brown, almost black appearance of its mane and tail, the rest of the horse's body is
more of a warm brown, with a creamy white coloring the front of its face and lower legs.

“Hi Roberto.” Bad greets, tilting his head in acknowledgement of the horse.

The horse huffs in mock-annoyance, entering the clearing in a straight beeline towards the
demon. It paces around the front of the fence bordering the garden, tail swishing left and
right. With such a strong physique, Bad knows that Roberto would have no issues bulldozing
through the flimsy wood, and is touched that the horse holds some semblance of care for his
structures.

Of course, Rat is nothing like Roberto, opting to leap over the fence while paying no heed to
the scratch marks her claws leave in the process.

She crouches in front of the steed, lowering into a front legged bow upon seeing her big
friend. Roberto switches his gaze from Bad to the wolf, lowering his massive head in order to
nose at her scruff in a rough imitation of head patting.

Bad can feel his smile broaden as he follows in Rat’s wake, easily stepping over the fence in
order to start stroking the horse's neck. It’s ears lower contentedly and Roberto practically
leans into Bad’s hand, nickering happily at the attention. Bad just laughs at the behavior,
using Roberto’s new position to better scratch behind the steed’s ears.
“Hey Roberto.” Bad teases gently, “You know if you missed me that much you could come
more often.”

Bad’s pretty sure Roberto rolls his eyes at the comment, the horse tugging away from Bad’s
affections to instead refocus on Rat.

Bad smiles as he watches the two interact, never getting tired of seeing how they work
around such an extreme size difference. While it is true that Rat can never give Roberto head
scratches, she always tries to make up for it by giving him all the play time the horse could
want. And it helped that Bad was there to make sure both animals got enough attention to
keep them happy.

In all honesty, before Bad had come to live in the Overworld, he didn’t really know what
horses were. Before he had left the Nether he had tried to read every book there was on what
life was like in the Overworld, trying to make sense about what his new home would be like.
One of the books he managed to read was dedicated to farming, with careful analysis on what
one would need in order to become a successful farmer. While most of the book focused on
crops, Bad remembers reading a small section devoted to farm animals where he had found a
note and rather simple drawing on the uses of a horse.

It turns out, as Bad had come to learn, the book in the Nether did little to capture just how
beautiful horses truly are.

He hadn’t even meant to find Roberto, only coming across the steed halfway through his
project to clear out a section of trees to make room for animals. And there the horse stood,
grazing at the tall grass that once surrounded the now fallen trees. When it had noticed it had
an audience, the horse had merely raised its head, no fear behind the eyes that stared at the
demon. It had seemed familiar to the demon, the whole encounter reminding him slightly of
how he came to meet Rat.

And when Bad returned to his home later that day, he wasn’t too surprised to find that the
horse had followed him. Even though he tried to shoo it away, the horse remained steadfast in
staying close to the demon’s home (it also helped that Bad didn’t actually want the horse to
leave). And so he accepted the fact that he had a new animal friend now, and that said animal
needed a name. After a few brainstorming sessions Bad had finally offered the name Roberto,
and the horse, as if in acceptance, seemed to nod its head.
Once he had set his animal area up he had offered the horse an area to itself, or even a stable
to sleep in. But when Roberto had decidedly shaken its head in what could’ve only been a No
Bad decided to drop the idea entirely. Instead Roberto seemed content to wander around the
forest surrounding Bad’s home, emerging whenever he wanted attention from either the
demon or Rat. And in return, if Bad ever needed Roberto for anything, the horse seemed
more than happy to follow along with Bad’s idea of using a low whistle as a sort of
summons.

Bad glances back at the garden, eyes landing on a few apple trees he has tucked away from
where Roberto can reach them. While the horse's attention is distracted, Bad quickly re-enters
the garden and heads over to the trees, peering into the dense leaves to check for fruit. With
practiced movement Bad reached into the branches, deftly plucking a few already red apples
from the tree, making sure not to puncture the delicate skin with his claws.

Fruit in hand, he trots back towards Roberto, the horse already watching his approach after it
had noticed the apples being picked. Bad extends an apple to the horse, making sure to keep
his hand flat for easy access.

“Want a treat bud?”

And just like that the apple is gone, the soft hairs decorating Roberto’s snout brushing against
Bad’s palm as the fruit is carefully eaten from his hand. Roberto continues to prod Bad’s
hand though, no doubt noticing the extra fruit the demon has.

Any other time Bad probably would’ve given the horse some more apples, knowing how
much he enjoys them. But handling the fruit sparked a reminder of a dish he was quite
familiar with. And one that answered his problem on what to feed Skeppy.

“Sorry Roberto.” Bad apologized, giving the horse a few more pats as a way of compromise.
“But I need these to bake.” The horse snorts, playfully throwing his head to show he wasn’t
actually angry. Bad smiles and hugs the horse with one arm, making sure to keep the apples
out of eating range for Roberto. He can feel Roberto leaning into the embrace, his neck
gently pushing into the hug. After a minute or two, Bad slides his arm off Roberto’s neck and
gives it a final pet.
Seemingly having enough affection for one day, Roberto turns away and begins walking back
into the forest, probably planning to return the next day. Bad watches him leave, not moving
from his spot until the last of the treeline obscures the horse from view. Rat lets out a single
whine from her spot at Bad’s feet, obviously sad to see her friend go.

“We’ll see him soon.” Bad promises, reaching down to pat her head. “But in the meantime
we have other friends to be focusing on.”

At the reminder Rat leaps to her feet and dashes back towards the house. Bad makes sure to
deposit the apples in his ingredient basket before once again leaving the garden and following
the path back to the house, making sure to check that the bird feeders are full before entering.

Bad quietly enters his house, not wanting to scare Skeppy with a big racket. As he surveys
the area however, Bad can feel his heart clench as his eyes immediately zero in on the plates
of untouched food with no Skeppy in sight. He didn’t run did he?

As if noticing Bad’s panic, Rat immediately heads towards the door that leads towards the
other part of the house. A door that was closed when Bad had left earlier. Taking her cue Bad
follows, entering the hallway to stand before his room’s door.

He slowly opens the door and peeks in, shoulders slumping in relief when he sees Skeppy
asleep on his bed.

So Skeppy had decided to take Bad up on his offer.

Taking no heed of the room’s occupant, Rat goes through the open door before Bad can close
it. She crouches at the foot of the bed, obviously getting ready to jump on top of the blankets.
In a near panic Bad quickly runs into the room, trying his best to be quiet as he scoops Rat off
the floor. Ignoring the wolf currently wiggling in his hands, Bad holds his breath as he
watches for any signs of movement from Skeppy.

After a few seconds of alarm, Bad relaxes as Skeppy makes no apparent signs he knew the
demon was accidentally watching him sleep. “Not funny,” he chides Rat who simply looks
back at him with an expression that says ‘Yes it was.’
 Now that he was closer, Bad couldn’t help but notice a blanket Skeppy must’ve kicked off in
his sleep. Cradling Rat under one arm, he carefully inches his way towards Skeppy and re-
tucks the blanket on top of him, smiling at how the human relaxes under the warm quilt.

He should make one for Skeppy too.

The idea of making Skeppy something reminds Bad of his true plan and he quickly exits the
room, making sure his steps don’t make any sound.

Bad heads back towards the kitchen, the guilt he had earlier quickly returning as he saw the
now cold food left on the table. While his plate was relatively bare from what he had eaten,
Skeppy’s plate remained untouched.

With a sigh Bad combined the two plates into one and set it on the floor for Rat to enjoy.
While he wasn’t normally so giving with treats, he felt that Rat deserved something for not
trying to scare Skeppy off.

Collecting his basket Bad heads over to the cabinets and begins to pull out multiple
ingredients and bowls. He was surprised he hadn’t thought of this dish earlier when debating
what to make. Judging by what he had seen Skeppy buy from the bakery, there shouldn’t be
anything that the human could have problems with. And with apples in season, now was the
perfect time to make something nice and hearty like this.

As Bad surveys the collected ingredients he nods, self satisfied with his decision. With quick
movements he rolls his sleeves up to his elbows before crossing over to the sink to wash both
his hands and the apples. After making sure the apples were fully clean, he steps back over to
the table where everything awaits.

It was time to make some apple muffins.

Chapter End Notes

I forgot what Roberto looked like in game so now my search bar is full of BBH searches
that turned up nothing but pedigree stuff. ¯\_ (ツ)_/¯

I know that horses and wolves/dogs can be tricky when it comes to making friends but I
like to imagine that both animals have something 'special' about them that makes them
great friends (And it helps that Bad's there to make sure they play nice).

There have been a lot of comments about Rat being the only 'non-disaster' and I have to
agree with that idea. After all, Rat is able to take on more of an observers role in this
story but is also really good at manipulating things to go a certain way (yes she knew
what she was doing when she went into the room).

I liked the idea of Bad making apple muffins for a few reasons.
1. It's Bad, of course muffins are going to show up.
2. Right now in the story Fall is kind of taking over so apples would be in season.
3. Skeppy has been shown to be comfortable with baked goods.
4. Apple muffins are good when made right (lemon poppy seed are probably the best
though)

To celebrate getting this far, if you guys have any questions leave them in the comments
and I may answer them :)
 Muffins and Tea
Chapter Summary

A bit of filler that'll build into some big angst!!! >:)

Chapter Notes

1000 hits I can't believe it!!! 🥳

Big thanks to all of my lovely audience for getting me this far, and I hope that you guys
have enjoyed the story.

This chapter may seem a little short but that was because I had to cut the next chapter in
half due to how long it was taking. While this story is more sweet fluff coming from
Bad's perspective I can neither confirm nor deny that the next chapter will be interesting.

I love reading the comments you guys have on the story (and I can always expect one
from you WriterGreenReads) and it's been fun to watch you guys try to figure out the
story line. I do have a rough outline so bear with me if some things seem out of place, I
do try to hint at things in different chapters.

More story comments are at the end!

Go outside and eat a cookie!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Bad delicately pulls the two muffin trays from the oven, using his tail to close the door as he
sets the pans onto the counter. Even though they’d just come out of the furnace he wastes no
time in removing the baked goods from their metal confines, using his long nails to gently lift
them from the tray before setting them down to cool quicker.

As he surveys his product Bad can’t resist a small shake of excitement as he marvels at how
well the batch came out. A perfectly golden brown, chunks of apple poking through the top,
all uniform and practically standing at attention.

They're probably the best ones he’s made yet.

He just hopes Skeppy likes them.

Bad frowns slightly at the reminder of who he made the muffins for, overwhelming guilt
washing over him.

It had been a while since he had last checked in on Skeppy after arriving home, with enough
time having passed that the sun was already starting to lower. It worries him that Skeppy has
been asleep for so long, far surpassing the amount of time he had spent when Bad had
magicked him unconscious.

He had seen the bags under the human eyes, noticed the way he had wobbled when standing
in the kitchen. Skeppy had shivered on the mountaintop and Bad wondered if part of it was
due to the human’s own exhaustion. Of course, the thin clothes he had on didn’t help.

Did Skeppy take care of himself? Back in the village Bad got the impression that Skeppy
didn’t seem much for looking after himself, never trying to make extra money to afford
anything other than simple breads from the bakery. And when he wasn’t at the market he was
at his house, hiding himself away from the rest of his village. Never going out except at
night, when the rest of the villagers locked themselves away.

But Bad would never forget the hostile stares Skeppy received when he tried to sell his
materials. Or the way people avoided the human at all costs.

Maybe there was a reason why Skeppy only came out when everyone had gone in.

Bad hums under his breath, resisting the urge to let it morph into a growl. He can’t do this
now, he can’t be like this now. Skeppy is his friend and as such, Bad is going to make sure
that Skeppy starts to take care of himself, even if the demon has to do it himself.

Bad turns to look at the plate of leftovers he had set aside for Rat. Finding it practically
licked clean he smiles before leaning over to pick it off the ground, wincing with an
involuntary hiss of pain as his sore wings shift against his back.
He had felt it earlier, when he was about to land by his house. There had been a tension
between them, like a wire about to snap. Bad had to be careful when he landed, having to go
for a slower glide in order to avoid putting extra strain on them. And when he had leaned
against the door outside his wings had made sure to issue a complaint as they hit the wood.

He’d been overusing them.

Bad rolls his eyes at the dramatic appendages, not for the first time wishing he had been a
demon born without wings. Depositing the plate into the sink he begins rifling through his
cabinets, trying to be quiet to avoid waking Skeppy. He finally removes a well used copper
tea kettle from the cabinet and turns the stovetop on before filling the contraption with water
and placing it onto the hot eye.

As the water slowly begins to boil Bad finds himself a large mug that he sets onto the counter
before leaving the room. Practically on tiptoe he heads through the living room door and into
the hallway that connects to his room. Rather than enter that area and risk waking Skeppy up
however, Bad chooses to enter the door on the right, beelining towards an open cabinet full of
potions while ignoring the rest of the room.

As his fingers dance over the selection before him, Bad gives his wings a slow flex to see just
how sore they are. Releasing now gritted teeth, Bad eventually selects a health potion sitting
towards the front of the collection, giving a self-satisfied nod at his choice. And then he
departs, making sure to close both doors behind him as he once again heads towards the
kitchen, potion now in hand.

Pressing his hand experimentally against the kettle, Bad deems it hot enough for tea and
quickly fills his mug with the now boiling water. Grabbing a jar from the counter, Bad adds a
quick scoop of tea leaves to the mug to begin steeping. As an afterthought he also snags an
apple muffin with his tail, making sure not to squeeze it too hard or else risk getting crumbs
all over the floor.

Not that Rat would mind.

Items in hand (and tail) Bad heads towards the living room, making sure to not drop any of
his evening snacks. Rat raises her head up from where she lays on the couch, no doubt
planning to sleep off the food she had eaten, and taking the hint, Bad settles down next to her,
making sure to leave an entire cushion for the tiny wolf. Before he fully relaxes however, Bad
sets the tea and muffin onto the table, uncorking the potion with his now free hands. As he
gently swirls the red mixture around the bottle Bad experimentally takes a small sip.

Though he can instantly feel his wings loosen thanks to the potions effects, Bad’s face screws
up as the sickly sweet taste cascades over his tongue.

Gosh, why were health potions so sweet? Well it was probably the glistening melon and
glowstone dust. But still, blech .

Resisting the urge to wipe his tongue on his sleeve, Bad adds a few drops of the potion to his
tea, using a finger to gently mix the contents before taking a small sip. Though the sweetness
of the potion still remains, all it does is uplift the tea while still helping to heal Bad’s sore
wing muscles. Returning the potion to the table, Bad readjust so that he has his tea in one
hand, and the muffin in the other.

With a sigh of contentment Bad settles against the couch cushion. Once the muffin is gone he
can simply read a book to pass the time. Then, when Skeppy wakes up he can show the
human the peace offering he had made for him and then they can sit down and talk. Maybe he
can give Skeppy a tour of the outside!

“Well,” Bad says aloud, eyes darting to look outside the now darkening world, “the tour may
have to wait till tomorrow.”

With a tired sigh of disinterested agreement, Rat repositions herself on the couch, too full to
even ask Bad for a bit of his food. Bad smiles to himself, taking another sip of tea before
trying a bite of the muffin. He’s surprised how pleasant it tastes, the apple perfectly soft with
spices that warm the demon up from the inside.

Humming with happiness, Bad reclines against the couch. Yeah, things are going to be better
from now on.
Chapter End Notes

So, Bad and Skeppy have quite different perspectives on one another. Bad is more more
concerned with helping his new friend while Skeppy just wants to leave (and don't call
them friends!)

Bad has actually had sore wings for the past few chapters (with Skeppy first taking note
in Bad's hesitation when they got to his house). Bad is not one to use his wings regularly
for a few reasons so they aren't in the best condition. He's dealt with them being hurt
before though, so he knows what to do :)

The room Bad gets his potion from is referred to as the 'Craft Room' (kind of self-
explanatory) and will get a more in depth description later.

I literally researched the different Minecraft potions that the player can make (you'll see
why soon) and eventually decided on the Instant Health II potion which is made with
glistening melon and glowstone so I like to imagine it as extremely sweet, hence why
Bad adds it to tea to make it palatable.

Also, DO NOT TOUCH A KETTLE IN USE. Bad is a demon and as such, has heat
resistance so he can remove trays from the oven without mitts and can stick his fingers
into boiling hot water and feel fine. YOU ARE NOT BAD.
 Bad Memories
Chapter Summary

A Skeppy centered chapter that turns DARK!!!

There are warnings in the notes!

Chapter Notes

Hello everybody and welcome back to another chapter dedicated to some good old
angst!

Before I get into things I will say that this chapter has a few warnings:
There is a panic attack.
There is a self-inflicted injury (nothing awful though, basically a flesh wound).
There are self-deprecating thoughts.
And an animal is semi-hurt, though not who you'd think.

If you guys remember back to the last chapter I commented on how I had to cut it in
half, WELL NOW YOU SEE WHY!
This chapter was quite fun for me to write as I enjoy writing about things going dark
(poor Skeppy can't catch a break can he?)
I hit 1100 hits today so a big thank you to all of my readers! Hope I'm catching you with
every twist and turn :)

More story comments are at the end!

Stay safe everyone (especially those in Florida)!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Compared to the way that Skeppy had jolted to consciousness back at the cave, this
awakening was a lot slower in its arrival, the human content to merely melt into the blankets
and pillows surrounding his still form. But all good things must come to an end, and several
hours after Skeppy’s intended wake-up time, he begins to edge himself from the realm of
sleep.
The world is…fuzzy as Skeppy wakes, the surrounding environment muddled into a
confusing display of colors that swirl about like a demented kaleidoscope. Skeppy grumbles
into his pillow, smushing his face into the cushion in an attempt to block out the view. That
is, until he realizes this isn’t his pillow. And he’s never owned this many blankets.

As the pieces fall into place Skeppy face plants into the pillow and lets out a sigh he has to
keep from morphing into a scream. Right. His demon kidnapper Bad, having a panic attack,
and having a quick nap. How could he forget?

Though as Skeppy raises his head to look around the room, he realizes he’s had more than a
quick nap.

While the sky outside has not turned the near black that only comes with night time, what
was once baby blue has now shifted to a deeper, more vibrant dark blue. Both sunlight and
moonbeams vie for space as they stream through a previously unnoticed window, casting a
soft light onto Skeppy and the bed. While normally the quiet gray and black of night would
be a welcome contrast to the hectic yellow sun and blue skies of morning, right now it only
serves to tell Skeppy he screwed up. He should have left when the demon was ‘out’ but it had
to be back by now. Skeppy groans as he rises from the sheets, rubbing the grit from his eyes
before cracking them open again.

“Shit.” he mutters under his breath, eyes darting about to take inventory of the room he was
in.

The room is dimly lit, with the few basic candles dotted around providing even less light than
the rapidly decaying sunset. Besides the occasional obvious shape of something like a dresser
or table Skeppy has no real way of knowing what fills the room. Unless he were to go poking
around.

Poking around the room of a demon that would have no issue with killing him. Of toying
with him. Tearing into flesh, taking whatever it wants heedless of his screams.

Would it merely ignore his anguish or get a perverted sense of satisfaction from his pain?
Pushing him until he just snapped, becoming a broken plaything to eventually be ignored and
discarded. It had no obligation to Skeppy, in fact the demon held all the cards. Skeppy was
weak, Skeppy was useless, Skeppy was-

get out get out get out Get out Get out Get out GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT!

Skeppy is ripped from his thoughts with a pained scream, the sound only quieted by the
forearm currently being clenched beneath his teeth.

His forearm.

Skeppy’s chest heaves for breath, his heart thundering as if trying to escape as well. But it
can’t, Skeppy can’t , they’re both prisoners confined in ways they never wanted. Pain shoots
up Skeppy’s arm and he’s dimly aware of the rotten taste of blood slowly filling his mouth,
skin inevitably giving way to Skeppy’s desperation to focus himself. To stop himself from
drifting.

You may think it’s okay. To forget your problems, if only for a little while. But you always
have to come back. And when you do your problems will be there, waiting for you. Only this
time they’ll be more prepared to make you hurt.

That’s right, ignored problems will only hurt for longer. Skeppy was better off enduring pain
now to avoid pain later. With a snarl aimed towards himself, Skeppy extracts his arm from
between his teeth, trying to ignore the blood bubbling up from the gashes left behind. He is
fine, this at least, is fixable.

On second thought Skeppy will respect the demon’s personal space.

Choosing to halt his examination of the room, Skeppy slides off the bed to put on his shoes,
resolving himself to not even acknowledge his now throbbing right arm. Even with his new
footwear, Skeppy’s steps are silent as he carefully edges out of the demon’s room and heads
back to the main area, choosing to leave the doors slightly ajar rather than risk slamming one.
As Skeppy passes through the second door he immediately tenses upon seeing Bad on the
couch, the demon lightly humming to itself while absentmindedly petting its canine
companion. Bad seems unaware of him however, continuing to focus on something in front
of it, though Skeppy has no idea what has captured the demon’s attention.

The demon . The one who made all of this happen.

Skeppy wasn’t sure how to process the fact that demons were real. That the creatures only
talked about in stories and legends were in fact based on real beings. And if demons were real
what else was true? Were there really mobs whose sole purpose was to explode in the hopes
of taking you with them? Skeppy still thought that story was childish, even with an actual
demon mere feet from him. Such a creature's existence seemed too random and accidental to
exist in the Overworld.

Probably. Skeppy’s doubts have been proven wrong after all. Having a demon suddenly
kidnap you in the middle of the night has a habit of making you keep an open mind when it
comes to what is real or not.

Skeppy finds himself staring, unsure what to do. He finds his gaze darting to his bag hung by
the door, one of the only things he truly values. Slowly he begins to edge towards the door,
eyes glued on the demon before him.

If he got that he could run, he could escape this hell-

The demon’s humming comes to an abrupt end as it seems to sense it is no longer alone. It
whips its head over its shoulder and immediately locks eyes with Skeppy, who is halfway to
the door.

Skeppy freezes, bracing for the demon to do something . Punish him for sleeping so long, yell
at him for the earlier freak out, maybe even attack him before he can run away. But Bad does
none of these things. Rather, it seems surprised to see Skeppy, and a little confused?

The duo stare at each other for a few seconds, both caught off guard by one another. Bad
cocks its head as it surveys Skeppy. Then, almost hesitantly it breaks the silence.
“Hey Skeppy? Are you…bleeding?”

Skeppy finds himself fumbling for an answer, dimly aware of the blood starting to flow down
his arm, sluggishly leaving a thin red trail stemming from the bite mark his teeth had left.
Shit , why didn’t he try to hide his wound? He should’ve known that the house's occupants
could smell blood. Well the wolf could at least, and Skeppy wouldn’t doubt that the demon
could too.

“I, um.” Skeppy stammers, inwardly cringing as the shakiness of his voice, “hurt myself. So
I’m gonna wash the cut.”

He nods towards the kitchen, whose entryway is right by the door leading to the outside.
That’s right, convince the demon he wasn’t trying to escape. Make it think he was going to
the sink in the kitchen. Lull it into a false sense of security. And then escape.

Skeppy has a plan, Skeppy has a plan.

“So I’m going to the kitchen.” Skeppy offers lamely, already trying to edge away from the
demon’s line of sight. He was almost free, just had to keep the charade up a little longer. Just
had to be a demon’s friend a little longer.

“Oh, wait, before you do.” Bad offers, swiveling its position on the couch to swipe something
from the table that sits before it. Smiling proudly, the demon offers Skeppy a bottle. A bottle,
half full with a blood red liquid .

Skeppy can feel himself pale as his eyes land on the bottle’s contents. So he was right, the
demon didn’t want a friend, it wanted a living blood pack . Skeppy was livestock, only here
for the demon to feast on.

The world bears down on Skeppy, the air suffocating him from the inside out. Skeppy can
feel his chest tightening, body begging for air that his lungs refuse to breathe. He- he needs to
get out. Needs to run. Hide. Not safe, never safe, get out, GET OUT!
His thoughts are becoming too much. He should have listened, should have never left the
village…

GET OUT!

And so Skeppy does, bolting for the door, fingers barely grasping onto his bag before
grabbing the doorknob. He thinks Bad may cry out in alarm but it’s too late, the human is
already out the door before Bad can even rise from the couch.

And then Skeppy runs .

He quickly bolts towards the forest, not risking a single glance to the house behind him as he
slides his bag onto his shoulder. Thankful for remembering his shoes, Skeppy stumbles
through the treeline, barely managing to stop himself from tripping on the rough forest floor.
Branches scratch at his arms, leaves making the ground slippery as Skeppy runs with no
sense of direction. Hearing a door slam behind him, a distant shout calling his name, only
makes him run faster, panic making him numb to his burning legs as he quickened his pace.

It’s completely dark now, whatever remnants of sunset long gone in the time it took Skeppy
to leave Bad’s house. Skeppy can’t see two feet in front of him, much less know where he is
going but he doesn’t have time to worry about that now. So long as he isn’t in the demon’s
clutches he is happy. And with the ‘magical key’ in his wrist, Skeppy doesn’t even need to
worry about getting caught in the demon’s stupid spell.

He only has to avoid getting caught.

Skeppy hears more shouts behind him but doesn’t know what the demon is saying, the noise
quiet over the blood pounding in his ears. He veers right and left, trying to create a path the
demon can’t follow. He almost crashes head first into a few trees but refuses to slow, to
chance anything in his attempt to get away.
He doesn’t know how long he keeps moving. It’s only when the calls go quiet does Skeppy
slow his run, acknowledging his abused lungs with great heaving pants, while staying on high
alert. As he steps foot into a small clearing Skeppy finally stops moving, body ready to
collapse as he leans against a tree to steady his breathing.

His legs feel weak, his lungs are practically shot, and his heart is thundering in his chest, but
he isn’t done. As soon as he catches his breath he can start running again. Then he just has to
wait till morning, when he can get a better idea about where he is and how to get back to the
village.

Then, he can forget all about this little nightmare.

Skeppy adjusts the bag on his shoulder, trying to quell the dread he can feel pool in his
stomach. He shouldn’t be scared, the danger is gone, downgraded to mere background noise
that he only has to keep from getting louder. With a shaky sigh Skeppy turns away from
where he came. Ignoring his wobbly legs he braces himself to start running, hopefully in the
right direction.

And then a twig snaps behind him.

His breath hitches and his muscles freeze, eyes widening as Skeppy’s remembers that the
demon won’t be the only one looking for him. The fear in his gut spreads through his entire
body, feeling goosebumps go down his arms from both the cold night air and the panic he can
feel trying to burst from his throat as a scream.

Slowly, Skeppy turns to face the sound, a jittery paralysis keeping him temporarily in place
despite his thoughts screaming at him to run.

Red eyes watch him from the shadows, never wavering even after he notices them.

He had forgotten all about the demon’s little friend .

“Fuck off Rat!” Skeppy screams out, the panic in his voice practically palpable. He should’ve
expected this. He knew the wolf was fast, and with the blood on his arm he practically laid a
trail for the canine to follow. “I’m not going back!”

Still, the gaze remains fixed on him.

“Skeppy!” The demon calls and fuck, Skeppy can actually hear it now. The wolf must’ve led
it straight to him. Skeppy quickly crouches and grabs a rock from the ground, shifting his
body into a throwing position, aiming for between those red eyes.

“Go back to your master. ” Skeppy practically spits, fingers clenching tightly around the
stone. He won’t go back. He can’t go back. He refuses to become a captive again. And if the
demon thinks otherwise, he’ll make sure to go down kicking and screaming.

The eyes don’t leave. They don’t even blink. The passive reaction only serves to anger
Skeppy, a bright flare of red that kicks him into action.

“I said, GO AWAY!!!”

Skeppy throws the rock with deadly accuracy, the projectile set on a collision course for the
head that belongs to those red eyes. With any luck, he’ll knock out the wolf and the demon
will be too busy taking care of its precious Rat that it won’t care about Skeppy.

But when the rock finally makes contact, it doesn’t create a yelp of pain that you’d expect
from a wolf.

Instead there’s a hiss of anger.

And from the bushes, emerges a giant spider, red eyes now blazing with fury and a noticeable
dent on its forehead.
Chapter End Notes

Wow, so stuff has happened...

First, I commented on the last chapter about how I literally researched Minecraft
potions. Well... the reason I chose Instant Heath II potions was due to their darker red
color in order to pass the liquid off as blood.
There are also certain callback to other chapters, like the spell cast on Skeppy to allow
him to enter the 'security' field Bad had made, as well as Skeppy's bag that he had when
Bad kidnapped him.
And the creature Skeppy views as 'accidental' is indeed a creeper, whose entire existence
was due to Notch accidentally messing up making a pig, so there is a small Easter egg
there.

Skeppy using pain to stop the dissociating that came with reliving memories and while
they are based off certain truths, DO NOT COPY HIM. It's better to use other senses
such as touch and smell to ground yourself, but Skeppy used pain because he knows it
will work and he had nothing else to use. He's gotten rather good at blocking out certain
parts of his senses, as seen by ignoring the pain from slamming against trees and
'masking' the fact that he had a panic attack in front of Bad.

Let's just say he's had a lot of practice in that field.

I also chose to have Skeppy encounter a spider due to their red eyes in game, eyes that
are rather similar to an aggroed wolf *cough Rat cough* and the fact they don't attack
the player until it's dark/they've been attacked.

The next chapter will be an interesting one >:)

Don't forget to comment what you think! (And I can't wait to see what you have to say
about this one WriterGreenReads)
 Mistakes Have Been Made
Chapter Summary

What happens if you accidentally attack a spider?

Well Skeppy's about to find out.

Chapter Notes

*Enters with a plate of chocolate chip cookies*

🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪
Well hi guys, it's definitely been more than a week hasn't it? As an apology for leaving a
cliffhanger for so long everyone gets a cookie! (please don't kill me)

We good now? Alright, back to business.

Before I get into things I will say that this chapter gets rather violent on poor Skeppy.
He gets attacked multiple times.
Blood is splashed on him.
And there are some semi-suicidal thoughts if you reeeeally squint your eyes.

So here we are, chapter 16 where things are starting to get interesting. This chapter was
an interesting one to write due to me looking up things in order to be semi-game
accurate. Of course, it is also more gory than other chapters so make sure you read the
warnings. If anything affects you there will be a summary at the end notes. :)

I'm kind of surprised that I'm at more than 1250 hits. I wonder what it'll be like to look
back at these chapters in the future to see how far I've come. Of course, none of this
would've happened if it wasn't for you lovely readers. I really enjoyed how panicked
everyone got over the last chapter's cliffhanger. And yes, Bad and Skeppy are both dumb
asses when it comes to knowing each others wants/needs.

Sorry for the longer wait, all of this is done solely by myself so I don't have anyone
giving input or threatening to break my legs if I don't hurry up on a chapter.

More story comments are at the end!

Enjoy one of the provided cookies and drink some chocolate milk!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

The spider scuttles out from the foliage, red eyes practically blazing with rage as it targets the
person who hurt it. The hiss of anger from before is still present, growing louder and louder
as the arachnid advances towards Skeppy, whose body has decided now is a good time to
freeze up.

It’s so big . Nothing like the spiders at the village. The ones who were content with chilling in
the corners and eating flies. The ones Skeppy always tried to release when he found them in
his home, knowing what it’s like to be feared due to silly stories.

But this, this is nothing like the village. The spider bigger than Rat proves it.

Another hiss reaches Skeppy’s ears, the spider crouching as it moves in front of him. Skeppy
reacts without thinking, spinning to the side moments before the arachnid launches itself at
him, feeling the breeze as the creature barely misses its mark.

It lands deftly, quickly spinning to face him once again, not to be deterred by a simple miss.
Skeppy scans the forest floor, trying desperately to find some sort of weapon to at least
defend himself with. But the spider is shifting again, intent obvious as it aims towards
Skeppy. With a flash of inspiration Skeppy quickly shifts the bag from off his shoulder,
gripping its strap in his hands.

This time, when the spider leaps, it’s instantly knocked to the ground by a sack full of iron
being swung full force at its body. Before it’s able to right itself, Skeppy staggers backwards,
unintentionally colliding with a tree bordering the clearing. He turns, quickly spinning around
the obstacle before once again bolting into the forest.

Only this time, it’s not the demon he’s running from.

Skeppy stumbles at first, his worn legs not ready to begin work quite so soon. Gritting his
teeth, he urges himself to pick up the pace, pushing off of trees to gain speed as he runs.
Though it bought him valuable time, Skeppy finds himself mourning the loss of his bag, even
as his lungs burn for air and his brain screams to run faster. Adrenaline pumps through his
veins, the pain in his arm a dim memory as all of his focus is put into running . Away from
the spider, away from the demon, away from all of his problems.
But he of all people should know you can’t escape your problems.

Dimly, over the blood roaring in his ears, Skeppy can hear branches snapping above him.
Chancing a glance over his shoulder, Skeppy is just barely able to make out a shadowy figure
with red eyes leaping between the trees he passes by. Rather than sink into the leafy foliage,
the shadow seems to stick to them, allowing it to quickly catch up with the terrified human.

He can hear the hissing now, all aimed towards him. The spider’s legs tapping out a spine-
chilling rhythm as it works to keep Skeppy in its sights. He urges his legs forward but it’s no
use, he was already worn out from trying to escape the demon. He just had to go and piss off
a spider as well.

Skeppy suddenly trips over a fallen branch he didn’t see, too submerged in his thoughts to
notice the hidden obstacle before him. He falls to his knees, his hands digging into the rough
ground as he tries to stop himself from falling onto his face.

His breaths come out as fast puffs into the cool evening air, his body trying to adapt to the
sudden onslaught of movement and panic. Above him Skeppy can hear the spider let out
another hiss, almost sounding… disappointed ? He tries to get to his feet, tries to keep away
but suddenly there is movement above him, something bursting from the trees.

As Skeppy moves to rise suddenly his world fills with agony as two sharp fangs draw
themselves down the back of his left calf, scraping deep into his flesh .

A pained scream bursts from Skeppy’s throat, the human trying desperately to kick the spider
off of him as he falls forward. But the spider is gone, seemingly having vanished as soon as it
had bitten Skeppy. The only proof of its existence being the two lines of blood now flowing
from his leg.

Before this, Skeppy thought he could handle pain, thought it wouldn’t break him any more.
But this, this isn’t pain. This is agony . Every cell in his body seems to be screaming at once,
his nerves on fire as he tries to move. Tears are pouring down his face, mixing with the blood
oozing from his leg. Both soaking into the ground and leaving him behind.

It hurts. It really fucking hurts.

Skeppy tries to crawl, his left leg now dead weight as he forces his arms to pull himself
forward. To move. To do something .

But they won’t, his body too drained to do anything but flip himself over, allowing Skeppy to
gaze up at the forest by forcing his arms under him. Even that simple motion makes Skeppy
cry out weakly, the pain originating from his leg now canvasing across his entire body as it
comes in contact with the ground. Through blurry tears Skeppy scans his surroundings, trying
to figure out where his attacker had gone.

And there’s nothing, no hide nor hair of the spider that had been chasing Skeppy. It’s as if it
never happened.

And then Skeppy hears a twig snap, and gets reminded about how the spider followed him in
the first place.

It’s in the fucking trees.

Horrified, Skeppy tries to flip back onto his stomach but is quickly overwhelmed when the
spider launches itself from the foliage, crushing him back onto the ground with its clawed
legs pining his body as its fangs sink into the meat in his shoulder. He screams yet again,
feeling his own blood splash across his face as the spider only seems to bite deeper. Even the
act of screaming is painful, only serving to accelerate blood loss as the spider detaches itself
from his flesh and once again retreats to the safety of the trees.

Skeppy gasps for air, not realizing he had bitten his lip until he chokes on the metallic taste.
His new wound pulses with pain, every heartbeat making it more difficult to concentrate.
He’s practically shivering now, though he doesn’t know if it’s from fear or blood loss.
Probably both.
 Skeppy hears the spider’s footsteps edging towards him once again, this time electing to
simply creep up to him rather than go for a stealthy attack. The spider crawls onto his legs,
shredding his pants and his skin as it edges up his body. It stops right on his abdomen, as if
taking stock of the one who had hurt it. Its fangs are tinged with red, its entire body speckled
with Skeppy’s blood. The fact it was going to hurt him again made something in Skeppy
snap, allowing desperation to take control, if only for a moment.

“Bad help me!” Skeppy cries into the night, a deafening howl as he screams all the air out
from his lungs. The spider jolts in surprise, seemingly caught off guard by a still conscious
victim. It lunges towards his side, fangs easily slicing through the muscles between his ribs
and hip.

Skeppy would scream again, but he doesn’t have enough air. All he can do is let out a sob
that trails off into a gurgle, tears flowing down his face, leaving tracks in the drying blood
painting his features.

He thinks he hears his name, a call of some kind. Or maybe it's a growl. But he can’t answer,
can’t do anything. Even as his lungs fight for air, Skeppy can feel his breaths grow shallow,
the welcoming darkness rising to take him in. And as much as he would like to stave off its
hold, he can’t. He can’t hide the fact that he wants to go.

Skeppy allows his eyes to flutter shut, releasing even more tears as he accepts his fate. The
last threads of consciousness slip from his fingers, like sand from an unsteady hand. For
some reason Skeppy finds the comparison hilarious, for when had he ever seen sand? As the
world fades to black Skeppy takes one last look at the spider that brought about his downfall.

But he’s already gone by the time a white blur knocks it off his still form.

Chapter End Notes

Summary:
The spider tries to attack Skeppy and is eventually knocked aside by Skeppy's bag.
Using the distraction, Skeppy runs for it, not realizing that the spider can stick to
surfaces and thus can easily keep up with him. Skeppy trips and using the opportunity,
the spider attacks, eventually biting Skeppy twice (shoulder and side of abdomen) and
'scraping' down one of his legs. Skeppy, in a panic, screams for Bad's help but fades out
before he can see a white blur knock the spider off his still form.

Okay another cliffhanger, what fun!

I tried to make the spiders in this world mimic the ones in Minecraft so there is the
typical aggro stuff, the way it'll lunge if it gets close to the player, and the fact that it can
climb/stick to surfaces. Typically one bite is enough to knock something out, hence why
the spider had to keep coming back to bite Skeppy (but we'll get more into that later).

Also, I literally watched Minecraft Story Mode to watch how spiders interact in fights
and think I semi-nailed their actions. Them arachnids are big! Spiders in real life have
'claws' to help them with webs/hunting so I applied the same logic to this world's
spiders, hence why the spider walking on him shredded Skeppy's clothes and cut him up.

I think the next chapter will be Bad-focused for understandable reasons. Let's just hope
the demon can reach Skeppy in time. >:)

Don't forget to comments your thoughts! Sorry again for the cliffhanger!
 How Do I Fix This?
Chapter Summary

Bad things, many bad things.

Chapter Notes

*Sees you guys ate all the cookies. Brings in chocolate*

Okay, so it's been almost another two weeks since an update so here's some chocolate! I

🍫🍫🍫🍫🍫🍫🍫
really need to develop some kind of schedule...

Anyway, you guys remember the last chapter? With Skeppy getting absolutely
destroyed? Well things don't exactly improve for him in this chapter. But it's also from
the POV of Bad so I may be lying right now ¯\_ (ツ)_/¯

This chapter is also less gorey than the previous one, in that it's not someone getting
attacked (unless you count a spider) so that's a plus at least.

Here we are chapter 17, more than 1375 hits. What is reality? I only know the world of
'Diamonds and Demons.' Though it's not much of a world, at least for now. There will
definitely be some world building coming up though. You amazing readers just have to
be patient ;)

Sorry for the long wait, feel free to beat me up in the comments!

Eat the provided chocolate as you read, I made sure to make the chapter a long one.

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Bad was reading, nestled in the middle of his couch with Rat by his side, fingers idly running
through the wolf’s fur as he turned the pages of a worn tome he had already read countless
times. He could’ve looked for something ‘newer’ but didn’t want to risk disturbing the
sleeping human. Besides, Bad was only trying to burn time until Skeppy woke up.

But then hours had passed, the tea and muffin quickly vanishing as Bad waited. The space
around him had started to blur as he read, the letters on the page dancing together and
merging into each other as he turned the pages, painting a world of mystery and delight. As
he gently traces a beautiful illustration Bad finds himself humming absentmindedly, content
with the relative calm of the situation. Things were going to be better, he had made a promise
and he would make sure it was fulfilled.

The human was obviously scared of him, and Bad doesn’t blame Skeppy for feeling that way.
To be suddenly kidnapped in the night would make anyone terrified, and Bad’s appearance
(and reputation) wouldn’t help matters. But looking back on certain reactions, Bad can’t help
but feel off about Skeppy’s panic.

There’s a stark fear there, seen in the tightness of his shoulders and how he had flinched
when Bad made any sudden movements. But there was something else, a terror that seemed
to be tightly coiled throughout Skeppy’s entire being, springing out before quickly retracting
back into calm emptiness the moment it was caught. The facade that Skeppy had created after
his panic attack, the shame that had flashed across his face as Bad took in the shakiness of his
body as he tried to control himself.

It was like he felt guilty for troubling Bad, even when it was the demon’s own fault for
triggering Skeppy’s attack.

And there was something more. Something that seemed rehearsed about the human,
something that confused Bad, making him-

Rat straightens up under Bad’s hand, drawing the demon’s attention. Taking immediate stock
of his surroundings, Bad instantly notices the rusty smell of iron. Without thinking he swivels
his head, instinctively looking to see if anyone was sneaking up on him.

What he was not expecting was to see Skeppy frozen in place, looking at him with wide eyes
as he seems to be bracing for something. This is what Bad was talking about, the fact that
Skeppy seems to expect something to happen. For the demon to react in certain ways to the
human’s actions.

Skeppy blinks owlishly at the demon and Bad realizes that the duo has done nothing more
than stare at each other for a few moments. Hesitantly, not wanting to scare the human
further, Bad opens his mouth.
“Hey Skeppy? Are you…bleeding?”

The question made Skeppy fumble, eyes darting to their arm. “I, um hurt myself. So I’m
going to wash the cut.” Skeppy explained, “So I’m going to the kitchen.”

And that would’ve been the end of the discussion for Bad, but of course he was so eager to
help his friend he saw no issue with diverting Skeppy’s plans. So, he offered the human the
remains of the health potion he had used earlier, seeing no harm in helping the wound heal
instantly.

As soon as he saw Skeppy pale, Bad knew he screwed up.

Skeppy had bolted from the house, only taking time to grab his bag before slamming the door
behind him. Bad froze at the sudden movement, Skeppy practically vanishing before he could
do more than cry out in alarm. He rose from the couch quickly, but for every moment spent
putting down the potion bottle and maneuvering around a panicked Rat is a moment that
Skeppy gets further away. Away from a house of safety, and closer to a forest of death.

Bad burst from his house, slamming the door and screaming Skeppy’s name as Rat followed
from close behind. But the human is gone, already vanished into the thicket of trees that
surrounds the demon’s house. Still, Bad kept calling for the human as he ran to catch up, ears
swiveling as he tried to pinpoint the human's movements.

He should be able to catch up to Skeppy, his longer legs making up the distance in no time.
But with longer legs comes a bigger body, a body that collides with every branch in the way,
a height that has thick foliage blocking Bad’s vision. Skeppy has the advantage, he may not
know the forest like Bad but at least he can better maneuver in the dark, and has the
advantage of hearing the approaching demon and react accordingly.

Bad unintentionally collides head first with a large branch, the leafy limb falling to the
ground with a large crack as Bad steady’s himself against the very tree that made him pause.
He’ll be fine, he’s dealt with a lot worse before. But Skeppy…
“I’m sorry Skeppy!” Bad screams into the night, trying to alleviate whatever pain he may
have unintentionally inflicted on the human. He doesn’t know what he’s apologizing for,
doesn’t even know if the human can hear him, but he has to try.

But there is no answer, and Bad wants to scream.

That’s when Rat takes over, her small white form darting in front of Bad’s vision, the wolf
crouching as if sniffing the ground before looking back up at the demon, The blood. Skeppy’s
blood. Not something Bad can track, but perfect for a creature with an amazing sense of
smell and a body small enough to weave between any obstacle.

“Please Rat,” Bad begs the small canine. “Find him.”

And Rat is off like a shot, leaving Bad to chase after her as she zooms through the
overgrowth.

He doesn’t know how long they run, too focused on keeping track of Rat to notice his
surroundings until he hears something. A voice. And instantly he’s locked on the sound, his
ears straining for any more clues as to where Skeppy is.

“Skeppy!” Bad calls out, his panicked voice resounding through the trees. And there’s the
voice again, sounding clearer and more frightened .

The realization is enough to speed Bad even further, he and Rat bee-lining towards the voice
that is still so far away. Once they run into a small clearing Rat pauses in her pursuit however,
stopping by what appears to be an abandoned bag, laying all alone. Bad quickly crouches and
lifts the item to examine it, recognizing it as the bag Skeppy had grabbed before leaving the
demon’s house, the once brown leather now painted with a darkened smear. As Rat sniffs the
object, she growls, hackles rising and red eyes making their appearance as she recognizes the
scent. Confused, Bad rises to a standing position, unsure of why the human had left their bag
behind.

That is, until a pained scream echoes through the forest.

In that moment, all Bad can feel is pure horror. Finding the abandoned bag, Rat’s hostile
attitude, that scream… this isn’t good. Without thinking, Bad bolts towards the source of the
sound, bag clutched in his claws as he pays no heed to the obstacles that lay before him.

Though he knows what they mean, Bad wishes for more screams, more proof that the victim
is still alive. That he can find them and still be able to save them. He thinks he can hear
gasping now, the person’s desperate bid for air getting choked, making them panic even
more. Bad tries not to think about that, only on getting there even faster. Though he knows
it's ridiculous, Bad finds himself hoping that it isn’t Skeppy as the source of the screams.

Until he hears his name.

“Bad help me!” Skeppy’s voice screams into the night, a panicked cry that reverberates in
Bad’s ears. And the realization that it’s Skeppy calling for his help makes Bad lose all sense
of reasoning, the demon now in a full on sprint, Rat somehow maintaining her lead as they
both enter a clearing.

And then Bad sees it, a motionless figure with a large spider atop it, pinning its victim into
the ground as it seems to evaluate its next meal.

“Skeppy!” Bad cries out, running forward to free the human.

But Rat gets there first.

The wolf charges towards the spider with a growl, a white blur set on a collision course. As
soon as Rat makes impact the spider’s body explodes, chunks of gore and blue blood
splattering around the clearing. The spider's still alive head falls to the ground, and Rat
quickly returns to claim her prize, lifting it up and crushing its skull in her jaws.

Bad pays no attention to the wolf’s new plaything, running instead to the human now soaked
with the spider’s blood and flesh, throwing the bag down as he gets closer.
“Skeppy?” Bad practically whispers, quickly kneeling beside the fallen human, shaking
hands hovering over the still form as he tries to ignore the now squishy ground underneath
him. Skeppy doesn’t make a sound, not even a muffled groan as Bad’s fingers dance over his
injuries. Bad doesn’t know if that’s a good thing or not.

Even under the spider’s blood now painting his features, it's easy to see the jagged scratches
covering Skeppy’s body, probably from the spider leaping at him in an attempt to immobilize
him. Those are easy to deal with, deep but at least manageable.

Bad gets to work, quickly shredding bits of his cloak to serve as make-shift bandages. As he
covers every mark he begs the blood to slow. This isn’t a good place for healing, not with
dirty bandages, not when dirt can get into the wounds. He just needs to staunch the blood
long enough to get back home, once there he can use potions and actual stitches.

The slashes are long and leak enough to mix with the blood of the arachnids, turning part of
Skeppy a dark purple. Bad puts an arm around Skeppy’s midriff to elevate him and becomes
even more panicked when he feels blood seep into his cloak. Too much blood to come from
mere cuts.

The spider didn’t just claw him, did it?

Bad quickly examines the human’s body, fingers pressing into Skeppy’s side to find a gaping
hole. Further exploration reveals another hole ripped into Skeppy’s shoulder, and a gash in
his leg. Icy cold horror slams into Bad as he realizes what has happened to Skeppy.

He’s been bit.

This is bad. Really bad.

The thing about spider’s venom is that it isn’t supposed to kill the prey. Rather it acts like a
poison, lowering an animal's health to near-death without killing so that way the ‘meal’ stays
fresh. The experience of staying alive isn’t a pleasant one however, the poison continually
burning in your veins until you either perish or reach an antidote. A single bite is enough to
take down most things on the Overworld and here Skeppy is with three .

With shaky hands Bad wipes at Skeppy’s cheek to see usually tan skin now a deathly white.
There was so much blood, so much lifeforce simply draining away from someone he wanted
to protect. And now Bad knows that venom also lurks beneath the surface, working to further
weaken Skeppy who, with his current state, will almost certainly not survive the trip home.

Not unless he gets some help.

Help that Bad can’t give.

There’s a whine by Bad’s elbow and there’s Rat, the usually white wolf now dyed blue from
colliding with the spider. She meets Bad’s horrified look, once red eyes back to their usual
brown.

“I can’t Rat.” Bad babbles, hands desperately pressing against the wound in Skeppy’s
abdomen. “I can’t heal him. If I overdo it I’m going to kill him. I can’t do it. I…I can’t!”

Because Rat knows what he means, she was there when he lost control of his magic. But she
was lucky, only getting healed in an instant. Skeppy won’t be so fortunate, not with so much
venom running in his veins. If Bad messed up Skeppy would know nothing but pain before
he died, the human’s body caught between a torrent of destruction and healing.

He can’t fix this.

Rat growls, lunging towards the demon. Her teeth enclose around Bad’s arm, a hair's breadth
away from causing pain.

Bad gapes at the wolf, realizing what she was doing. “Thank you.” he whispers, turning his
attention back to Skeppy, the human’s chest stuttering as it rises.
 If he’s going to act, now would be the time. He has to do this, for Skeppy’s sake.

Bad quickly summons his magic, trying to ignore the blue blaze that emerges from his hands.
Control, control it Bad. He pushes the force into Skeppy’s body, trying to ignore the
increased pressure coming from Rat’s maw. He just needs to burn some venom away, needs
to give Skeppy a little boost to last the trip home.

His magic blankets Skeppy, the human practically glowing with soft blue light as Bad’s
magic sinks into him. Coating him, healing him. Filling his entire body with energy,
awakening his soul and pulling it back from the brink of death.

And then Bad’s magic starts to toe the line, wishing to skip the middleman and heal the
human now. Without a second thought Bad cuts his magic off, retracting what remnants
remained in the human. He refuses to risk it, to chance any more help. Rat tightens her hold
on his arm, the pain obvious as Bad winds down, using the sensation to help ground his
descent.

Bad opens his eyes, unsure of when he’d closed them. As soon as Rat’s released his arm he’s
back to examining Skeppy, whose breathing seems to have calmed, their blood just barely
stopped. Carefully, Bad edges an arm underneath Skeppy’s ribs and one under his thighs,
making sure to not jostle the human and risk opening the wounds up again. He slowly gets up
from the ground, extending his wings for balance as he lifts Skeppy from where he had
fallen. Bad glances down, Rat rigidly awaiting orders right next to Skeppy’s bag.

“I’ll see you at home.”

And without another word Bad spreads his wings, shooting into the sky with an unconscious
Skeppy in his arms.

Chapter End Notes

Is this another cliffhanger on our hands? Meh, not my fault for living up to my name :)
Fun Fact: Spiders actually do have blue blood, which is not something I knew until I had
to look it up for this chapter. Also, the 'body' of a spider can burst if they are dropped
due to their non-pliant exoskeleton, hence why the spider exploded when Rat collided
with it (she is stronger than she looks).

And yes, I made sure to have Rat make that spider suffer for its crimes of hurting
Skeppy.

Got a few callbacks in this chapter don't we? From blue healing magic to Bad and Rat's
first encounter, gotta say I'm loving how consistent I'm forcing myself to be.

The spider's venom in this world is a combination of Minecraft and reality. It has the
'poison' effect of in-game, and the fresh meal idea based off real world spiders that save
the organs of their victims till last to keep their food nice and fresh.

What is sleep again? I only know the power of caffeine. Does anyone read these? Do
you know what sleep is? Nah, if you did you wouldn't be here at such an odd time.

Don't forget to comment what you thought! Sorry about all the cliffhangers!
 Brush with Death
Chapter Summary

Skeppy is a broken, broken man.

Chapter Notes

*Skips the wrapping paper and slaps a bow on this story*

Okay guys, I wasn't really planning on making a story from Skeppy's POV during the
'spider attack' part of the story, but I felt bad for taking so long to deliver the last few
chapters with such big cliffhangers. Sooo, as a compromise I wrote this little guy! In the
last chapter Bad commented on having to awaken Skeppy's soul and pull it back from
the brink of death.

Well it's a two way street buddy!

So yeah, this chapter is what is happening from Skeppy's perspective and it gets dark.
Skeppy has basically reached his breaking point and can't take things anymore so it kind
of escalates. Of course, this is also happening in the void so it's not like Skeppy can do
anything.

1450 hits, let's go!!! Also nice to see repeat commenters like WriterGreenReads,
Ghost529, and nowwwpanda post what they thought about the chapter! At this point I've
read every comment multiple times (they really help when I get writer's block) :)

Hope you enjoy the present, and don't forget to hydrate!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Skeppy is burning.

Agony flows through his veins, making every cell scream out in distress. His skin pulses with
pain, radiating outward from the wounds the spider inflicted. From the bites that poisoned
Skeppy, the venom laying claim to every inch of his body. It feels like he’s cooking from the
inside out, his chest aflame, making every breath feel like his lungs are dissolving little by
little, his panicked heartbeat only serving to exacerbate the pain. He can’t be alive, not when
it feels like his body is rotting away. He wants to curl up, to hide from the pain but how can
he when it comes from within? What power has he, when his own body seems to wage a war
of its own, trapped in a paradox between life and death, the two sides crashing together and
leaving Skeppy adrift, caught between light and dark like some demented tug-of-war? He
feels powerless, caged within his own body, and no matter how hard he unconsciously fights
against the shadows that seek to close around him, he knows it’s a losing battle.

And as Skeppy drifts, soul slowly dwindling away, he can only think about how he deserves
this. How he wants this. Maybe not in such a painful way, but he can’t argue with the result.

The void is right there, an all-encompassing darkness that Skeppy wants nothing more than to
sink into. It seems neither hot nor cold, but somehow comforting, promising Skeppy that
once he enters, he will never know pain again.

And oh Gods does Skeppy want that promise to be real.

But as Skeppy tries to let go, a voice calls to him, whispering his name as if questioning he
was really there. Instantly the pain is lessened, not gone by any means, but dampened enough
to where Skeppy is able to straighten, to wildly search about the emptiness for the source of
the voice.

And from the shadows, emerges a woman.

A woman that seems to be made of shadows, the darkness swirling around her in the form of
a black dress, a veiled hat obscuring her face from view. Pausing before him, the woman
removes her hat and Skeppy’s breath catches in his throat as he meets her eyes, shining out
from a sea of darkness, like the full moon on a cloudless night.

“Hello Skeppy,” she greets warmly, even though her eyes shine with confusion and pity, “I’ve
been told about you. I wish we had met under better circumstances.”

Skeppy can do nothing more than gape, confused by what he sees. Not understanding what
he hears. But he recognizes the power the woman wields. And all he can think is how much
he wishes to go to her, to surrender to the women with a kind voice, to the shadows openly
inviting him into their embracing depths.
He reaches out, towards the women, towards the void she is so obviously a part of. But she
shakes her head, giving him a sad smile as she draws away from his outstretched hands.

“Please.” Skeppy begs, unbidden tears falling down his face, “Set me free.”

Again, she shakes her head. “You were not supposed to meet me so soon, Skeppy. You still
have much to live for.”

And Skeppy wants to laugh, to scream, to cry. Does the woman know things he doesn’t?
There is nothing awaiting him in the world of the living. He wants to go with her, to be set
free of the chains burdening him, to forget the pain of everyday life.

Again, he reaches out.

Again she pulls away.

“I refuse to welcome you to my world,” she tells him, “my husband would be very cross if I
did. Not to mention the demon who’s already promised to look after you. Though I doubt he
expected this as part of his oath.”

At her declaration, something tightens around Skeppy, an invisible rope that cinches around
his chest, around his soul . It pulls him, not towards the darkness, but to the light, the women
quickly fading from view as Skeppy struggles against his bonds.

“No!” he screams, frantically reaching towards the rapidly dwindling darkness, “I want to go.
Let me go!”

But there is no answer, no acknowledgement of his screams. Just the rope, anchoring him to
the light, tying him down no matter how much he claws at the invisible enemy. No matter
how much he fights to have some control over his life.
 The woman's voice whispers to him once again, quietly fading away as he struggles, “Just
rest, you have a long road to recovery.”

Then she is gone, and Skeppy is left alone. Alone, with nothing but his thoughts, and the
tears on his cheeks.

And then a different kind of darkness comes, one that doesn’t carry the weight that Skeppy
longs for. But it takes him all the same, and then there is…nothing.

Chapter End Notes

Hmm, are those new characters I smell? I wonder who this mysterious woman could be.

But yeah, Skeppy is in a really bad place. He's finally cracked under pressure and wants
nothing more than to be done with it all. Unfortunately for him (but good for Bad), there
are certain 'people' who are looking out for Skeppy and won't let him go so easily.

Fun fact: all of the descriptions/attitudes used for the woman came from my semi-
abandoned other story 'Picnic Under the Stars.' I wonder who her husband could be. Or
if she'll show up again?

The next few chapters will be from Bad's perspective. Again, this chapter was more of
an apology short story that'll tie into future events. A few lore bread crumbs if you will.

Hopefully this will stave off you guy's hunger for another chapter until I can get the next
one done. Don't forget to comment thoughts and ideas, though I can neither confirm nor
deny the truth behind any of them ;)
 Milk and Tears
Chapter Summary

It's hard to heal someone who wants to die.

Chapter Notes

I did it, I wrote a new chapter in less than two weeks! Ah, feels good, feels good.

I'm currently sitting at my computer with a bag of sour gummies next to me and multiple

🌠 🌠
spider + medical websites pulled up on my phone. Gotta say, I did not realize just how
vicious spider venom is until I started writing this portion of the story. The More You
Know

So this chapter is back on the POV of Bad who, as you remember, had just left the forest
with Skeppy in his arms. Thankfully he does know how to heal Skeppy, but it won't be
an easy feat.

🥳🥳🥳
After the last chapter this story broke the 1500 hits and is currently at 1580!!!
It was hilarious to see people react to the mysterious lady (WriterGreenReads,
Ghost529, and nowwwpanda) and I wonder what you guys will have to say about this
chapter.

Thanks to all of my amazing readers who have stayed through my weird posting
schedule and cliffhangers, you guys are the real MVP's of my life. :)

Story details are at the end.

Do a puzzle today!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Bad shoots above the treeline, making sure to shelter the human in his arms from all the
wayward branches that snag at his clothes and scratch at his wings. Willing himself to focus
on the task at hand, the demon quickly scans the forest that lays before him, white eyes
darting about before finally spotting the barest traces of light.

Bingo.
Bad dives towards his house, making sure not to jostle Skeppy as he zips over the treeline.
His own magic may be keeping the human’s wounds from worsening but the demon is well
aware of how bad they have already become. So he puts all of his focus into getting home,
puts all of his energy into making his wings beat just a little bit faster. And as the ground
approaches at breakneck speeds, Bad only thinks about how fast he needs to move once he’s
landed. With just enough time to orient himself, Bad straightens, using his wings to angle his
feet towards the rapidly approaching clearing that lays before his home.

Bad slams into the ground, the impact leaving a small crater in its wake. But Bad doesn’t
have time to worry about that, not when he can feel Skeppy’s blood slowly soak into his
clothes. Fudge, he thought the makeshift bandages would’ve held up across the trip. He tries
to remain calm as he bolts towards his house, roughly fumbling with the door handle before
managing to swing the door open.

Bad’s steps remain brisk as he enters his abode, his panic stricken mind barely remembering
to close the door behind him as he heads towards his bedroom. Cradling the human in his
arms, Bad uses a wing to knock the messy blankets from his bed, gently lowering Skeppy
onto the now cleared mattress. Now that he’s in front of him, Bad can clearly see the crimson
stained cloth strips, the black fabric already saturated and starting to crust over. Such an
important life force, draining away and leaving Skeppy ashen and still.

Bad doesn’t dwell on this for very long though, the demon quickly focusing on what supplies
he needs. He enters the adjoining bathroom, rifling through cabinets for whatever he can use
to help clean Skeppy’s wounds. Towels, that is a definite, and some actual gauze to act as
bandages. As Bad reaches for the white linens he catches sight of his reddened hands with a
few blue specks added for good measure.

Right, he was covered with blood.

Chiding his sudden forgetfulness, Bad washes his hands, furiously scrubbing at them until the
water runs clear. Then he’s back to supplies, recollected what he’d assembled before
dropping them on the table by the bed. He then heads to the craft room, grabbing a multitude
of the healing and regeneration potions that he always kept stocked just in case. But no, these
potions are too potent in this form. Too strong for Skeppy’s current state.
Shoving the glass bottles into his cloak's pockets he goes to the kitchen, digging through the
cabinets to find two metal bowls which he leaves stacked together. Holding the bowls in one
hand, he straightens up to snag a cup from another shelf, making sure to grab one of the more
robust clay-baked mugs. Leaving the bowls on the counter, Bad then directs his attention to
the ‘ice box’ he has tucked besides the freezer, swinging open the smaller cabinet to pull out
a pitcher of milk, the contents of which he pours into the newly acquired mug.

Milk, the best antidote for spider venom. And a lot less risky than ‘burning’ the poison out of
someone’s system.

Items now acquired, Bad heads back to the bedroom, emptying his hands and pockets of the
mug and potions he had procured. With a bowl in each hand, Bad heads to his bathroom once
again, using his sink to fill the bowls halfway full with clean water, the liquid cool, but not
cold. One to wash wounds, the other to dilute potions. Okay Bad, run through your checklist.
Towels and gauze. Water and potions. A glass of milk.

Would that be enough? Bad could only hope.

Returning from the bathroom he focuses his attention on Skeppy, trying to ignore how the
human’s chest seems to stutter every few seconds. The demon kneels down, sitting on his
knees as the rest of his form looms over the bed. Carefully he begins to unwrap the bandages
his cloak had become, placing them into an ever growing pile by his side as Skeppy’s wounds
become more and more apparent. What was once the human’s light blue shirt had turned into
a dark red fabric, ragged with rips and two large holes in its shoulder and side.

Hesitantly, Bad grasps at the human’s shirt, wincing as it squishes under his fingers. Finding
no other alternative to getting it off, he drags a nail through the fabric, effectively cutting the
shirt away from its owner. With the bite marks now in view, Bad involuntarily sucks in a
surprised breath, not realizing how much damage a spider could cause to someone caught
unaware.

The mark on Skeppy’s side is worrying, the bite obviously going a lot deeper than it had on
the human’s leg or shoulder. The muscles between hip and rib are roughly severed, leaving
behind an almost stringy mess of sinew. Bad leans closer, peering intently into the wound,
whose ragged edges seem to be dissolving under the demon’s watchful eye. Even as Bad’s
magic holds in the majority of whatever blood Skeppy has left, thick red droplets sluggishly
bead up from the human’s tissue, the spider’s venom an effective blood thinner of sorts that
prevents any scabbing.

Skeppy’s shoulder hasn’t fared much better, with Bad catching the unmistakable white of
bone peering up from the crimson mess staining the human’s upper arm. But as Bad’s claws
gently prod at the wound, the demon is surprised to see no hint of bone damage, no white
chips embedded in the surrounding muscles, nor cracks from extreme pressure.

At least he has something to be thankful for.

Quickly shifting his attention, Bad moves down to Skeppy’s lower half, where one pant leg is
unmistakably stained with blood. Once again faced with no options, Bad stabs a nail through
the fabric, pulling it away from Skeppy’s leg to ensure he doesn’t nick the human. Roughly
drawing his finger through the worn cloth, Bad severs the pant leg away from the rest, cutting
it just below the knee. With a quick tug the already damaged clothing rips in half, allowing
Bad to extract it and get a better look at the third area of concern.

Compared to the other two wounds, Skeppy’s leg is almost superficial, with two long slashes
down the back of his left calf that, while look bad, have managed to avoid anything
important. Still, if not properly healed, the damage could lead to lameness.

Bad leans back, chewing on the inside of his cheek as he tries to figure out what to do.
Skeppy’s body was full of spider venom, something that would kill him if left unchecked.
But Bad can’t heal the damage the venom has caused, not while it was still wreaking havoc
or else the rapid healing would conflict with the corrosive effects, basically sending Skeppy’s
body into shock and drawing out a merciless death. He has milk to counteract the venom, but
Skeppy has to drink it. A feat that requires consciousness or else Skeppy could asphyxiate on
the fluid and end up even worse. Which means he has to be woken up.

Woken up while having to relive the excruciating effects of the venom coursing through his
veins, while also having a demon he obviously doesn’t trust wanting him to drink something.

Swell idea Bad. Absolutely nothing wrong with it. After all, it’s not like he’s trying to be
friends with the person he’s practically about to torture.
But it’s the only idea he has.

Bad clenches his jaw, inevitably accepting what he has to do.

Extracting a small towel from the pile on the table, Bad unfolds it and gently lays it across
Skeppy, trying to give the human some sense of cover for what was about to happen.
Collecting the mug in one hand, Bad places a hand across Skeppy’s chest, making sure to
avoid the two slowly expanding red spots. Then, hesitantly, the demon calls forth his magic,
pushing just enough into the human to stoke his consciousness, pulling it from the depths that
comes with involuntary sleep.

Skeppy’s eyes flicker open, glassy and unfocused.

“Skeppy,” Bad murmurs, trying to keep his voice steady, even as the human visibly flinches,
face already starting to contort as his body lets its pain be known. “I need you to drink this. I
promise it’s only milk.”

At those words Skeppy locks eyes with the demon, dark brown meeting pale white. There’s a
flash of something, an emotion that springs forth before being swallowed once again by
terror, going so quickly that Bad was sure he would’ve missed it if he hadn’t been looking.
And Skeppy writhes as Bad lifts the mug to his lips, the pain quickly overtaking any sense
the human had. Yet even as agony wracks across his body, Skeppy does not scream, his
mouth remaining clenched shut. Instead he flails, limbs limply fighting against the feather-
light touch of Bad, the human too weak to move more than a few inches.

“Just a sip, Skeppy.” Bad begs, mug unwavering as he tries to coax the rim towards Skeppy’s
mouth. This isn’t good, Skeppy’s panic is starting to make his wounds reopen, blood slowly
bubbling up and soaking all across the once white towel. And with both hands occupied he is
unable to properly help Skeppy calm down and understand what’s going on.

All at once Bad is aware of another presence in the room, a white and blue wolf leaping onto
the bed. It appears that Rat’s speed has come to save him once again tonight.

“Rat, you are amazing. Can you hold him down?” Bad asks, giving a small glance upwards.
Rat’s reaction is instant, the canine quickly moving to stretch across Skeppy’s hips,
effectively keeping him pinned to the bed without getting in Bad’s way.

Bad removes his arm from Skeppy’s chest, choosing to slide it under his head to better
elevate him. Again, he presses the mug to Skeppy’s lips, feeling a flicker of hope when the
human’s tongue darts out involuntarily, bringing a small sip of milk into his mouth. Only for
his heart to clench when he hears what the human has to say.

“ Stop—please”

Bad shakes his head, even though he knows Skeppy can’t actually see him. “Just one swallow
Skeppy. Then I’ll stop, and you can go to sleep.”

Skeppy squeezes his eyes shut, tears clearing a path through the gore caked on the human’s
face. But his tremors have faded, even if the misery remains. Bad can tell he’s tired. Tired of
fighting, tired of the pain. If he’s going to act, now is his chance.

“Please.”

With that one word Skeppy finally stops struggling, Bad’s plea seemingly getting through. Or
maybe he had just run out of energy. After what feels like hours of inner turmoil Skeppy
minutely nods his head, eyes remaining shut as he cautiously opens his mouth.

Taking the opportunity, Bad lifts the mug, helping angle Skeppy’s head so a small stream of
milk is poured into the human’s mouth, not wanting to risk choking. After a few seconds Bad
pulls the cup away, using a finger to gently push Skeppy’s jaw up, closing his mouth.

Bad holds his breath.

A second passes.
And Skeppy finally swallows, the tension in his body obvious as he seems to wait for
something to happen. But Bad doesn’t give him the chance to find out, immediately releasing
his hold on Skeppy’s consciousness and allowing it to sink back into the comforting waves of
nothingness. Skeppy goes limp in his arms, but already Bad can see the effects of the milk
taking over.

Under his watchful eye the blood soaking into the towel seems to slow, his healing magic
finally able to close off the wounds for good. One less thing to worry about. He still has work
to do however, Skeppy is covered in the remnants of the forest floor and the last thing he
needs on his plate is to deal with an infection on top of everything else. He leans away from
Skeppy, removing his arm from underneath him while returning the glass of milk to the table.

Was it worth it? Something dark and traitorous whispers in his head. Bad thinks about the
face Skeppy had made as he had pleaded with the demon. The ultimate agony that was there
for all to see, the tears streaming down Skeppy’s face as the human seemed to collapse from
the inside, slicing through the blood crusted on his face.

…was it worth it? Bad had wanted a friend, and so he’d targeted Skeppy, giving the human
little choice in the manner. And here he was, unconscious with serious wounds because he
was so scared of Bad he’d run recklessly into the forest.

A whine breaks through these dark thoughts, drawing Bad’s attention to Rat, who had yet to
move from her spot atop Skeppy.

“Sorry,” he mutters, reaching out to scratch behind her ears. He turns to look at the supplies
beside him, eyes darting between them and Skeppy. “Now’s not the time to be zoning out.
Good thing I’ve got you to keep me in check.”

At his words Rat rises from Skeppy’s body, quickly shaking her body as if to rid herself of
the spider’s blood still speckling her normally white coat. Under her watchful gaze Bad grabs
a new towel from the stack, soaking it with clean water before wringing out any excess.
Quickly removing the towel from Skeppy’s torso he replaces it with the dampened one,
wiping away any dirt or blood from the wounds.
 Seemingly happy with Bad’s work, Rat nuzzles her way under Skeppy’s palm, situating
herself so the human’s hand is loosely trailing through her fur. Bad could be imagining it, but
he likes to think he sees Skeppy’s hand tighten ever so slightly into the comforting fluff of the
wolf.

Hiding a small smile, Bad grabs a new towel, dampening it as well. He had made a promise
to watch after Skeppy, and he was going to uphold his oath. When Skeppy wakes up, Bad can
apologize for everything that has happened. Maybe then, their friendship can start over.

Chapter End Notes

Let's see, quite a lot to unpack huh?

First off, SKEPPY DOES NOT TRUST BAD. I like to think that Skeppy has basically
no idea what is going on right now, just that he is in pain and if he drinks something then
he can go back to sleep and the pain will go away. Bad likes to think that things will
improve but he is a bit too naive when it comes to making friends, saying as how he's
never really had one.

Second, the venom effects in this are relatively similar to real-world spiders. Almost all
spiders eat the liquefied remains of their prey (leaving the exoskeleton) so I like to think
Minecraft spiders have a corrosive quality to their venom. Also, I tested to see if health
potions would negate the effects of poison in Minecraft but apparently the only thing
that cancels the effect is milk. Drinking regeneration or health potions just gives the
poison effect more to wither away, so I like to imagine it to be an unpleasant experience.

Third, the 'ice box' Bad has is literally a fridge designed in the way of the original
refrigerator. I was looking for names to call it and the ice box was basically a non-
mechanical fridge that used ice instead of electricity. Since electricity doesn't exist in
this world, I thought it was perfect and basically copied the idea for Bad's kitchen.

Fourth, Rat to the rescue!!! That is all.

Welp, time to hibernate for another two weeks, don't forget to comment your thoughts!
I'll give you one of my gummies for every comment :)
 Clean Up, Clean Up, Everybody Everywhere
Chapter Summary

Bad discovers things he shouldn't

Chapter Notes

Alright, I technically published this one in two weeks so no one can say anything!

I did say in the last chapter I was going to hibernate for two weeks so I guess you can't
say you weren't warned ¯\_ (ツ)_/¯

To make up for the longer wait, I made this chapter a long one, gave it some lore, and
even threw in some Rat fluff for good measure so that should balance out any problems!

Wow, Chapter 20 and 1750 hits!!! A big thank you to everyone who decided to give this
story a try, I hope you've enjoyed the ride so far! :)
Seeing the great reception you guys are giving this story is what's encouraging me to
keep it up. As of right now I certainly have a rough outline for where I want the story to
go so it'll be interesting to bring you guys on the journey of my own making.

Story comments are at the end!

Hope you enjoy the lore bomb and listen to some music today!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Bad wipes at Skeppy’s torso, delicately maneuvering the now pink towel around the rim of
the bite mark. The blood has already started to crust over and takes a few passes to finally
flake off, dotting the towel with darker specks.

With a sigh Bad deposits the towel back into the bowl of water, leaning back on his haunches
to get a full look at Skeppy’s injuries, making careful note of the scratches all across the
human’s body. At least he can take care of those now that the smears of blood and dirt are
gone.
At least that would be the case, if their removal didn’t come the addition of a certain Rat who
seems determined to stay near Skeppy as Bad works. As of right now the wolf is digging
incessantly at the mattress by Skeppy’s feet, obviously angry that there are no blankets for
her to burrow under. Though he knows it’s probably pointless, Bad gently prods the canine
with a finger in order to get her attention.

“You may want to move.” he warns, gesturing towards the small pile of healing items he had
accumulated, “This will take a bit.”

Rat pauses in her destruction of his bed, abruptly rightening to look up at him with dark eyes
(and one ear flopped backwards) as she seems to huff in exasperation, nimbly jumping to the
floor and exiting the room entirely. Not expecting such an easy relentment, the demon makes
a mental note to feed the wolf as much steak as she wanted, before returning his attention to
the matter at hand.

Bad turns towards the second bowl, previously ignored and still full of clean water.
Uncorking a bottle of healing, he gently pours half the potion’s contents into the water,
allowing the clear water to pinken before adding a potion of regeneration to the mix, the
water now resembling a lilac purple. Wetting a fresh towel with the mixture, Bad carefully
wipes at Skeppy’s limbs, making sure to go over any minor injuries that Skeppy had incurred.
As potion meets damaged tissue, Bad can’t help but sigh in relief when a faint fizzing sound
fills the air, audible signs of the potion working its magic.

Under his watchful eye, it only takes a few moments before Skeppy’s smaller wounds start to
heal up, skin quickly knitting together with help from the potion. Alright Bad, that’s one
thing done, you just gotta work from there. You got this, you know what to do.

He knows what to do.

Next up is the odd bite/slash down Skeppy’s left calf, the spider’s venom evident but
thankfully nullified by the sip of milk Skeppy had taken. Now that Bad thinks about it,
Skeppy will probably need more in case of any poison still lingering in his system. But that’s
a problem for the future, right now he needs to heal Skeppy before he regains consciousness.

Grabbing a roll of gauze, Bad soaks a small towel in the potion mixture, making sure to
wring it out before gently lifting Skeppy’s leg and wrapping the towel around its entirety.
Working with quick movements, he quickly ties the towel against Skeppy’s leg, the gauze
and towel effectively holding the potion in and having it heal neatly over time. Such a
process wouldn’t have much effect on deeper injuries however, and Bad knows the hole in
Skeppy’s side and shoulder will need a bit more intervention.

The demon’s gaze returns to the two half-full bottles of potion left by the bowl, letting out a
whoosh of air as he considers their contents. Choosing to forgo a towel, Bad grabs the
regeneration potion and gently tips the bottle over the shredded muscle on Skeppy’s torso,
allowing a trickle of potion into the gaping hole. As soon as the potion hits damaged flesh it
seeps in, leaving behind a faint purple hue that quickly fades as severed muscle starts to
wiggle , coming alive with motions similar to worms burrowing into fresh soil. With bated
breath, Bad watches as the sinew reconnects, muscle once again stilling when there is no
more damage to fix. Nodding with satisfaction, Bad swaps the potion for the watered down
mixture, wetting a fresh towel and preparing some more gauze. He carefully slides a hand
under Skeppy’s body, making sure not to knick the already damaged skin as he spreads his
fingers and gently elevates the right side of Skeppy’s torso upwards, allowing him to quickly
scoot the towel underneath the human and fold it over the still raw wound. Then, all it takes
is a little adjustment, (and a few passes with the roll of gauze) to secure the towel and leave
Bad with the last of the wounds: the shoulder bite.

At least he knows what to expect.

Keeping the regeneration bottle close by, Bad once again slides his hand under Skeppy’s
torso, electing to go behind the human’s right shoulder to support his neck. Yet as his
fingertips graze across Skeppy’s shoulder blades, Bad starts when he feels something rough
on Skeppy’s skin. Instantly wary, the demon lifts Skeppy higher, shuffling around the bed to
better get a look at whatever wound had so far gone unnoticed.

But what he saw wasn’t a wound, at least not one done by a spider. Because there, on
Skeppy’s right shoulder, is a brand .

Bad sucks in a breath as he lays eyes on the mark, something all too pale even against
Skeppy’s ashen state. He can’t take his eyes off it. Like the marks he’d seen littered across
certain animals in the forest, Skeppy’s brand consisted of raised flesh that shone under the
light, seemingly shiny and obvious to all who chanced to look your way. That is, unless you
wore a shirt and took lengths to hide it from view. But there’s no time for looking right now,
Bad’s hands shaking as they reach to grab at the forgotten towel and gauze, his eyes blurry as
they focus on Skeppy’s injured shoulder.
That shoulder being the one injured by a spider that is. Bad can’t exactly do anything against
scar tissue.

Carefully shifting Skeppy so his injured shoulder lies before him, Bad quickly leans over to
pour some potion into the bite wound. Compared to the mark on Skeppy’s torso, his shoulder
is almost calm in its healing, muscle quickly forming over the exposed bone without any
‘reconnecting’ taking part. Then, all it takes is the application of another towel, and Bad
begins to wrap the bandages around Skeppy’s shoulder, just below his neckline. It isn’t pretty
by any means, but it’ll hold the towel in place until Skeppy wakes up.

With a small flourish Bad ties the ends of the gauze together, making sure to tuck them
securely before casting a full glance at his handiwork. Skeppy’s leg was good, the towel
easily secure due to placement alone. His torso was the biggest worry, but once Skeppy got
some healing potion (and maybe a little more milk) into his system he shouldn’t have any
adverse effects. With Skeppy’s shoulder Bad knew that there was nothing to worry about, but
it wasn’t the injured shoulder causing trouble.

After all, you don’t just get branded accidentally.

Wiping a hand across his face, Bad audibly sighs, not knowing what to think of the situation.
Thankfully, a small whine is there to get his attention, making the demon focus on the wolf
currently re-situating herself under Skeppy’s palm, having apparently snuck back in when
Bad wasn’t paying attention.

“You get a steak dinner all to yourself when this is over.”

Instantly Rat’s tail is a blur, the wolf recognizing the reward for what it is. Settling further
into the mattress she seems to smile as her brown eyes dart over to where Bad had
unceremoniously shoved every blanket from his bed. Understanding the request, Bad raises
himself from the ground, trying to ignore the cacophony of cracks and pops his joints make
as he crosses the room and surveys the jumbled mess. Eventually deciding on a blaze powder
blanket (warm but light enough for Skeppy to move and Rat to breathe) he drapes it across
the human’s still form, making sure to cover Rat’s body with part of it as well.
 Directing his gaze to Skeppy’s face, Bad is surprised when he sees dried blood caked around
the rim of the human’s face, somehow going unnoticed in the demon’s initial cleaning.

Mentally facepalming for forgetting the blood still speckled across Skeppy’s face, Bad grabs
the semi-used towel from the cleaning bowl, already mourning his hands because of all the
towels he’ll need to scrub. Sitting on the edge of the bed, Bad carefully tilts Skeppy’s face to
the side in order to clean off all the blood. Upon closer examination, it seems to have
splashed across his face, with the majority of the stain being limited to Skeppy’s jawline,
along with large specks leading all the way across the bridge of Skeppy’s nose. As if to
further rub in Bad’s oversight, there’s even spider blood mixed in for good measure. In all
honesty though, Bad’s just happy that clean-up is the biggest of his worries now.

As Bad cleans Skeppy’s face however, he notices that the towel isn’t tinged with the red and
blue blood that the others had collected. Rather, the fabric seems to be smudged brown , a
murky color that quickly blankets the towel as Bad wipes. His momentary happiness now
replaced with confusion, Bad continues to blot at Skeppy’s face until something seems to
glint off the light of the room. Hesitantly, Bad rubs his thumb over Skeppy’s face, once again
startled when it encounters a smooth substance lodged in the human’s cheek. With a final
swipe of the towel, Bad leans in for a closer look, convinced that he had somehow ignored
another injury Skeppy had sustained in the spider incident. But as the demon examines the
foreign object, he’s only left more confused.

Were those…diamonds?

Chapter End Notes

Hmm...I don't know what to explain here, and what will be explained in the future. I'll
just stick to connecting certain dots. >:)

That dirt Bad wipes of Skeppy is the same dirt Skeppy rubbed on his face in the
beginning of the story (man its been awhile).

Additionally, the blood splashed across his face came from when the spider bit down on
Skeppy's shoulder (yes I planned that attack to be how Bad found out).

Also also, the thought Skeppy had when Bad tried to give him the 'key' about knowing
how a glowing gold meant something was going to hurt may or may not be attached to
the mark on his shoulder.

Hmm, Bad really likes to build up his confidence before he does stuff. I wonder why...
I don't know if the next chapter will be Skeppy or Bad, there are definitely certain ways
I could go from here. Guess you'll have to see!

Don't forget to comment your thoughts! This time I'm not sorry for the cliffhanger!
 Road Work Ahead
Chapter Summary

Road to Recovery?
Maybe?
Eh, I wouldn't get your hopes up.

Chapter Notes

Hello people and welcome to another chapter on 'this author has issues!' Barely added
anything to this story, and basically wrote this entire chapter in one sitting. Caffeine is
main motivator right now. That and the fact there have been some new commenters
discussing how much they've liked the story. Gotta keep the fans happy!

This chapter is definitely a long one, and has its fair share of 'memories' but it's up to
you to put the pieces together ;)

Also, 1820 hits and more than 50 comments! Dang you guys are enjoying the story.
Here's hoping this chapter gets your lore brains a-moving.

Story comments are at the end.

Get a good nights sleep (something I definitely need)!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Bad gives another swipe with the towel, just to make sure he’s not dreaming. Yet as more and
more dust stains the cloth, the azure stones inlaid in Skeppy’s skin start to gleam brighter,
now shockingly blue against the paleness of Skeppy’s cheeks. Bad traces a fingertip against
the now dirt free surface, revealing enough diamonds to form an even shine across Skeppy’s
face; almost as if the stones were Skeppy’s ‘freckles.’ Each one was smaller than his
thumbnail, but seemed to range in size like tiny shards of an indescribable mosaic,
interlocking so smoothly they looked almost as if they had been formed, rather than placed.

Huh, so human’s and demon’s had something in common after all.

Shelving that thought for another time, Bad survey’s Skeppy’s face once again, making sure
to clean off any remnants of blood or soil still clinging to the ashen surface. The fact that
Skeppy’s body seems to be struggling to heal itself worries Bad, the demon not well versed in
the healing process of humans. Piglins? Yes. Humans? Nope. With that in mind, it was
probably a good thing he had severed his healing magic so quickly in the forest, not wishing
to screw up the human’s already damaged body. Still, he really needs to get some potions into
Skeppy.

But that is a problem for when Skeppy wakes up, and right now sleep is something the
human needs more than ever. Actually, what time was it? A quick glance to the window and
Bad is surprised to see the faintest traces of pink edge its way across the night sky. How was
morning already approaching? Even though he’s spent so long in the Overworld, Bad doubts
he’ll ever get used to such a system as day and night.

Still, he doesn’t want to risk waking Skeppy up with sunlight to the face, so Bad quickly
crosses the room to shut the curtains. As he draws the fabric together however, Bad finds
himself caught off guard by an unexpected shiver. His cloak has plenty of magic embedded
into it, why is he-

Ah, right, he’d used a good chunk of his cloak to make bandages. Bandages that were now
lying in a pile, crusted with blood. And they’re not the only ones. Now that the panic running
through his veins is dissolving, Bad is acutely aware he can feel Skeppy’s own blood sticky
against his skin from where he had wiped at his face while cleaning the human’s injuries. His
sleeves and front are speckled with it as well, forming stiff splotches across the fabric from
where it had been in contact with Skeppy’s skin as Bad brought him home.

Skeppy’s blood. Skeppy’s blood. Skeppy’s-

Gray sludge dripped from his face, mixing with the red that coated his body. There’s
something in his mouth and he spits, stomach clenching as a chunk of gore sails into his open
palm. Had he been eating it? What happened? Why was he here? What-

Nope! Not thinking about that right now, there are plenty of more important things for Bad to
focus his attention on. Such as…getting cleaned up! Yep, that’s something that needs to be
done, and then he can do laundry, can get everything nice and clean before Skeppy wakes up.
Squashing down any remnants of that memory, Bad hurries towards his dresser and yanks a
drawer open, rifling through the contents for any clothes that strike his fancy. Seemingly by
chance, his hand lands on one buried beneath all of the other cloaks, and Bad nods in
satisfaction before freeing it from its confines. He stumbles towards the bathroom, his
disorganized mind having difficulty focusing on the present. Thankfully, this isn’t the first
time so Bad is well prepared.

Hunching over the sink, Bad plugs the drain before turning the cold tap on full blast, allowing
the basin to fill with icy water before immediately dunking his face. His Nether blood
instantly recoils, a sharp spark of energy jolting through Bad’s subconscious as the demon
quickly retreats from the freezing temperatures and selects a small towel to begin scrubbing
at his face. Eyes glued to the small mirror situated above the sink, Bad continually checks his
reflection to make sure he gets any and all traces of blood off. Only once his skin is clean
does he turn his attention to the seemingly forgotten cloak he’d picked (this one has a dark
green replacing the red edging).

With a sigh, Bad reaches towards the mirror, quickly pulling a small cloth over its face, much
like how he’d closed the curtains in his room. He much rather not be able to see himself right
now.

Moving fast, Bad begins to unbutton his ripped and stained cloak, starting from the base and
working his way up. As he nears his neckline his eyes squeeze shut as the cloak’s hood is
pulled from his face, and the entire thing is placed on the ground. With only a few moments
of blind fumbling, Bad quickly puts on the new cloak, flicking the hood up before allowing
his eyes to open. The rest of the cloak easily fastens in place, his wings gently easing through
the slits in the back before once again tightening against his torso.

Feeling refreshed, he gathers the used items (and remembers to unplug the drain) before
heading back out into his room, taking in the ever growing pile of bloodied fabric just sitting
on the floor.

He probably shouldn’t let Skeppy see that.

On to the next order of business then! Crouching in front of the dozing Rat, he gently bops
her on the nose to get her attention. Instantly the wolf is alert, head raised to see what was so
important she had to lose sleep over it.
“I need to get this stuff cleaned up. Do you mind keeping an eye on him?”

Never one for verbal confirmation, Rat instead nips at the blanket, pulling at the fabric until it
nearly covers her entire body. Even without words, the message was clear, ‘I’m not going
anywhere.’

“If something happens make all the racket you can.” he instructs, gently scritching behind the
wolves ears as he considers the upcoming task. Once the stuff gets washed he can let it dry
once the sun is fully out. If Skeppy is still asleep then he can make Rat a nice steak breakfast
to enjoy while he watches over the human instead. When Skeppy wakes up, he can actually
give him a potion, and that’ll fix multiple problems in one go.

So, first thing on the list.

Dancing around the room, Bad assembles all dirty items into a collective bundle before
heading out of the room…and nearly tripping over the bag just outside the doorway.

So that’s where Rat put Skeppy’s bag. Honestly, Bad’s just happy the wolf brought it back in
the first place.

Quickly setting his items down, Bad picks the bag off the ground, having never truly
interacted with the object before. Yet it was something Skeppy obviously valued, and the fact
it took a risk on his life for the human to part with it spoke lengths about how much it meant
to him. The satchel was well used, the outside leather sporting quite a few odd nicks and
stains, the most apparent one being a dark blue splotch that decorated the side of it (no doubt
from good old friend Mr. Spider).

Hoping the contents to be undamaged, Bad opens the flap to look inside. But when greeted
with stacks of iron, he can’t help but feel confused. He may not know everything about the
Overworld (despite the books he’d been given) but typical bags of this size should barely be
able to hold such quantities of items, yet the bag seems to have room to spare. And with such
an insane amount of cargo, how is it so light?
 Bad gives the pouch a few experimental hefts with one hand, easily swinging the bag through
the air. And his heritage can’t be to blame, seeing as how both Skeppy and Rat could easily
move the bag such great distances.

Huh, that’s weird .

Looking at the bundle with a more critical eye, Bad begins tilting it so that the light hits it at
different angles. There’s something about it, something familiar that he can’t put his finger
on. This bag isn’t normal, isn’t what it appears to be. Bad halts his examination,
absentmindedly rubbing away the spider’s blood as he tries to remember. Why is this so
familiar, he’s never-

There! There’s something under his finger, a slight divot that seems too smooth to be new
and too curved to be accidental. Bad thumbs at the mark, spider blood flaking away as the
line expands, linking with others and combining to leave an insignia behind, so worn it’s
practically invisible to the naked eye. With squinted eyes Bad is able to make out two letters,
both encircled by what appear to be wings of some kind.

P.M

What the heck does that mean?

Chapter End Notes

Let's see, what's clarification and what's spoilers...

A lot of stuff will be explained in the future so I can't go in depth but here we go:

Since the Nether doesn't have 'days' I like to imagine Bad was really confused when he
got to the Overworld.

Rat is best girl and deserves her beauty rest.

Bad has no idea what personal space or privacy is (demon's have an...interesting culture)

Also, it's true Bad has little interaction with Skeppy's bag. I've had it so Rat is the one
always carrying it back to the house, so the closest Bad has gotten to interacting with it
is handing it off or hanging it up (forced consistency)!

Additionally, if you look back at other chapters Skeppy has somehow always been able
to fit a lot of his stall/market stuff into a bag he then slung over his shoulder. Hmm, I
wonder how such a feat could have been done.

When I first wrote the story I did intend Skeppy to have a 'Mary Poppins' bag that could
hold more than you'd think, but a new Minecraft update will have 'bundles' which are
basically condensed inventory bags. So I basically mashed the two ideas together for the
story.

I think the next chapter will be Skeppy based (I miss being able to swear) but I make no
promises!
 Uh Yeah, I Sure Hope It Does
Chapter Summary

Skeppy's POV!!!

Chapter Notes

Hello people and welcome to the midpoint of December! Here's a nice long chapter
from Skeppy's POV, just act like it's a Christmas present.
Gotta say, it's fun to write his angsty little perspective.

This chapter is slightly early but that's mostly due to me having a bit more free time as
of right now. I will probably get at least one more chapter out before the new year but
I'm hoping for more. It's nice to not have to think about sleep schedules for a change.

This part has some lore crumbs that definitely connect to previous chapters but it's up to
you, my amazing readers, to tie things together!

Also, this story has surpassed 1900 hits! I wonder if this will be the chapter to push it
into the 2000s. :)

Story comments are at the end.

Enjoy whatever breaks you have coming!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Skeppy is disoriented when he awakens, the world nothing but an amalgamation of hazy
colors swirling about before settling with a few slow blinks. With deadened limbs, Skeppy
pushes himself up, tries to focus bleary eyes on his surroundings. What happened, why-

The memories snap into place, giving Skeppy a sense of deja vu .

He had run away from a demon to then run into a spider. A spider that had then attacked him.
Multiple times. He remembers screaming the demon’s name, screaming for help. But after
that-
He’s alone now, Skeppy realizes, not seeing a trace of the demon that had started this whole
thing. He can leave. Experimentally he shifts his body, his limbs seeming a bit tingly but
functional. Yet as he moves Skeppy is suddenly aware of a weight by his side, unknown and
unwelcome. Skeppy pushes at it with uncooperative limbs, his body doing little more than to
slightly shift the item. Why is he so weak? What happened to him? Did the demon tie him
down again?!

Needs to get out. Get home. Won’t be held down again. Just has to get away. Get away!

Using that spike of fear Skeppy shoves himself away from the mass, pushing himself off the
bed with the certainty his feet would catch him. Yet as soon as he heaves himself upward, the
true agony lurking in his veins lets itself be known.

As Skeppy tries to stand, pain is quick to take its rightful place in Skeppy’s body and before
he can blink he’s falling, no, crashing , into the ground with a sickening thud, letting out an
involuntary cry of pain upon impact.

Only…it wasn’t a cry of pain. The sound that came out of Skeppy’s mouth was a high
pitched gurgling noise, not sounding human in any way. The noise only horrifies Skeppy
further, now full on screaming in pain and fear as he helplessly writhes on the ground. It
hurts , it really fucking hurts. He needs to get away!

He’s dimly aware of the world around him, the noises of barking mixing in with his own
screams, merging to create something loud and hellish. As if answering the call there is a
sudden thudding of feet, someone running full sprint towards the source of the noise.
Through bleary eyes Skeppy sees a figure fill his field of vision, seemingly thrown by what
lays at their feet.

Yellow hair, framing the man’s worried face with its own twisted version of an angel’s halo.
Strong arms lifting him back in bed, yet gentle hands checking the bandages covering his
ribs.

“It’s okay mate.”

But no, that was the past. That man wasn’t the demon before him.

“Oh fudge. Skeppy?”

No, no he shouldn’t be here.

The demon kneels beside him, laying its hands over his head and chest. Even with his eyes
squeezed shut (when had he closed them?) it's hard to miss the blue glow that seems to
suddenly filter through his eyelids, and even more so harder to ignore the deep numbness
slowly ebbing over his body, overtaking any and all pain his body was experiencing just
moments before.

Arms wrap around him, trapping him, holding him down even more and he fights their hold,
his deadened limbs doing nothing more than flop about uselessly as he’s moved…up? He
feels himself being placed back on the bed, his stomach already rolling from the little
movement, his body already starting to heave. An acid rises in his throat and he can’t stop it,
can’t keep-

A retching sound and a metal bowl is thrust under his head, his body being adjusted so he’s
laying on his side. But why? They never cared before. Unprepared and too tired to fight it he
throws up, the sick being caught neatly in the bowl.

“I’m sorry-I’m sorry-I’m sorry.”

Skeppy doesn’t know who’s saying that, Gods know he’s too weak to speak and why would a
demon ever apologize. He only spits in reply, trying to clear the acid from his mouth. It had
been so long since he’d lost control of his body, why did now have to be the time it decided to
rebel?

“Gosh, I’m so sorry.”

The bowl is taken away but the hands are back, pressing, moving, burning , him up, elevating
his head. Something cool touches his lips and he tries to jerk away, instantly clenching his
jaw so tightly it hurts. The object persists however, remaining steadfast against the line where
his mouth once was.

“I need you to drink this Skeppy. I know that’s probably the last thing on your mind but you
need to get some potion in your body.”

Skeppy only shakes his head, a small twitch the demon probably wouldn’t have noticed had it
not been supporting Skeppy’s skull. He knows about potions, knows just how expensive and
rare they are. Glittery concoctions that cost several emeralds for a single bottle? Fuck no,
he’d rather not give the demon any more leverage on him.

The demon falls silent at Skeppy’s refusal, obviously recognizing the human’s refusal to be
swayed. Good, maybe now it’ll realize he’s a lost cause.

Then there’s a pressure on Skeppy’s nose.

And he can’t breathe .

“Sorry Skeppy, I’m sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry .'' The demon seems to chant as Skeppy writhes
against its hold, its fingers effectively keeping any air from filling Skeppy’s lungs. “Just a sip
that’s all, I promise . I’m sorry, please Skeppy. Just one.”

The demon keeps up its inane bullshit as Skeppy tries to jerk away, the hand supporting his
head effectively keeping him locked in place. Even Skeppy’s mmphs of panic seemed to go
ignored, the demon’s own words an effective way at blocking any and all noises of protest.

It’s only when he feels lightheaded does Skeppy open his eyes, wanting to see if the fucking
demon was enjoying torturing him like this. Yet when brown eyes meet white, Skeppy can’t
help but be taken aback when he sees the guilt laced in those eyes, the way the demon seems
to be holding back from breaking as well. When it finally makes eye contact with him, the
demon finally stops speaking, seemingly frozen in place by the look on Skeppy’s face. And
 still, the potion bottle remains pressed against his lips, the bottle slowly warming to match his
body temperature.

Does it actually feel sorry?

Black spots are now filling Skeppy’s vision, and he knows if this keeps up he won’t be
conscious for long. Carefully, he inches his jaw open, more so to breathe than anything else
but the demon is there, cautiously tipping the bottle’s contents into Skeppy’s mouth. Once he
gets a mouthful of potion Skeppy pulls away and the demon lets him, releasing its hold on his
nose but still supporting his head.

“Okay,” the demon comments, nodding as if trying to encourage Skeppy, “it’s a start.”

Giving the demon a venomous glare Skeppy swallows, trying not to blanche at the Gods
awful taste of whatever the demon had just given him. A warmness seems to fill his body,
slotting in nicely with the numb feeling from earlier.

Suddenly, Skeppy feels exhausted. The warmth has made him realize just how tired he is,
how just the action of swallowing seems to be overexerting, eyelids already beginning to
droop. If the demon wasn’t holding him up right now, Skeppy would’ve already collapsed
into a boneless heap. All he can do now is let out a small whimper of fear before letting his
eyelids fall shut.

As if sensing the human’s fatigue, Bad begins to lower Skeppy back to the bed, wisely
deciding that a sip of potion would have to do for now. Skeppy’s barely awake by the time
Rat rejoins him on the bed, and as Bad’s voice drifts through the air, its words fall on deaf
ears as unconsciousness has once again taken its hold over Skeppy.

Chapter End Notes

*Checks notes*
Huh, can't exactly reveal a lot about this chapter can I? I have to 'make you work for it'
and 'make connections on your own' so I guess you guys are on your own for the most
part.
Let's see, so that weight Skeppy was talking about was Rat (who is hard to move when
she's asleep)

Skeppy's behavior in the beginning is mainly due to him coming off the magic Bad had
treated him with in the forest (like people coming off anesthesia) so he wasn't exactly
thinking. This is also why certain memories popped up that he normally tries to bury.

And the reason for Bad's rough treatment of Skeppy is because Bad had recognized
early on that Skeppy needed some potions, but was scared to force them on the human.
But then, after almost having a hear attack after hearing Skeppy's screams, Bad realized
he needed to do something. Also, the barking Skeppy commented on was Rat trying to
get Bad's attention (he did say for her to make a ruckus).

Welp, that's it for this chapter, I'm going to sleep!

 Bound to Break Eventually
Chapter Summary

Skeppy can only take so much.

Chapter Notes

Hello everybody and welcome back to the very end of the year! Hope that everyone is
doing well and surviving life.

Gotta say, poor Skeppy can not catch a break so far in this story and this chapter is no
exception. You know what they say, "it has to get worse before it gets better," well
Skeppy has definitely been through worse but I don't know if I would call this better.

Also, this story has surpassed 2000 hits, 60 comments, and 100 kudos! A huge thanks to
all of my readers, for without your input I don't think I would have the motivation to
keep the story going (I still go back to read early chapter comments). :)

Having looked at last chapter comments it's interesting to see where you guys think the
story is going. Of course, I don't want to spoil anything but I will say it's nice to see you
guys be invested and picking up on whatever lore I'm leaving.

Story comments are at the end.

Enjoy the new year!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Compared to the absolute silence that had greeted Skeppy when he first awoke, the distinct
sound of pages being turned was almost welcome in showing him that he wasn’t alone again.

Until he remembered his current situation. And identified the only individual in the house
that had opposable thumbs.

Making sure to keep his body still, Skeppy hesitantly opens his eyes, not knowing what to
expect now that he knows the demon is in the same room as him. Yet as he takes in the
darkened room Skeppy can’t help but feel slightly surprised when he spies a shadowy figure
sitting at a desk apparently too busy flipping through papers to notice him. With its back to
him, the demon seems to be organizing notes of some kind, already having constructed two
piles of paper. Through squinted lids, Skeppy watches as Bad picks up a quill to jot
something down before transferring the new note to one of the piles.

A quill scratching on parchment. Quite mumbling filling the room as the man reviewed his
work. Skeppy had quickly overtaken those sounds with his own pained moans, a throbbing
pain shooting out from his chest and making his entire body feel sore.

The room had been filled with light then, the thin curtains doing little to block out the rays of
the winter sun. But Skeppy doesn’t feel that same pain now, at least not to the extent that
ended up with him screaming on the floor. Even with pain's absence the soreness still lingers
however, an oppressive weight that sinks its claws into Skeppy’s bones and refuses to go
away quietly. Never one to let that stop him, Skeppy tries to move his legs before recognizing
a familiar weight on top of them, a quick glance identifying a bundle of white fur that could
only be Rat.

His arms are not held down however, so he maneuvers them under his body before pushing
his torso up from the bed, inwardly cursing at the shakiness that runs through the limbs from
such little activity. Despite himself, a low groan escapes from his chest as his left shoulder
twinges in pain, the noise only serving to alert the demon that its friend had finally awoken.

“Skeppy! You’re awake!” the demon exclaims, the noise from the papers now absent as it
quickly rises from its chair to draw open the curtains, instantly bathing the once dark room in
sunlight and making Skeppy squint as his eyes are assaulted. It turns to look at the human,
seeming…relieved that Skeppy is okay (if it’s wagging tail is any indication). “I was so
worried that you wouldn’t make it. That spider definitely meant business with the way it’d
gone after you.”

Skeppy merely peers up at the figure, arms visibly trembling as he fights to keep himself
propped up. Why was it telling him these things? Did it expect him to thank it? Fall over
himself pledging undying friendship with the demon that had kidnapped him from its home?
Skeppy clenches his jaw shut, physically biting his tongue as he squints through the glare of
the sun.

When its comments are met with nothing but silence the demon opts for a different topic,
white eyes flickering down to take in the obvious struggle as it seems to realize that Skeppy
is fighting a losing battle.

“Here let me-” it begins, drawing closer before stopping as Skeppy instinctively flinches at
the action, knowing all too well the dangers of letting someone get within arms length of him.
The fact that Bad was a demon wasn’t helping its case either.

“Skeppy?”

“Not- Not one more fucking step.” Skeppy growls out, baring his teeth at the demon even as
fear courses through his veins.

The demon’s white eyes widen as Skeppy glares at it defiantly, hurt flashing across its face as
its tail starts to droop.

“Skeppy I just want to help,” it begins, hand reaching out as if that’s all it takes to earn
Skeppy’s trust. As if he's more unruly dog than human. And that actually makes Skeppy snap
his teeth, furious that it thinks it's possible to help. That it thinks a demon can be useful for
once in its wretched life.

“Cut the bullshit demon.”

He has the immediate pleasure of seeing Bad’s eyes widen in shock. And that just
incentivises him to keep going. To push his body until he’s sitting up properly and doesn’t
need his arms to support his weight. To yank his legs out from under Rat (who seemed
content to stay asleep). To curl in on himself, as if he were a turtle hiding inside its shell.

“You should have let me die.”

“Skeppy-”
“No! You don’t have a fucking say in this matter.” Skeppy points an accusatory finger at the
demon before curling up once again. “I had an out. That spider was supposed to kill me, you
said so yourself! But no, you couldn’t lose your friend so quickly so you had to swoop in and
be the fucking hero!”

“That’s not-”

“I’m not done!” Skeppy all but roars, reveling in the way the demon flinches at his words,
“You took me from my home, brought me to a place in the middle of nowhere, and let this
happen to me.” He pauses his rant to wave at his torso, only just now noticing the multitude
of bandages having replaced his shirt. “And after all of that, all I can think to ask is why?
Why are you trying to be nice when it’s clearly an act?”

Skeppy drops his gaze to the blanket draped across his body, focusing on the newly
awakened Rat who was obviously worried about whatever was going on between her master
and its new friend . Because that’s what this was all about, a simple minded demon wanting a
new playmate. Skeppy shivers at the reminder, recognizing the false title for the trap it was,
absentmindedly reaching a hand up to brush against his cheek. “You can stop acting like you
aren’t going to enslave me or eat me or just keep me in your basement.”

“A normal demon would’ve ended this charade long ago. You’re not fooling anyone with
your pathetic nice guy act, you should quit now and save yourself further embarrassment. A
true demon would’ve left me there to die. So what does that make you? Weak. ” He spits out
those final words as his lips twist into a snarl, silently raising his eyes to see the effect he’s
had on the demon.

Bad stills at those final words, a once horrified face going completely blank as it seems to
take in the human on its bed. And Skeppy realizes he fucked up when he is suddenly aware
of the room’s temperature plummeting as shadows seem to form around the demon, whipping
this way and that as a humming noise fills the room. Instinctively Skeppy shrinks back,
cursing himself for going too far, for insulting the one who has all the power. This had
happened once before, when Skeppy pissed off the demon while they were in the cave. Why
did he have to be so good at angering those that could do the most damage? He tightens his
already curled up form, raises the blanket against his chest as if that will provide any
protection.
And then Rat is there, aggressively perched on top of the bed, hackles raised as she growls at
something. Whether it’s Skeppy or Bad the human cannot tell.

“You are right, a normal demon would’ve left you there to die.” Bad hisses, magic lashing
angrily around him at the confession. “A normal demon wouldn’t have made you food,
offered you their bed, asked if you were okay. A normal demon would’ve killed you as soon
as you stumbled onto their territory.” Bad puffs up with every statement, raising its wings so
it looks even bigger. The room smells like ozone now, magic practically crackling all around
them. “But lucky for you-”

And as soon as it arrived it vanished, the magic swirling through the air having simply
disappeared as if it was never there to begin with. If it wasn’t for a few stray papers now
laying on the floor, Skeppy would’ve thought he hallucinated the whole thing.

“I’m not a normal demon.” Bad sniffs, seemingly unperturbed by whatever the fuck just
happened. It turns towards the table by the bed, quickly snatching a bottle mostly full of a
purple liquid. Peering at the contents with a critical eye, the demon levels its stare at Skeppy
as it swirls the potion around.

“ You are the one that called my name in the forest. You are the only reason I found you in
time. If you hadn’t screamed out then the spider would’ve finished the job far before I got the
chance to see your body. You can blame me all you like for saving your life because at the
end of the day, you’re the one who got me there in time.”

“And,” the demon continues, holding the bottle out towards Skeppy, the sleeve of its coat
nearly covering the small container. “you are going to drink this potion, not because I want
you to owe me but because I want to help my friend get better.”

Skeppy looks at the offered item, whose purple liquid looks nothing like the glittery
concoctions he’d occasionally see strapped to adventurers that came by the village. He’s
never been this close to one either, with only the highest members of the church having the
privilege of touting whatever swill was made at the village. Apparently it takes someone with
magic to be able to brew potions properly and Skeppy can’t think of a single non-human
villager who can even afford the ingredients, much less the brewing stand. So instead most if
not all potions at the village were made by the wealthy and even then the products could only
mimic a fraction of the effects that came from potions brewed by magical creatures.
And as Skeppy looks at the demon’s cloak half obscuring the potion bottle (the green accents
reminded him of someone best left forgotten for now), he supposes it makes sense that the
demon Bad’s potions would look different than whatever tacky slop the priests pulled out ‘for
emergencies only.’

Though it never seemed to be an emergency when he was involved.

When Skeppy merely stares at the demon clothes rather than accept the bottle the demon
elects to shove it into the human’s hands before quickly stepping back to a respectable
distance.

With the bottle now in hand Skeppy glides a finger over the smooth glass already warm from
the time it had spent cupped in Bad’s hands. “What if-”

“If you don’t drink that then know I’ve already force fed you some of it and I promise I’ll do
it again if you don’t drink it yourself.”

Skeppy’s question dies on his tongue.

As if seeing his sudden hesitation Bad lets out a low sigh, hand reaching under its hood to
run through its…hair? Does Bad have hair? Do demons have hair? These are not important
questions Skeppy, not when you’re holding something people would pay at least double digit
emeralds for.

“It’s a regeneration potion.” Bad comments, edging its way closer to the bed while gesturing
at the bottle. “Highly effective but you should know it may taste a little unpleasant.” It adds
before swiping something off the desk and heading to a doorway Skeppy hadn’t noticed. He
can hear water running and being shut off before the demon returns with a mug in hand. “It
doesn’t have the normal blaze powder in it but you’ll need something to wash the taste
down.”
 Bad places what appears to be a mug of water on the table besides Skeppy, handle angled
towards him for easy reach. Rather than return to its early position however, a thought seems
to strike it as it turns to look at both Rat and Skeppy on the bed.

“You two could use some breakfast so I’ll make a tray while you drink the potion.”

At the mention of breakfast Rat’s tail seems to become a blur of motion as the wolf wags her
entire body at the demon words. Though Skeppy’s eyes could be playing tricks, he thinks he
sees the demon smile at the small display of excitement, not merely a flash of fang but a
shadowed grin that stretches across pitch black skin.

“Just make sure he finishes the bottle.” Bad instructs the small canine, giving her a few
scratches before returning its attention to Skeppy, white eyes darting to the still closed potion.
“Don’t forget what I said about force feeding.”

Skeppy glares at the reminder, choosing to remain silent as the demon heads towards the door
frame, his own stubbornness keeping him from drinking the potion in view of Bad. Which
would’ve been more effective if his stomach hadn’t taken that moment to growl loudly,
causing him to flush as the demon quirked an eyebrow in obvious amusement.

“I’ll be quick.” Bad promises, laying a hand over its heart before opening the door and
leaving the room, not bothering to close it behind him.

Fucker.

Chapter End Notes

Gotta say, this chapter had a few references to other parts of the story.

First off, Rat is finally getting the steak she deserves!

Let's see, the potion Skeppy is given is in fact the remainder of what Bad couldn't get
him to drink.
The shadow thing with Bad did in fact happen in the mining shelter from earlier (let's
just say that Bad got 'triggered' by Skeppy)

Also, the whole lore of potions I do plan on going a bit in-depth on later in the story but
I like to imagine that in this world creatures who are of magical descent are better at
certain things magic related (such as potions and enchantments) compared to regular
humans. While this doesn't seem that impactful now, I do have an idea on how to apply
this later in the story and how it'll influence certain things. But because Bad is a demon
and has plenty of magic to spare, he is able to 'substitute' magic for ingredients in certain
cases, hence why his potions don't have the sheen of in-game potions. This is why, when
Bad offered Skeppy a healing potion, Skeppy thought it was blood because it simply
looked like a dark red liquid, not anything shiny or glittery like the potions in his village.

There may or may not be some extra lore bits in this chapter ¯\_ (ツ)_/¯
 Everyone is Dumb
Chapter Summary

I just want to close my eyes and disappear

Chapter Notes

Haha, told you guys I'd get another chapter out before the new year! Sure I'm cutting it
close but it's the thought that matters. And the fact that this chapter is a long one but
that's more of a bonus than anything.

It's been fun to torture Skeppy these last few chapters and I gotta say, this one does not
let up. Poor little Skeppy has some serious shit to work through before he can truly open
up to Bad but that's a ways off from what I'm seeing. Not to say it's impossible though...

It's amazing that I'm entering the new year with 2100 hits, more than 65 comments, and
120 kudos's!
Again, a huge thanks to you guys and I will admit that it's been fun to torture you guys
with the lore I'm adding in. Don't forget to comment your theories after this chapter
because believe me, certain things are about to start popping up.

Watch the new year countdown!

Story details are at the end.

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Skeppy glowers at the bottle in his hands, wanting nothing more than to toss the whole thing
aside. He doesn’t want it, doesn’t need it, the demon’s verdict be damned. His body hurts like
nothing else, a throbbing pain radiating from all across his body but it’s a familiar ache,
something he has the experience to stamp down and ignore. But would the demon believe his
words? If its previous actions were anything to go by, no, not at all.

“No, I don’t want it! I refuse to let you put anything on me!”

He had screamed aloud, fought with all his might, and what had the demon done? Merely
pulled him in closer as if he was a misbehaving child trying to run off. It was as if the demon
expected all of its ideas to be carried out with little to no resistance, as if it viewed itself to be
better than everything around it. Maybe that explains why it thought Skeppy would be okay
with being its friend. After all, who would dare pass up the chance to be buddy buddy with
the great and powerful Bad.

Skeppy wasn’t powerful, wasn’t a demon born from Hell. He was a human with nothing to
his name but the stories the villagers would whisper to each other as he walked past.

Skeppy was never the one in control.

His eyes dart towards the wolf, barely surprised to see her sitting ramrod straight as she
appears to watch his careful consideration of the potion in his hands.

“Make sure he finishes the bottle.”

“Any chance you’ll drink this for me?”

It could be Skeppy’s fucked up mental status, but he swears the wolf snorts at him, cocking
her head to the side as she remains seated.

Take that as a no then.

With dread pooling in his stomach Skeppy uncorks the bottle and gives its contents and
explorative whiff. Taking the fact he didn’t recoil at the smell as a good sign , Skeppy swirls
the purple liquid around once more, before taking an experimental swig and immediately
clapping his hand over his mouth. Gods, what the fuck did the demon put in this? Not only
was the potion insanely sugary, but it also had a smoky taste to it, as if someone had mistaken
sugar for salt while operating a smoker. Skeppy had half a mind to spit the concoction all
across the room if it weren’t for two things. One: the fact the demon would probably kill him,
and two: the warmth slowly spreading across his body. For a moment, the pain is erased,
replaced by a soothing numbness.
Cautiously he swallows the mouthful, relaxing as the warmth seems to take hold in his body,
trailing underneath skin, wrapping around his bones, melting away a deep chill he didn’t
know he had.

Fuck maybe the demon was right.

Glancing at the cup Bad had left on his table, Skeppy edges his way towards it and grabs the
handle. With one final look at Rat (who seemed happy that he was finally following
instructions) Skeppy quickly gulps down both the potion and water in quick succession,
resisting the urge to grimace as he sets the now empty containers onto the table.

“Happy?” he can’t help but snark at the small wolf, who merely sighs before flopping back
onto the bed, obviously done with his bullshit.

Hiding a smirk Skeppy runs a hand through his hair as he carefully stretches his back,
wincing at the cracks that echo through the room. The room…

With Bad still unseen and Rat apparently bored of him now, Skeppy decides to use the
opportunity to look around his apparent cell for the time being, his eyes immediately settling
on the dark wooden desk that sits in the corner, the door next to it probably leading to a
bathroom. Surrounding the desk are thick stacks of books, a variety of sizes and colors yet all
seemingly organized by some sort of system. On the desk lies a leather bound book opened to
a bookmarked spot, the random papers from earlier still surrounding it as if the demon was
confirming something. Accompanying the desk is a large chair of sorts that was obviously
fashioned to accommodate its users less than normal frame, if the open back and taller legs
are anything to go by. Skeppy finds himself suppressing a snort as he spies a space
unmistakably meant for a tail to sneak through.

Besides the desk sits a large dresser, whose shelves seem rifled through, judging by the bits
of cloth that prevent them from shutting. But as Skeppy’s eyes dart around the room, he’s
surprised to see no other evidence of the demon’s personal belongings, at least not the
wearable kind. This would’ve given Skeppy the impression that the demon hadn’t been
living here for months, if it wasn’t for the rest of the room.

Compared to the small space dedicated to clothes, the remaining walls seem to be entirely
devoted to souvenirs of some kind, packed so closely together that Skeppy has to double
check to ensure he doesn’t miss any knicknacks. Framed against the wall are a diamond
pickaxe and sword, their naturally blue exterior glimmering with enchantments. Despite
himself, Skeppy wishes he could touch the tools, to be allowed to trace a finger across the
magical barrier cast onto the material. Enchanting was a rare thing in the village, with only
the highest level workers even having the knowledge to do it, much less be able to afford the
expensive materials required. Only when they were truly desperate would they turn to him
however, and Skeppy could count on one hand the number of times a villager had blanched
as they walked up to his lone stall, usually a servant sent by their master when they had no
one else to go to, to hurriedly ask for some lapis lazuli.

That was a good day. He thinks he bought some cake to celebrate, or was it pie?

But of course, once the villagers had what they wanted, Skeppy was back to being the town
monster and as such, was never allowed near such expensive items. Even now, his only
memories of enchanted items are from quick glimpses through thick glass, nothing like the
tools that lay just feet away.

The tools that belonged to a demon. And if that wasn’t something that made them even
riskier to touch…

With a forlorn sigh, Skeppy turns his attention to the rest of the shelves, eyes darting about as
he tries to make sense of what he sees. Compared to the understandable value behind
diamond items (enchantments aside) the rest of the collection seems to consist of objects that
hold little to no purpose at all. Multiple vases seemed to be scattered throughout the room,
each devoted to their own kind of flower magically preserved as if they were still in the
ground. There’s even what appears to be a small cactus in a pot, a large pink flower blooming
perfectly on top. Uncut rocks and stones vie for position among the rays of sunlight
streaming in through the room, casting small rainbows across the ceiling. A few pieces of
paper are even pinned up for good measure, each containing a rough sketch of places
Skeppy’s never even dreamed of. Were they places the demon had been to before?

Glancing beside him, Skeppy spots a small wooden figurine of a man with wings, delicately
carved so that he looked as though he were coming in for a landing, long robes flapping
about him as if caught by the wind. Besides it is a more crude carving of a large (and rather
fat) bird/chicken hybrid with a name tag proclaiming it to be ‘Nugget.’ Skeppy furrows his
brow, the name reminding him of someone, making a memory long since buried slowly push
its way to the forefront of his mind. But as soon as he’s drawn attention to it, it’s gone,
disappearing as quickly as it had come. Skeppy can only groan in disapproval as he rubs at
his eyes, not knowing if the memory was important in the first place.
Raising his head from his hands, Skeppy gives the room one more quick surveyance. No
matter the item's actual value, the demon seems to hold everything in high regard with every
shelf appearing organized and the objects themselves seeming well taken care of. As his eyes
skim over a bottle filled with a light pink substance, Skeppy is suddenly made aware of loud
footsteps nearing the entryway of the room, as if the demon was warning Skeppy that it was
about to make an appearance. Not that he can complain, seeing as how the act keeps Skeppy
from flinching as the figure carefully maneuvers its way into view, a large tray in hand and
something familiar swinging on its tail.

“Here you guys are.” it announces a little too cheerfully as it nears the bed. It sets the tray in
front of Skeppy but removes one of the two plates that had been on it, leaving a pile of
muffins and a mug filled with what seemed to be milk.

At the sight of the second plate Rat completely forgets about her task, instead taking to
lightly jumping up and down in excitement. With a quick bow the demon deposits the plate
on the floor with Rat soon to follow, the canine evidently eager for whatever food the demon
had made for her.

But Skeppy’s eyes doesn’t follow her descent, his gaze still locked on-

“That’s-”

“Hmm? Oh, your bag!” Bad announces, using its tail to wave the item back and forth, “Yeah,
Rat brought it back after we found it in the woods so I had to give it a bit of a cleaning but
nothing should be missing.”

It has its bag. It has its bag again. A bag that was never his to begin with-

Listen mate, just so you know I won’t leave, I’ll leave something of mind. That way, you’ll
know I’ll return, if only to get my bag back. I won’t leave you high and dry, like some of the
other motherfuckers in this village. You can trust me to come back, so long as you have
something of mine.
He can’t lose the bag, or else he won’t come back. He needs it, needs-

But Bad isn’t going to just give the bag back, not after Skeppy had already used so much of
its favor. It’ll want something in return, they always want something .

And Skeppy only has one thing to offer.

Skeppy can only act on autopilot, hand already reaching up to his cheek, fingers carefully
splayed out.

His nail’s digging into flesh, carving a path to the diamonds that lurk just beneath his skin.

Prying them out, leaving them whole. Needs to pay his debt, needs to-

“Whoa, whoa, Skeppy!” the demon practically shouts, its hand quickly encompassing
Skeppy’s own, “what are you doing?!”

“Need to pay you back, need to get my bag-” Skeppy all but mumbles, already zoning out to
escape the pain blooming in his cheek.

“What? No! Skeppy, you don’t have to pay me. It’s your bag!”

“... huh?” Skeppy can’t hide the confused noise that escapes him, thinking he imagined it as
his eyes dart between Bad and the bag still clutched in its tail. Bad just raises a worried
eyebrow and extends its tail over the bed, the bag now dangling mere inches away from
Skeppy’s grasp.

“I said…”Bad begins gently, using its hands to dislodge Skeppy’s nails from his face, “that
you don’t have to pay me.”
 And if that comment doesn’t make Skeppy freeze, doesn’t bring certain memories to mind,
doesn’t make him whimper .

Only one other person didn’t want payment.

Bad quickly takes advantage of Skeppy’s momentary shock, using its hand to ease Skeppy’s
nails out of his cheek. Only once Skeppy’s hands leave slightly bloodied skin does Bad fully
drop the bag, releasing its hold on both the satchel and Skeppy’s hands before taking a few
steps back.

“I-”Skeppy begins, before shutting his mouth as all other words fail him. Taking in the
human’s fragile state the demon lets out a solemn sigh before looking down at the bed.

“Eat first,” Bad instructs, tilting his chin towards the momentarily forgotten tray of food.
“And then we can talk.”

Chapter End Notes

You get some lore, and you get some lore!

Since this chapter touches the surface of certain things I don't want to reveal too early I'll
withhold on most lore unless asked about it.

For the time being though:

Hmm, that Skeppy sure is good at ignoring pain, wonder why?

Skeppy does have a flashback to when Bad first cast magic on him (the magic ring that
went around his wrist) and if you remember, Skeppy didn't take too kindly to having
something done to his body without permission

Oh, is that why Skeppy cared so much about a bag?

Those villagers seem a bit like hypocrites, using Skeppy's materials and still being huge
jerks to him.

Is Bad actually respecting personal space?!

Alright, you guys got two chapters back to back, serotonin please! Comments work just
as well :)
 How Much To Care?
Chapter Summary

Bad kind of...snaps.

Chapter Notes

Hello readers and a happy new year! Let's hope this one is a lot better than the previous
ones (though that's kind of a low bar).

This chapter is a bit shorter than the last few but that's mostly because I needed some
set-up for the next part and didn't spend a lot of time on this as a result. Not that you
guys seem to mind, seeing how a short chapter staring Death made you all go rabid.

Also, the last chapter got me past 2222 hits! Lot of interesting comments and I noticed
some (but not all) of you guys connect a few of the lore 'dots' from last chapter. I
promise this is building up to something, you just have to be patient.

Be patient!

Story details are at the end!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Ignoring the tray, Skeppy’s hands instead reach for the bag, fingers fumbling with the worn
leather as he draws it closer to his chest, closing his eyes as if in prayer.

I still have it. I’m keeping it safe till you return. When you return. You’ll keep your promise.
You always have.

“Skeppy?”

An involuntary shudder runs through Skeppy, and his eyes flicker open. Bad was looking at
him with worry evident on its face, white eyes slightly obscured by a furrowed brow yet
somehow still piercing straight into Skeppy’s very soul. He hates it, hates the look of pity,
worry, kindness. Bad is a demon, and he doesn’t get the option of feeling such things.

Skeppy could only dream.

“Right.” he says, pushing the bag to the side, “You said I should eat.”

“Skeppy that’s not what I’m worried about. You are-”

“You said, ” Skeppy interrupts, fixing the demon with a stare of his own. “that I should eat.
So I’m going to do that.”

Bad falls silent at his words, no doubt recognizing that arguing wouldn’t do anything. So
instead it nods before turning its attention to dragging the desk chair to face the bed,
seemingly indifferent about the shrieks emitting from the wood at such rough treatment.

It's only once it seats itself and Skeppy has yet to actually eat does it seem upset, its eyes
pointedly flickering between the human and the tray that laid before him. It even uses its tail
to gesture towards the food, the spaded tip doing an excellent impression of a compass arrow.

Taking the hint Skeppy also looks at the tray, trying not to laugh at the absolute tower of
muffins Bad seems to have perfectly balanced on a plate. Experimentally he pokes at one
with a finger, only realizing his mistake when the entire pile falls into a heap.

“Fuck.” he whispers under his breath, automatically reaching out with both hands to catch
any food before it falls off the tray. Which in turn, makes him double over as agony shoots
across his arm and abdomen, effectively freezing him in place with nothing more than a hiss
of distress.

“Fudge, Skeppy?”
“I’m fine.” he spits through clenched teeth, trying his best to straighten into a more
comfortable position. It hurts like hell but eventually he manages to hunch over the tray,
knowing that if he tried to recline he’d more than likely fall over with no chance of getting
back up.

The swish of cloth is the only warning Skeppy has before Bad suddenly rises from its chair
and moves towards the bed. Instinctively Skeppy stiffens, though his still throbbing shoulder
is an effective immobilizer on preventing him from raising his arms into a defensive position.
If Bad had been looking at him, he would have recognized the action as one Skeppy’s
performed before, whether in the kitchen or forest. But instead the demon seems to be
focused on something just beyond the bed, laying at its foot and just out of reach of Skeppy’s
vision.

He bends down, its own ridiculous height still keeping it in view, before straightening with
his arms completely full of pillows. Pillows Skeppy recognizes as having once lived on the
bed he was currently occupying. With a few strides Bad is beside him, practically juggling
the red cushions as he shuffles towards Skeppy.

“Here.” it says, already beginning to stack pillows against Skeppy’s back.

“Fucking hell why ? I said I was fine.” Skeppy sputters, not expecting the demon's sudden
closeness. Does he push him away? Act like the demon wasn’t invading his personal space?
Gods, did it even know what personal space was ?

Thankfully Bad answers the question.

“Skeppy you are not fine. ” It states coldly, the statement punctuated by the addition of
another pillow. “You almost died, and even still, lost a lot of blood. Your body was and still is
injured and you either don’t care enough to tell the truth, or are too tired to do so. So forgive
me for not believing you.”

It steps back to survey its handiwork, locking now gentled eyes with Skeppy once again. “Let
me help .”
And if that doesn’t make whatever rebuttal Skeppy have die on his lips, have his stomach
clench as his mind offers another oh so helpful memory.

C’mon mate, you don’t have to do things alone. These fuckwits may think they have you
figured out but you still have people you can rely on. Sure there’s me, but what about that girl
from the bakery, the one who helped you before? She was there before I was, doesn’t that
amount to something?

Skeppy doesn’t remember his reply, the years an effective barrier between memories both
wanted and not. But it’s hard to forget the earnest look the man had had, as if worried what
would become of Skeppy, worried that he’d rather hide away than confront reality. Past
Skeppy would’ve thought the notion ridiculous yet here he was doing just that, as if the
man’s lessons meant nothing.

And it made him sick.

So he allows himself to lean back, just enough so that the pillows support a little of his
weight. Enough that his body doesn’t shake with the effort of keeping itself upright. But it's
enough for the demon, who grins down at him, as if it had won some incredible prize.

They will lure you into a false sense of security. After all, it’s easier to get something you
want when no one puts up a fight. But once they get your trust they strike, laughing at your
tears as they strip away everything that makes you human . They were cast out for a reason,
and their only goal is to bring you down to their level. And that’s why you can never trust
them.

“Pick one.”

Skeppy jumps at the sudden request, eyes following the seemingly random gesture of Bad’s
before landing on the now cluttered tray. After a quick survey, Skeppy quietly points at a
muffin towards the center of the pile, one he hopefully hadn’t touched in his attempts to keep
the tower standing. The demon quickly snags it, long claws delicately lifting the baked good
into the air and towards its face. As Skeppy watches, the demon glances over the product
before unceremoniously cramming the whole thing in its mouth, a few stray crumbs being the
only proof of its existence.
 “Huh,” Bad states with garbled words, obviously struggling to talk and chew at the same
time, “didn’t realize how hungry I was.”

And with that he returns to its chair, making sure to sweep its cloak out from underneath it
before actually settling down.

Chapter End Notes

Ah Skeppy, you should've known you can't push Bad around forever.

First things first!!! You guys might have noticed 'he/him' pronouns being used when
Skeppy is referring to Bad (rather than 'it') and there is a reason for it! It's actually been
going back a few chapters, and seems to increase in occurrence the nicer Bad is to
Skeppy. Hmm, wonder what this could mean...

Quite a few 'memories' this time aren't there?

And I wonder if that could be another character being hinted at!

Are these memories about the same person? Or two entirely different people?

Why is Skeppy so against the idea of letting someone down?

Fun fact: Archive apparently wants to translate 'fuckwits' to kiwifruits so I might have a
new swear word now.

Also, pillow stack! I love having a million pillows to sleep on, so I gave Bad the same
thing (you can see Skeppy comment on it when he first sets foot into Bad's room).

Alright you guys, have a good day while I try to figure out next chapters story line. It'll
be an interesting one, that's for sure.
 Echoes of the Past
Chapter Summary

Questions get asked, but do they get answered?

Chapter Notes

*Slams head into keyboard and this pops out*

Alright, so last chapter I said the reason why it was so short was because I needed some
set-up. Well now you know why!!! This is a very big chapter, and I still had to split it a
bit due to timing. This is the chapter where they ask some questions, and sort of get
some answers (depending on who you ask).

The story has surpassed 2400 hits and 75 comments! You guys must enjoy reading about
broken little Skeppy don't you? (You sadistic little monsters). He definitely has reasons
to be so damaged though, and he has his own ways of coping with trauma. That isn't to
say Bad doesn't have issues of his own, just different ways of handling them.

(And yes the title is another Owl House reference).

Story details are at the end!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

With Bad having effectively proven the food to be non-poisoned, Skeppy has little choice in
obeying the demon’s wishes, less he wishes to face whatever that was when he had lashed
out earlier. So with trembling fingers Skeppy selects a muffin and raises it to his face, trying
not to look too hesitant as he carefully examines it. There were a few stories back home about
creatures like the fae who tricked travelers into eating their strange food in order to mark
them as their own, but the muffin in his hands looked as if it had come from the village
bakery itself. Feeling Bad’s eyes on him, Skeppy carefully takes a bite, more than prepared to
spit it out if anything tasted off.

But as he samples the baked good, Skeppy can’t keep his eyes from widening. It tasted so
familiar, so close to the apple muffins she makes specifically for the fall season, that he can’t
help but be reminded of things he’d rather ignore for now.
Two muffins carefully placed beside the bin, a lone napkin keeping them off the ground. He
didn’t know why they were there, but was too desperate to ask questions. The next day there
were three. The next had half a loaf of bread. Each morning a new offering, all placed on a
single napkin as if needing to prove they weren’t left there accidentally. Such a small act, but
something he clung to as the only kindness he was afforded. He should’ve doubted the
intentions behind such an action but of course, he didn’t ask any questions, all he did was
consume.

It wasn’t until much later that he grew curious, needing time to collect his thoughts and think
back to what had been. Only then did he wonder about those events, only then did he start to
question why someone had helped him when no one else did.

She was the only one who knew the answer.

“Where-” he croaks out, his mouth suddenly dry, “Where did you get these?”

“Oh, I made them myself.” Bad announces, the unmistakable trace of pride in its voice,
“They’re probably my best batch.” As if reminded of his own hunger he shifts in his chair,
raising his body up as if preparing to stand, an action that instinctively has Skeppy shrinking
back, trying to further the distance between him and the demon. And of course Bad notices,
the demon automatically halting its movements as Skeppy cringes away.

“Oh fudge, sorry about that Skeppy, I forgot about keeping away. I moved without thinking.”
Bad apologizes, once again returning to his chair. Only once he’s settled does he continue, his
tail darting around his figure and stretching towards the tray of food. With far more delicacy
than Skeppy thought possible, the slim appendage carefully wraps around the base of a
muffin, cradling the baked good as it slowly returns to its owner without dropping a single
crumb. Rather than cramming this one into his mouth Bad breaks chunks from the top before
raising them to his face, every piece disappearing with a quick flash of fang.

“U-um that’s okay.” Skeppy manages after picking his jaw up from the ground, “And the
muffins, they’re not bad. In fact they’re really familiar.”
“Really?” questions Bad, tilting his head curiously at Skeppy. “Do you have these in the
village?”

Skeppy only nods in confirmation, choosing to cram the rest of the muffin in his mouth rather
than continue the conversation. He doubts that Bad has been stalking the village long enough
to be stealing recipes, but even if he was, Skeppy did not want to have that conversation with
a demon that probably didn’t take criticism well.

Bad seems to contemplate something as Skeppy chews, fidgeting with the remnants of muffin
in his hands. Skeppy swallows, the act of eating only serving to bring attention to his hunger
and make him realize just how starved he felt, his stomach far from filled. Grabbing another
muffin from the tray, Skeppy barely examines it before raising it up.

“I’m sure you have questions.”

The sudden statement makes Skeppy pause, the muffin halfway to his already open mouth.
Lowering his arm self-consciously, he directs his attention to Bad. “Yes, yes I do.”

“Well I do too, so I think it will be in our best interest to at least answer a few of them.”

Skeppy freezes at the mention of Bad’s own questions. There was no doubt in his mind that
the demon knew about the diamonds embedded in his cheeks, especially after Skeppy had
dug into his skin in an effort to pay back his debt. But what else did the demon know about?
Skeppy shifts his body, trying to hide his panic at the demon’s words. He knew it would be
inevitable, the precious minerals probably the only reason why Bad had kidnapped him from
the forest. Gods know it’s the only valuable thing about Skeppy.

“Fine.” he spits out, “But I get to ask you questions too.”

Rather than seem annoyed, Bad looks confused, head tilting to look at Skeppy inquisitively.
“Well yeah Skeppy, I asked if you had questions.”
The obviousness of the statement makes Skeppy flush, stuffing part of the muffin into his
mouth so he wouldn’t have to respond immediately. Yet Bad sits patiently, tail slowly
twitching back and forth as it lets him gather his thoughts. With a hard swallow, Skeppy fixes
Bad with a frown, voicing the first question that comes to mind. “What happened?”

“I was kind of hoping you could tell me Skeppy,” Bad begins, “most of what I know starts
when I found you bleeding out in the forest, a spider digging into your unconscious form.”

Despite himself Skeppy flinches at the brusque way Bad cuts to the chase, not expecting the
attack to be referenced in such a casual tone. But it makes sense, to Bad Skeppy must’ve
suddenly tried to run out of a deal they had made and Skeppy has more than enough
experience to know just how much that would infuriate a person, demon or otherwise.

“I…ran away, ran into the forest. I remember running into a pair of red eyes that I thought
were Rat’s, so I threw a rock at them. It turns out those eyes belonged to a spider, so I swung
my bag at it before trying to run away. As you can tell it caught up to me despite my best
efforts and attacked. And then…”Skeppy pauses, trying to squash the memories of the spider
pouncing on him, its razor sharp fangs slicing through his flesh like a sword through paper, “I
called for help.”

Bad hums to himself as Skeppy talks, puzzle pieces undoubtedly falling into place. “I was
wondering why a spider would randomly attack an innocent human, and that explains why
you left your bag behind.”

“So what happened to me after that?”

“After you ran, Rat and I followed you into the woods, with Rat tracking your scent. We
found your bag and, after hearing your screams, quickly found you and killed the spider. You
were really injured so I healed you momentarily before flying home. After a bunch of
bandages and potions you were stable so I went to clean things up, not expecting you to
wake-up for a while.” Bad explains, gesturing wildly with the currently-forgotten muffin still
clasped in his claws. “But you probably know what happened.”

“I woke up in pain. You…forced me to drink some potion.” Skeppy begins slowly, fuzzy
memories remaining half hidden by the pain that had created them. “And I fell asleep again?”
Bad looks surprised by the question, “Do you not remember anything else?”

Skeppy immediately shakes his head, not even wanting to relive the time between the attack
and now. He ran, got attacked, and was forced to drink some potion. Everything else can be
lost to time, smothering into non-existence by his own refusal to acknowledge what
happened. Even this, being the first to eat muffins with a demon, Skeppy would willingly
forget if he could.

“Actually that’s pretty much it.” Bad concludes, “After you fell asleep again I decided to sit
and wait for you to wake up so you didn’t panic again.”

Skeppy wants to tell Bad that seeing the demon is exactly what makes him freak out, but he
instead bites his tongue and asks the next thing on his mind, “How long was I out?”

Bad turns his head to look out the window, seemingly trying to gauge the sun’s location.
“You got attacked right after sundown last night and it’s about early noon so I’d say…about
half a day?”

The words have more of an impact than they should, Skeppy uncomfortable with the idea of
losing time, even if it was because of a sudden coma from blood loss. Skeppy glances at the
demon, taking in its attire for the first time since he had woken up. While Bad seems to have
replaced his red-trimmed cloak for a now green one, the clothes beneath seem the same as the
ones he had worn on the mountain. Did he spend all that time looking after Skeppy? At the
thought a pang of something shoots through Skeppy’s chest, so intense it could’ve been
mistaken for one of his injuries flaring up had it not been for the potion numbing his senses.
He hunches forward slightly, gritting his teeth in annoyance as he hopes Bad didn’t notice.

“How do you feel?”

Fuck.
“I’m about as fine as could be.” Skeppy says with more heat than necessary, not wishing to
be babied because of a few scratches. But the spider didn’t just scratch him, his brain
supplies, already offering several memories of the spider pouncing on his defenseless form.
Such injuries should’ve killed him, yet here he was, laying in a demon’s bed and eating
muffins. Experimentally Skeppy lifts his left arm, his progress only being impeded by a stab
of pain when he tries to raise it above his shoulder. But as soon as it's lowered the pain is
gone, once again washed away by whatever Bad had done to him.

“How did you heal me?”

Bad blinks, obviously caught off guard by the question. “I thought you saw the magic and
potions.”

Of course Skeppy’s remembers the potion (he can still remember the taste) but Bad had used
magic to heal him? There was a blue glow after Skeppy had fallen onto the floor, but he
would’ve chalked that up to his exhausted mental state making him hallucinate, not an actual
occurrence.

Am I supposed to believe a demon can do more than hurt?

As if hearing Skeppy’s unspoken question, Bad lets out a small chuckle before raising a hand
and beginning to slowly trace small circles through the air. Similar to the mountains, a deep
golden light seems to ebb from its finger until Bad is drawing a complete golden ring in
midair. As Skeppy watches small orbs of light form and then detach from the circle, like
bubbles from a wand. Once fully formed, the golden balls float to different areas of the room,
all hovering in place as if purposefully put there. One even edges within reaching distance of
Skeppy, lightly pulsing as if alive. Waving a hand through the ring to disperse it, Bad then
snaps his fingers and the orbs start to shift colors until not one is left their original gold, the
one before Skeppy now a light blue. At the awed look on Skeppy’s face, Bad lets out a low
laugh before waving his hand, the orbs getting smaller before eventually fading away.

“So…yeah.''Bad continues, rubbing at his face as if self-conscious. “I used magic to heal

you.”

Skeppy actively gapes at the demon, his brain short-circuiting after having seen such a
random yet beautiful display of something he knew nothing about. Magic was rare in the
village, with potions and slight enchantments being about as magical an experience someone
could have. Sure there were a few hybrids but their non-human features were normally
hidden unless they wanted to risk punishment. Such a blatant display of power would’ve
definitely had someone killed or shipped off as a slave to someone rich and powerful. And
yet here Bad was, casually creating light as if the whole act were no more dangerous than
using flint and steel.

Thankfully Rat comes to the rescue, the wolf apparently done with whatever Bad had made
for her. With sights obviously set on the forgotten muffin in her master’s hands, the small
canine walks towards the seated figure and begins to paw at his covered leg, a few quiet
whimpers added for good measure.

“Aw, did you enjoy your special steak dinner?” Bad coos down at the wolf, the dopey grin
evident even with the shadow his hood creates. Bending over he offers the remnants of the
muffin to her, the food quickly being scarfed up as if Rat were still famished. Realizing the
contents of Rat’s plate, Skeppy frowns, confused by the demon’s words.

“Does Rat not typically get steak?”

It could be Skeppy’s imagination, but he thinks Bad is embarrassed by the question, the
demon rubbing at its face before turning its attention to him, Rat electing to settle by his feet
and letting her food digest.

“Uh…no, not typically. The treat you saw was more of a bribe, and this reward was a thank
you for her helping find you and killing the spider.”

“Rat is the one that killed the spider?”

Honestly, Skeppy isn’t surprised by the revelation. Sure, Rat seems small for a wolf but
having been on the other end of those red eyes, he has no doubt in his mind that she could
definitely fuck something up, be it spider or human. But still, he would’ve put the spider’s
death on Bad, seeing as how big of a reputation demon’s have when it comes to murdering
things. Nevertheless Bad is nodding, his eyes darting between Skeppy and Rat.
“Yeah, and it’s probably for the best she got there before me.”

“Oh yeah, and why’s that?”

“Because,” and at that Bad’s eyes lock onto Skeppy’s, “if I had gotten there first, there’s no
telling what would’ve happened.”

Suddenly Skeppy is reminded of all the times he’d pissed Bad off, the way shadows seemed
to pour from the demon, the dangerously calm look that would pass over its face. Despite the
warmth of the room Skeppy lets out a small shiver, recognizing that Bad could’ve killed him
anytime he wanted to. But the fact that he didn’t…well it created entirely different questions.

“What did you mean when you said you weren’t a normal demon?”

Skeppy regrets the question as soon as he asks it, wanting nothing more than to snatch back
the words before they hit the demon’s pointed ears. Rather than getting mad at the sudden
question however, Bad merely hums as he brushes stray crumbs from his hands, as if trying
to buy time in order to collect its thoughts. Only once his hands are spotless does he look at
Skeppy, pale eyes seemingly resigned and mouth set into a neutral line.

“What…do you know about demons?”

Instantly Skeppy’s mind offers the lessons he learned years ago. A woman in a black dress, a
headpiece hiding her hair but framing her always pinched face, the hard ruler she always
seemed to have clutched in her hands. The only jewelry she ever wore was a small bottle
fastened around her neck, its contents crystal clear. When she screamed, spittle would fly
from her mouth, splattering across the face of whatever unfortunate student had drawn her
wrath.

Most of the time that was Skeppy.

“Demon’s are incarnations of sin, of darkness, of evil . Creatures of suffering who are not fit
to live beyond Hell. They only exist to take and hurt, never looking out for anyone's interest
besides their own.”

Skeppy parrots the words with a monotone voice, an action caused in part by his forced
recitation of teachings he never cared about yet Bad acts as if every word was directly
targeted towards him. With Skeppy’s account finished, the demon seems to wince , wringing
its hands together as his once neutral countenance shifts to one of shame. Skeppy in turn
drops his gaze, expecting to be revoked in some way, for Bad to immediately defend his
people and say they weren’t that bad.

“That’s…not far off.”

Skeppy’s eyes dart up to meet the demon’s, surprised that it would ever admit a human was
right. Returning the look, the demon seems ashamed of the truth, as if it regretted who it was.

“Most demon’s are best summarized by what you know.” the demon starts, “always wanting
what others have, and by no means afraid to use force whenever it was called for. In my…
time in the Nether, it wasn’t uncommon to see demon’s fight one another, not caring if it was
justified. This also meant.” and the demon’s eyes finally break its stare, dropping down to
look at its clasped hands ,”that things like murder were very common.”

Skeppy swallows past the sudden lump in his throat, the words of past Bad suddenly echoing
in his head. A normal demon would’ve killed you as soon as you stumbled onto their territory.

“But I,” the demon continues, raising a hand to tug self-consciously at its hood, as if making
sure it was secure, “am not like other demon’s. Sure I may have tried to act that way, but at
the end of the day I was a fake. And demon’s…well they’re very good at weeding out the
weak .”

At those words a sudden silence fills the room, the two occupants suddenly having nothing to
talk about. With the muffin now gone, Bad fidgets with his hands, seemingly torn between
fleeing the room and continuing the conversation. He looks…exhausted by his confession, as
if just talking about his past took a lot out of him. But he stays seated and Skeppy goes back
to eating, wishing nothing more than to have something other than his own chewing fill the
quiet.
 Bad breaks the silence at last, eyes lighting up as if he’d just remembered something new to
discuss. “I didn’t know you guys wore gems.”

And Skeppy would much rather go back to silence.

Chapter End Notes

Do you guys ever just imagine something you 'have' to include in your works? Well
that's what the magic scene was to me, something my mind refused to be pried from its
cold, dead fingers.

Skeppy wrapped in bandages with a mountain of pillows at his back. Bad making an
amazing light show because he's 'just' so eager to show his new friend what he can do.
Rat too busy eating steak to care about what the other two are doing. Orbs of all colors
filling the room, illuminating all of the objects Bad collected in his time in the
Overworld. If I could I'd sell my soul for the ability to draw because that is an image I
can't get out of my head. But I can't, so I'll write about it instead. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

First, Skeppy does not remember most of what happened after the spider, and that
includes everything that happened with the Goddess of Death. Basically everything is
really fuzzy all the way up until him waking up with Bad there to greet him.

Did Bad apologize for scaring Skeppy?

Skeppy seems to have problems with asking questions, regretting things as soon as he
says them.

The bit about the spider attacking Skeppy only after he hurt it is modeling the Minecraft
spiders who (in the daytime) only attack players after they've been hurt by them. Even
still, there's a reason why Skeppy would've been okay had he not acted but that's lore for
another time.

Is Bad unhappy with who he is?

Skeppy really likes to ignore the bad things that have happened to him (not that it does
him any good).

Why would a demon's food taste similar to that found in a village?

What does Bad mean with that last statement?

Okay, so I'll leave you guys with those question in mind. Don't forget to comment your
own thoughts while I try to figure out the next chapter. :)
 Freak Out
Chapter Summary

I'm way too overwhelmed, but don't ask me the reason why!

Chapter Notes

How is it that I can immediately write a chapter, yet struggle to write intros?

Well never mind that, welcome back everyone to another chapter of the Diamond and
Demon duo. For those that don't know, Skeppy and Bad have officially met-up in real
life! And no, I still have no idea who's taller (trust me it'll be important in the future).
Rat was...not the biggest fan of Skeppy, so I'm glad this story got something right!

The story has surpassed 2600 hits! Honestly, I was expecting to celebrate 2500 with this
chapter but you guys came in droves after the last one. For any new readers, welcome to
trauma central! For the returning readers, I kept your area nice and tidy (and made sure
to refill the cookie dispenser). It's never a bad thing to get comfy before reading fan-
fiction :)

(The title and summary is from a CG5 song I was listening to as I wrote this).

Story details are at the end!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

“My…gems?” Skeppy croaks out, trying to dislodge the piece of muffin he’d accidentally
inhaled at the demon’s words. He quickly grabs for the mug on the tray, taking a large swig
of milk in an attempt to clear his airway. “Do you mean the ones in my face?”

“Yeah! I didn’t know you guys wore them.” Bad affirms, making a vague gesture to its own
face. “I thought only demons were that vain.”

Wore…them.
At Skeppy’s slack-jaw expression Bad seems to realize he might have overstepped.

“Umm, not to say you’re vain.” he stammers, flapping his hands as he rapidly backpedals. “I
just- I mean demons take great pride in wearing their wealth. I was surprised that humans did
the same. That’s all! I’m not trying to call you vain or anything-”

“Wearing their…wealth?

Skeppy doesn’t even realize he voiced the question until Bad stops his frantic gesturing,
instead fixing its pale gaze on him, panic giving way to confusion. “Well, yeah. Of course,
most demon’s I knew stuck to wearing removable stuff, such as gold chains, but I think a few
embedded the rarer materials into their skin so they wouldn’t get stolen.”

“You guys embedded stuff into your bodies on purpose ?!”

“Not all of us,” Bad protests (no doubt noticing the horror on Skeppy’s face), “just the
flashier ones who wanted to show off their power and wealth.”

“But it was on purpose? And you think, you think I-”

Skeppy has to physically bite his tongue to keep himself from continuing, forcing his gaze
down to the tray, the half eaten muffin reduced to crumbs in his clenched fist. He doesn’t
know why he’s getting angry, doesn’t understand how this sudden knowledge makes him
shake. Is it fear? Fury? The realization that Bad barely cared for the very thing that made the
villagers-

Made…them.

Hot tears streaming down his cheeks, the salty water only serving to further irritate his
wounds before dropping to meet the blood already splashed across the floor.
Skeppy’s hand reaches to meet his cheek, not to claw but to feel. To feel the stones lodged in
his flesh, the diamonds pushing against his natural self, leaving just enough proof of their
existence that he can never forget. That he always has to hide.

And Bad thought he chose this? Chose to have diamonds lodged in his skin, chose to mimic
the demons Skeppy didn’t know existed till two days ago? Demons wore their wealth, Skeppy
wore his failure.

No, he didn’t choose this. He didn’t choose any of this.

“Get out.”

Bad jolts at the venom in Skeppy’s words, obviously thrown off by his sudden change in
attitude.

“Wh-what did you say?” he sputters, tail flicking nervously behind him. Even Rat is paying
attention now, the wolf suddenly standing beside her owner as if preparing to protect him
from Skeppy.

“I said get out,” Skeppy repeats, feeling as though something inside of him had started to
crack under the pressure of the whole situation. He’s dimly aware of a sudden energy pulsing
just beneath his skin, as if ants were tunneling their way through his sinew. It’s a painful
feeling, almost as if something were trying to escape his body.

He wants to scratch his own skin off. Pick every little diamond out from his mutilated flesh.
Present them to the demon with a bloody smile and a good riddance. Maybe then Bad will
see that Skeppy never wanted them in the first place.

Experimentally he digs his fingers into his cheek, scratching at the stones who refuse to yield
their position so easily. No, he’ll have to put some force into it.

“Wait, Skeppy-”
“Get out.”

“Skeppy that’s not-”

“Get out, get out, GET OUT!” Skeppy all but screams, slamming his hand onto the tray, a
spray of crumbs shooting out from his loosened palm.

There’s a sudden screech of wood, Bad having jolted back at such a violent outburst from
Skeppy. Yet, compared to earlier, there is no sudden formation of shadows, no freezing
temperatures to indicate that Skeppy had pissed off the demon. Rather, the demon looks
regretful at Skeppy’s sudden change in character, his spaded tail now drooping in a form
Skeppy saw most commonly with chastised dogs.

“Fine, I’ll go.” Bad concedes, rubbing a hand tiredly over his face, “But,” and Bad’s eyes
lock with Skeppy’s, “you can’t hurt yourself while I’m gone. I don’t care if it’s in the name of
payment or you getting bored, but your body has been through enough trauma. So you are
going to stay in bed and rest .”

Skeppy narrows his eyes at the demon, contemplating the repercussions if he were to throw a
muffin in its face. But if he was going to do that, he doubted that Bad would leave him alone
anytime soon. So instead he lets out a small nod, trying to project how eager he was for the
demon to go away.

Bad abruptly rises from his chair and Skeppy involuntarily lets out a small grunt as his
attempts to curl up are foiled by the tray on his lap. He hates how a simple motion from the
demon was enough to have him flinch away, to make him raise his arms, protect his face.
Even after all this time, he was still unable to stamp out all of his training. Being near a
creature of evil certainly didn’t make things any better.

“You shouldn’t do that.” Bad cautions (no shit), movements noticeably slower as he
approaches the bed, the clicking of nails indicating Rat’s pursuit of her master. But rather
than touching Skeppy he grabs for the tray, elevating it from the bed and balancing it on one
hand. “Your wounds could tear if you stretch them too far.”
 Skeppy of course ignores the advice, instead opting to flop onto his left side (and trying to
hide the flicker of pain his shoulder emits after being suddenly mistreated). Still, it’s hard to
miss the stiffness of his form as he waits for Bad to do something in retaliation for him
ignoring the demon, body already braced for any physical blows.

Yet the demon only lets out a small sigh before a low humming starts to fill the room
followed by a soft clink as Bad sets something down on the desk.

“If you start to feel my magic wearing off just ring this and I’ll come check on you.”

Skeppy doesn’t turn, doesn’t even acknowledge the demon’s words. There’s that little sigh
again, and then Bad is making his way around the bed, tray still perfectly balanced as he
heads for the door. But right as he rounds the corner he pauses, hesitating before slowly
lowering to the ground and rising with a blanket clutched in hand.

“I’m going to leave this here.” Bad murmurs, placing the blanket on the foot of the bed, “Just
in case you need it.”

“Just go.” Skeppy whispers, curling into himself even more so as to avoid the demon’s gaze.
He can feel it, can feel the disappointment radiating from the figure. He really was a fuck-up
wasn’t he?

Only once the door closes does Skeppy open his eyes, chancing a quick peek at whatever Bad
had left on the table.

There, sitting within easy arm reach of Skeppy, was a golden bell. A bell that, under any
other circumstances, would’ve been inconspicuous if it weren’t for the small black demon
horns adorning the handle.

Chapter End Notes

Here is a big lore explanation/story so I hope you're ready!
Okay so there have been a few comments over Bad thinking Skeppy's gems were add-
ons and that's because he actually has reason to think so! I like to think of demon's as
extremely prideful and vain creatures (you know, living up to their origins) which means
that they like to show off just how amazing they are. In the Minecraft Nether gold is
extremely common (hence why creatures as simple as the piglins have at least a little)
but items like diamonds and iron are more rare (especially since anything diamond
related can only be gained from structures in the Nether). So what does that make the
few diamonds the Nether has? VERY valuable. I like to think the diamonds are chipped
into tiny pieces and then 'embedded' into the demon's skin (kind of like how Skeppy's
gems are). Why? Well, to show that they were 'amazing' enough to find/receive
diamonds, and to prevent other demon's from stealing said diamonds (though that isn't to
say demon's are against robbing corpses if you know what I mean).
So that's why Bad didn't see any reason to not mention the gems he saw in Skeppy's
skin, he basically thought it was a trend in both the Nether and Overworld (look, Skeppy
is basically the first 'normal' person Bad has ever encountered, cut him some slack).

If only Bad hadn't opened his mouth, then this whole thing would've gone a whole lot
smoother.

So many of you guys thought the last chapter was the first step in their friendship and to
that I say, "one step forward, two steps back."

Skeppy's outburst kind of reminds me of a toddler having a temper tantrum then getting
all sulky because big demon Bad won't let him be a self-destructive little shit.

The bell Bad leaves is based off the bell from Owl House, warp whistle from Steven
Universe, and basically every summoning object in existence. I gave it some horns
because I feel like Bad would personalize something as basic as a bell just because he
can.

The next chapter should be from Bad's perspective (we get to see how he feels about
what just went down).
 Confessions
Chapter Summary

Bad's perspective but that's not a good thing

Chapter Notes

Only took one week to get this chapter typed out so I'll take that as a victory.

The past few chapters have been from Skeppy's pov, so I decided to switch it up and
look at Bad's perspective on the whole thing. I actually wanted to do both Skeppy's and
Bad's pov but this chapter was getting too long for my liking, so I decided to do only
Bad but sprinkle in some lore and angst (and I mean LOTS of angst). He's...not taking it
as well as you'd expect.

Wow you guys this story has 2750 hits! I guess trauma just draws you guys in so I'll
make sure to be a little heavy-handed with this chapter ;) Of course, if any of you guys
feel a little peckish, I made sure to set-up the reader's lounge with some fresh pastries
(and some of Bad's apple muffins). Leave your reviews in the comments and tell me
what else to set out. Just because my character's get traumatized doesn't mean you guys
have to read their story in an comfortless setting.

Story details are at the end!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Bad stumbles on his way to the kitchen, his foot catching on nothing and nearly sending the
demon to the floor. The tray jumps from his palm, its contents almost flying off before Bad
can correct himself, can raise his hands to catch the wayward objects. They rise and fall, the
mug of milk not spilling a drop, the pile of food not losing a crumb.

He himself barely makes a sound.

He simply adjusts, swiveling his arm to grab both sides of the tray as he makes his way to the
kitchen. He has to be more careful, more cautious of his footing, of where his eyes are and
where his feet are going.
He sets the tray down upon the counter, squeezing his hands into fists to steady the slight
tremble running through them. To act as if it were never there. But it’s hard to ignore the
splattering of crumbs decorating the uneaten food, or how the mug of milk is barely drunk.
Hard to forget just how badly he messed everything up.

Just go.

It was whispered so brokenly, Skeppy refusing to even look at him as he’d left the room. The
anger in his eyes as he slammed his hand onto the tray of food. The fear coiled in his muscles
as he had flinched away from Bad’s every movement.

“What did I do- what did I do wrong?” Bad mumbles, slowly backing away, nails now fully
digging into his palms.

Was he to blame for everything that had happened so far?

His hip knocks into the wooden cabinet and Bad collapses like a puppet whose strings have
been cut, his wings letting out a series of pops and creaks as they droop against the ground.
He sits there for a moment, limply raising his hands to clutch at his head, slowly dragging his
legs under himself. Skeppy’s words echo through his mind, hitting the dark recesses of
himself that he never wants to think about.

Demon’s are incarnations of sin, of darkness, of evil. Creatures of suffering who are not fit to
live beyond Hell. They only exist to take and hurt.

And he had said he wasn’t like them, claimed that he wasn’t a normal demon. He had healed
Skeppy, made him food, tried to talk to him. Tried to show…that maybe Skeppy could trust
him, become friends with him.

And yet.
Get out, get out, GET OUT!!!

He only made things worse.

Bad tucks his face into his chest, his hands rising to now grip the horns poking out from his
cloak’s hood. There’s an uncomfortable prickling behind his eyes, tears slowly forming as the
demon falls to pieces. But no, he can’t show weakness by letting himself cry. Demon’s aren’t
weak, they don’t let others bring them down. They take control, radiate power, destroy those
that get in their way.

Demons, they-

Demons…. they…

But Bad said he wasn’t like most demons.

There’s a small weight on his leg, and Bad slowly raises his head to see Rat laying her head
across his thigh, her deep brown eyes radiating nothing but sadness for the demon, as if
recognizing his inner turmoil. When their eyes meet, Rat's tail thumps lightly against the
ground, the canine quietly whimpering as if to say that she’s here for him.

Choking back a small sob, Bad instantly reaches for her, pulling the wolf into his arms before
curling his body around the smaller form. Rat licks at his face, her small whimpers quieting
as she tries to soothe the demon.

“I thought we were having a conversation.” he whispers, finger’s tangling in the wolf’s fur,
“How did- how did I?”

GET OUT!!!
“How did I already mess things up?” Bad whispers, tightening his grip on Rat as if she were
the only thing grounding him to this world. Hot, unbidden tears start to fall down his cheeks,
Rat quickly licking them away before Bad so much as moves to wipe at them. Such an
acceptance of something that would’ve normally gotten him ridiculed just makes him cry
harder, the demon not even bothering to hide his shaking frame as he finally falls apart.

ꖌ ꖌ
Wᒷᔑ , ∴ᒷᔑ , ∴ᒷᔑ . Wᒷᔑ ꖌ ꖌ ꖎ╎ℸ ̣ ℸ ̣ ꖎᒷ bᔑ↸, ∴⍑ᔑℸ ̣ ∴╎ꖎꖎ ∴ᒷ ↸𝙹 ∴╎ℸ ̣ ⍑ ||𝙹⚍?

They sit there for a few minutes, until Bad’s tears have all but dried up, his shaking slowly
subsiding to stillness. He slowly straightens, looking down at Rat’s head as it rests against his
chest. She’s staring up at him, her dark eyes filled with the same trust that was there the first
time they met. He’s suddenly grateful for that dark night so long ago, the night where he had
refused to give up on an injured wolf, and had made his first friend.

And now he has a new friend he can’t give up on.

“I- I don’t know what to do.” he admits, fingers’ combing through the wolf’s fur. “But I
refuse to quit.”

Rat’s tail comes alive, the wolf instantly perking up at Bad’s change in attitude and doubling
her efforts to bathe Bad’s face in spit, making the demon let out a small, watery, laugh before
pulling away.

“I’m excited too.” he agrees, his own tail starting to wag as he buries his face in Rat’s fur,
before quickly recoiling as he registers the smell matted into the wolf’s coat.

“Oh my goodness Rat, you stink!”

Bad’s comment does little to distract the canine, rather it seems to bolster her efforts in
getting closer, as if trying to provoke him with her smell alone. Instantly Bad is reminded of
the spider Rat had blasted through, the way gore and blood had absolutely coated the white
wolf. While she may appear clean (and Bad doesn’t want to think of how such a thing is
possible) the smell from such an excursion is evidently harder to eliminate.
“Nope! No more cuddles till you get a bath!” Bad declares, promptly returning Rat to the
ground, realizing his mistake as soon as he lets go.

Rat hates baths. Bad isn’t sure if it’s a wolf thing, or just a Rat thing, but almost all baths
become an event that involves the wolf running away as soon as they’re mentioned (forcing
Bad to bribe his way to getting close enough to grab her). As soon as Rat’s paws hit the
ground Bad’s already braced for her to head for the door, to duck out the flap by the time it
takes him to rise to his feet. But rather than using her new freedom to run into the forest, Rat
simply sits before him, mouth parting into what could almost be described as a grin, as if she
were laughing at his mistake. She doesn’t run though, remaining still as Bad stares at her,
acknowledging and accepting her fate as if she wanted it to be nothing more than a quick
distraction from everything else.

Because that is what she wants, Bad realizes, she's giving Bad the distraction he so
desperately needs, allowing him to divert from the small meltdown he had on the floor of his
kitchen, not stressing the demon out further by making him hunt her down. He reaches out to
give the wolf one final scratch behind the ears, a genuine smile pulling at his mouth.

“Thank you Rat.”

Bad is quick to gather the things needed for Rat’s bath, eager to distance himself from what
had just transpired with Skeppy. He darts quietly about the house, gathering towels and soaps
from his craft room before heading outside, making sure to grab the large metal tub reserved
specifically for bath time. Rat follows closely at his heels, as if to reassure that she wasn’t
going anywhere (or so she could monitor what Bad grabs).

Arms full, he uses his tail to open the outside door, carefully maneuvering through the
doorway to avoid dropping anything. With smooth steps he heads towards the pond, coming
up short as he spots a rather deep pit seemingly carved straight into the earth.

“Oh, right. I had kind of forgotten about this,” he admits, taking in the large crater he’d left
behind. Eyeing the disturbed soil surrounding the hole, Bad quickly kicks the larger chunks
back where they came from, tapping them into place until the area is relatively flattened back
to normalcy. While such efforts were a bit slapdash, he had to admit that it was effective, if a
bit jarring to see a splotch of brown surrounded by green grass. At least it’ll grow back soon
enough, if not by Mother Nature then by a demon who has no issue with stepping in and
using a bit of magic.

Setting the items beside the pond, Bad quickly fills the metal tub with the clear water, making
sure he doesn’t net any unlucky fish who were a bit too close to the surface. Placing the
container beside him, Bad turns to survey the ‘potions’ he’d brought out with him. Grabbing
both a purple and orange one respectively, he uncorks and offers them both to Rat, making
sure to let her smell each one.

“Bubbles or no?”

Rat points her nose to the purple bottle, nudging against it as if confirming her choice. Bad
smiles as he re-corks the orange one. “Bubbles it is.”

Yet when he turns to pour the mixture into the water, he is greeted by the sight of a large
black crow who has seemingly decided the tub was a bird bath, with the avian itself already
splashing the surface of the water.

“Nope!” Bad scolds, reaching to pull the bird away from the water, “This is not your
bathtub.”

But rather than flying away the crow merely hops onto the ground, letting out a loud caw as it
seems to scrutinize Bad. Just that action alone gives the demon pause, Bad retracting his hand
as he looks at the creature before him.

It looked like any other crow, its black feather’s sleek and shiny in the midday sun. But not
all crows have bags tied to their legs, not like the worn drawstring this crow has neatly
fastened to its left leg. Bad blinks, instantly recognizing the device for what it is. He looks at
the bird (whose feathers are puffing up as it seemingly swells with importance and pride).

“You’re one of His aren’t you.”

 It’s not framed like a question but the crow bobs an affirmative anyway, hopping slightly
closer to the demon before offering its leg to him. The small bag seemingly opens all on its
own, the invitation obvious even without words.

Bad quickly reaches under his cloak, patting down his pant’s pockets until he locates a bag of
his own. Pulling it out he opens the drawstring to reveal a small collection of iron and gold
nuggets, mixed indiscriminately together. Pouring a few into his hands, Bad offers them to
the crow, directing his hand towards the open pouch.

“Hope you’re doing well, I wasn’t expecting a check-in for a while. I really liked the new
book you sent me and I hope the crows didn’t eat the muffins I tried to send. Things have
been mostly normal except I- '' and here Bad pauses, turning to look back at the house, where
Skeppy is hopefully giving his body the rest it needs, “I think I might've made a new friend.”

At the admission Bad tilts his hand, allowing the metals to fall into the awaiting bag. With
another bob of the crow’s head, the bag seals and the bird launches into the sky, a loud caw
echoing down into the clearing. Bad gives a small wave in return, watching until the crow
fully vanishes before turning his attention back to the task at hand. Pouring some of the
purple potion into the tub, Bad re-corks the bottle before placing both hands in the water. He
starts to swirl the mixture, summoning fire into his palms as soap bubbles start to slowly fill
the surface. Once the water starts to steam Bad pulls away, shaking his hands to dissipate any
residual heat. Turning to face Rat, Bad gestures towards the awaiting tub, a small smile
forming on his face as he ducks into a mock bow.

“Your bath awaits, Queen Rat.”

Chapter End Notes

Quick translation: Weak, weak, weak. Weak little Bad, what will we do with you?

Ah, a nice long chapter with both angst and lore, what could be better?

You know how it takes one experience to remind you of things you'd rather forget? Well,
that's kind of what's happening to Bad right now. He, more than anyone in the
Overworld, knows just how bad demons are, but usually hides/ignores those self-
deprecating and destructive thoughts. But Skeppy's 'summary' of demons from the last
few chapters reminded Bad of just how evil his species are, and as he sees it, he himself
is no better, no matter how much he tries to prove said thoughts wrong. It doesn't help
that he's also triggering a lot of Skeppy's trauma, purely by accident but nevertheless
proving the point that Bad is a monster.

And sure, Bad lets himself break down for just a few minutes, but he immediately tries
to force himself into a happier headspace (similar to when he tried to block out
some...darker memories), and as we all know, that can't be healthy in the long run,
especially seeing as how Bad insults himself for acting weak.

Look, you guys want the duo to talk about their feelings and this chapter does have that!
...except it's Bad talking about his feelings to Rat instead of an actual person. Close
enough!

I don't actually imagine Rat to hate baths, it's more of a 'run away so she gets more treats
for behaving' idea.

Huh, random crow. I bet it's not important. ¯\_ (ツ)_/¯

Bubble baths are amazing, fight me.

 Bit of Light Reading
Chapter Summary

So what was Skeppy doing?

Chapter Notes

So...last chapter I mentioned how THAT was the one that got too long for my liking?
Well... this one's even worse. Of course, my suffering only means more reading for you
guys so I doubt there's much sympathy to be found.

Fun fact, after the last chapter the word count hit 54000 EXACTLY, which I was not
planning or expecting. And the thing is, we haven't even scratched the surface of what I
have planned out for these guys. Also, 2850 hits! Every post I get closer and closer to
getting to 3000 and I have you lovely readers to thank. Hope you guys are enjoying
these angsty chapters and trust me when I say things are going to be a bit of a
rollarcoaster for both Bad and Skeppy.

Story details are at the end!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Skeppy was bored.

Which, in and of itself, was a very bad thing for him to be. But the fact that he was bored,
while confined to a demon’s room, and too weak to do anything more than lie down and stare
blankly at the walls, created a problem.

He had tried to fall asleep after Bad had left, tossing and turning as much as his body would
allow, eventually giving up when it seemed like he was only succeeding in pulling at his
wounds. But no, that’s not really why he stopped. If he felt his body capable of sleep he
would’ve kept at it, ignoring any flash of pain in favor of eventually succumbing to the dark
reaches of slumber. A place where he could forget all of this, if even for a moment. That was
the best thing about dreams. They didn’t allow for recollection. They didn’t ask for
explanations or things that should or shouldn’t be believed. They were just beautiful and
terrible, a void of complicated motives and confusing smears.
If only the real-world was like that. Skeppy could only imagine.

When he finds himself staring a hole into the wall, he finally accepts defeat. Maybe it was
because of his unnatural slumber these past two days, maybe it was due to him getting far
more sleep than his body was accustomed to. Gods, maybe he was still riding off the high of
chasing a demon away just by throwing a temper tantrum. That energy was definitely still
there, churning just under his skin in a way reminiscent of a mole tunneling through dirt, the
sensation only intensifying now that Skeppy didn’t have anything to distract himself with. No
matter the real reason, Skeppy was stuck in a demon’s bed, bored out of his mind and unable
to sleep.

And so he sits up, propping his torso against the pillows as he once again takes a look at his
surroundings. In a way it was almost ironic how Bad had decorated his room. Skeppy knew
demon’s were prideful creatures (it was one of the few things he learned at that…place). But
most of the items lining the walls seemed as if Bad had found them outside. The floor is
covered in small scratch marks left by what must’ve been Rat’s paw, the walls decorated with
faint pockmarks, as if things had once been pinned to it. If it weren’t for the display of
extremely enchanted items sitting out in the open (and the room’s obvious adjustments for a
non-human occupant), Skeppy would’ve assumed he was in a children’s room back at the
village.

Not that he knows what those places look like.

As his eyes do another rotation around the room, skimming over a potion bottle housing a
large black feather, they eventually land on the desk Bad had been working at prior to Skeppy
waking up. The desk that had an open book laying atop it, the demon’s notes still strewn
about from the earlier incident.

What had Bad been writing about?

Skeppy doesn’t know where that question came from, but he can’t find it in himself to let it
go unanswered. He doesn’t like this situation, doesn’t enjoy how Bad is the one who holds all
of the power. Sure, he might’ve listened to Skeppy’s demands for him to leave, but he doubts
the demon will always be that kind.
The others never were.

Skeppy’s eyes dart to the book, trying to gauge how far away it is. Bad never moved his chair
back, the seat about halfway between the bed and desk. Perfect for providing support to
someone who shouldn’t be getting out of bed.

Experimentally Skeppy shifts his legs, gritting his teeth at the wave of pain that shoots
through his left leg. It’s not crippling but it won’t be fun to walk on. Taking a few deep
breaths, Skeppy quickly moves his legs off the bed, clenching his jaw before a groan of pain
can escape his throat. The wound in his torso burns from the sudden twisting and Skeppy is
reminded of the spider’s fangs slicing through flesh. Pressing a hand to the area, Skeppy
pushes himself to his feet, lunging for the chair as his feet nearly give out from under him.

Crashing to the ground as his legs gave out from under him. Fire flowing through his veins,
making his nerves shriek as he burned from the inside out.

He collides with the chair, a small gasp escaping his lips as he feels something tear under the
bandages around his torso, feels a sudden warmth spread across the once white cloth. The
burning heat flickers higher up, fire licking around his ribs as if wishing to further his pain.
But Skeppy merely reaches for the book, whispering curses under his breath as his fingers
clumsily grasp the yellowed pages, bringing the book close enough for him to grab.

What was the chance Bad wouldn’t notice Skeppy re-opened his injuries?

Deciding that was a future problem for a future him, Skeppy lunges for the bed,
unceremoniously crashing halfway against its side. Why the fuck did the demon have such
tall furniture? Whispering a few more curses under his breath (these specifically targeted
towards Bad) Skeppy crawls back onto the mattress, trying to ignore the newfound stinging
under both his shoulder and leg wrappings.

Settling back against the pillows, Skeppy quickly bookmarks the pages Bad had opened,
using the opportunity to examine his prize. The book looks surprisingly old, its leather cover
worn smooth and its thick pages slightly yellowed. Rather than having its title emblazoned on
the cover, the front looks rather nondescript, although whatever markings were there could’ve
worn smooth like the rest of the book.
Cautiously, Skeppy turns to the first page where, inked in large letters, is the title, ‘The Book
of Fuck All.’

That’s it, no author, no date, no other information. Blinking, Skeppy flips back to the cover,
trying to see if he’d just missed the information earlier. But no, the title is all Skeppy knows
about this book. Deciding to get his curiosity over with, Skeppy immediately turns to his
bookmarked page.

‘Humans.’

Skeppy’s look of confusion turns to one of surprise as he glances over the page, its bottom
corner occupied by a drawing of a person who could’ve been straight from his village. Was
the book about the different kinds of creatures living in this world? Brushing the question
aside, Skeppy returns his focus to the passage.

Humans, the ‘favorite child’ of the Gods. Well not really, just the Gods that matter.

Humans, villagers, ‘purebloods.’ Whatever you want to call them, this mob is the most
prosperous species in the world, with their kind being found in almost all biomes in the
Overworld, with select individuals even venturing into other dimensions. While they do not
have the ‘aptitude’ for magic that other species possess, humans are at least capable of
potions and enchantments, though they require highly specialized equipment in order to
produce anything worthwhile.

I’ve spent a lot of time observing humans, living among them under the guise of normalcy.
And all that time has made me realize just how selfish those little fuckers are. I know I’m a bit
biased, but from what I’ve seen, humans are covetous creatures who hold little regard for
those around them so long as their own interests are fulfilled. More than once, I saw people
darting through fields, stealing crops with the intention to sell them for a profit. Those
entrusted with a position of power merely using their leverage to further wring coins from
their people. Ones blessed with endless wealth have their materials condensed into solid
blocks used solely for display, while they don’t lift a finger to help their worker’s livelihoods.
I’ve watched countless governments fail their citizens, observed the power money has to turn
good people into tyrants. Power corrupts even the purest of man, it just takes time.
…Yet with such an universal flaw comes a beauty I very rarely see anywhere else in the
world. Humans are builders, thinkers, creators . While they may turn to the destruction of
nature to generate their wealth, in its place they create items that dazzle the mind, allowing
for advancements that other species would have never considered possible. Already,
automated sorting systems are starting to take root in some of the major trading centers, and
there are even rumors of a ‘flying machine’ designed specifically for those unable to take to
the sky (though I will admit I don’t know if I’m more nervous or fond of the idea that I may
one day share the skies with others). Most species in this world have strengths and
weaknesses that influence what they become. Humans? They don’t have such a concept
applied to their lives. Sure, they may not be able to teleport like an enderman, or fly like a
bee, but they can swim in water and fight at night. Humans don’t have to be something, they
can be anything , anything that they want to be.

I can see why humans have lasted so long and I-

Skeppy stops reading, not sure of what to make of the page's contents. If anything, the
hypocrisy is what irritates him the most. Oh, he is well aware of the selfishness and greed of
humans, no doubt about that. But the indignancy that the very demon who hoarded items like
a shiny-crazed crow would call humans greedy for ensuring their own survival left a sour
taste in Skeppy’s mouth, one he wasn’t sure of how to deal with. Not everyone has the power
to protect themselves, to know that they’d still be safe if they lived alone. Some people have
no choice but to grin and bear their misfortune, to take the scraps of others in order to
continue their existence on this fucked up world.

Gods know he had.

And sure, there were those that took advantage of others, something he was all too familiar
with. But humans, as the journal had so eloquently put it, were creators and demons? Well,
their presence has left a scar of its own on the Overworld. Their evil acts, still being
whispered as ghost stories to scare children into obedience. He’s tempted to throw this book
back to where it came, to act as if he hadn’t just read the demon’s opinions on his kind.

But as Skeppy thumbs the pages of the book, his eyes land on a small tab labeled ‘Nether.’

Where Bad was from.

Skeppy is immediately flipping through the book, pages blurring together as he gets closer to
that little tab. When he arrives it isn’t to the ‘Demon’ page but to something called a ‘Piglin.’
Annoyed, Skeppy continues his hunt, quickly scanning through the contents as he frantically
searches for what he wants.

There! Towards the very end of the book, the top of the text written in bold lettering
‘Demons.’ Skeppy smiles, proud of his success, before slightly frowning at the page’s
contents. Compared to the style of the ‘Human’ page, this one is more basic, with not even a
drawing occupying a corner. Brows creased with confusion, Skeppy starts to read.

If humans are fuckers, demons are the motherfuckers of the Nether. I wanted to get the ‘life-
story’ of one, but the Wife says they’d know what I am and either try to kill me or simply run
away. So, I’ll mostly stick to stories and re-counts since demons don’t do interviews.

Demons are Nether-born lifeforms who, unlike almost all other Nether creatures, actually
have a consciousness. Due to the restrictions set in place, demons are never supposed to
leave the Nether except in very rare cases and even then, it shouldn’t be possible for them to
stay in the Overworld or End for long. They certainly cut an imposing figure, with most about
as tall as an enderman though with far more features. All demons seem to have horns and
tails, (all of varying shapes and sizes) but wings seem quite rare in the species, with only one
or two being spotted with them. They can however manipulate their own form, (although the
extent of this is not known) so I am unsure how accurate this data is.

Those who have had the fortune (or misfortune) of meeting a demon and living to tell the tale
say that they are very selfish and vain creatures, more obsessed with power than any other
species in this world. Greed is also prevalent, both in the individual demon and its
community, with some travelers saying their life was spared only after they handed over all of
their equipment and armor (and yes I do mean all of it). Apparently demons would gather to
mock the newly-nude adventurer, jeering at them as they ran back to the Overworld. It seems
demons enjoy feeling superior to things, whether that be other demons or humans is
apparently of little matter to them. One traveler even recounted seeing two demons fight one
another, with the winner then slowly crushing the windpipe of the loser with their foot, even
as the still-living figure pleaded for forgiveness. It seems the whole thing started because they
had questioned the winner’s process of preparing a freshly killed hoglin, an act that cost them
their life.

The power levels of demon’s have surprising variability but they all share an aptitude for
destruction. In fact, due to their literal evil nature, demons are unable to do any ‘positive’ or
beneficial acts of magic, such as healing or buffs. Thankfully the Nether is a wasteland in its
own right, so such violent acts do not inflict the destruction they would if a demon were to
live on the Overworld. If such a thing came to be, I would worry if the humans could properly
deal with a being practically made of magic. A lot has changed over the centuries, and
recounts of demons have practically become fairytales by this point. I fear that this world is
no longer ready for the horrors it once faced.

Skeppy blinks down at the words, the sour taste in his throat now replaced by a small weight
lodged in his stomach.

Bad didn’t write this.

Life-stories. The Wife says. Interviews. Whoever this author was, they wrote about both
demons and humans as if they themselves were something far different than the two species.
Viewing them, not with the attitude of a ruler looking down on their underlings, but through
the eyes of someone who has seen this all before, who has grown weary of a world that keeps
on changing yet stays the same.

A lot has changed over the centuries.

Who…wrote this? And why does Bad have it?! The book is thick, the pages obviously full of
research that must’ve taken years to gather. It’s almost as if the author were writing a
summary of this world, compiling every speck of information into one source. And what,
they just gave it to Bad? But that doesn’t make sense, the book itself literally details just how
untrustworthy demons are.

Skeppy goes to close the book, regretting that he ever let his curiosity get a hold of him. Yet
as the pages start to fall, a flash of white suddenly draws his eye. There, tucked right behind
the very section Skeppy had been reading, is a sheet of paper neatly folded in half.
Movements halted, Skeppy stares at the sheet, unsure if it’s real or not. Hesitantly, Skeppy
pulls the page free and unfolds it before lifting it to his face, eyes widening in recognition.

It was…Bad and Rat. The duo occupying the bottom right side corner of the page, a quick
sketch that seems to have been done with preparation, the two seemingly posed so the artist
could get every detail. Skeppy’s fingertips brush against the ink, his eye wandering around
the page, its still white color being the only indication that it was a newer addition to the
book. There’s no title, no markers, nothing highlighting this page as one of importance.
But the words…

I met one, and I hope I'll never forget it.

Thanks to a ‘tip,’ I was able to find his home relatively quickly. As soon as he noticed me, he
instantly recognized me for what I am, and was seemingly convinced that I was there for a
specific reason. Yet his attitude was nothing like I’d expect.

After some clarification on my part he welcomed me with open arms, inviting me in and
serving me food. Though he had my promise that I wasn’t planning anything, he still seemed
tense in my presence, as if expecting me to stab him in the back (o doubt thanks to his
birthplace I’d imagine). But once I started to talk about my fascination with demons, he
appeared to relax somewhat, even going so far as to let me draw him and his wolf
roommate(?)

The wolf is an interesting one, I’ve never seen a canine possessing so much magic before
(even after lots of testing on the human’s part). It makes me wonder if the demon’s mere
presence is enough to bolster the wolf’s stats, or if there is something going on behind the
scenes. When I first started talking to the demon, his wolf displayed violently red eyes,
obviously distrustful of my nature. But as I revealed the reasons behind my appearance, she
seemed to calm down and her eyes turned a dark brown instead. It was at this point that the
demon invited me into his house, so he seems to accept the wolf’s judgment when it comes to
strangers and their trustworthiness.

Despite using a cloak to hide the finer details of his physiology, such as his facial features,
the demon seems okay with the discussion of his ‘unique’ attributes. Yet while he freely talked
about his horns and tail, his wings seemed to be a sensitive topic. When I asked to examine
them he immediately tensed up, seemingly drawing the appendages even tighter against his
body. He acted as if he didn’t care about my request, but there was no mistaking the relief on
his face the moment I said I changed my mind.

I couldn’t stay for long and he could tell that I was anxious about something. When I told him
I needed to leave he immediately started pushing me to the door, apologizing profusely for
taking up my “extremely important” time. Somehow, in the time it took to remove me from the
table and push me outside, he managed to slip a small pack of baked goods into my pocket
before bidding me a farewell. It was obvious by the look on his face that he was sure this was
to be our only meeting, as if expecting me to have gotten my fill and dusted my hands of the
whole thing.

I imagine he’ll be quite surprised when I drop in next time. Honestly, I don’t know when that
will be, now that I’ve finally gotten what I came for from the village nearby I expect my days
to be quite busy. I’m at a time where I have to be fully available, but not suffocating or else I
risk ruining the delicate balance I’ve worked so hard to maintain. I’m unsure of how the
demon will respond to further meet-ups, but I hope he’ll look forward to them as much as I.

I won’t be able to stay for long in this area, won't be allowed to fully affiliate myself with such
an impossible individual. Things may get rough moving forward, both for me and for every
reason I’m here in the first place. But one thing’s for certain, he’s not like other demons.

Skeppy throws the paper back into the book, snapping it shut and stuffing the whole thing
under his pillows.

He doesn’t understand. He doesn’t understand any of it.

He flops back onto his left side, pulling the covers so that they cover his face. He tries to
forget what he’d just read, tries to push away the line still echoing in his mind.

He’s not like other demons.

Yes he was, Bad was a demon, a creature of pure evil that only looked out for itself. The book
lied, the author must’ve been tricked. There’s no way that Bad-

“But lucky for you I’m not a normal demon.”

There’s no way that Bad was telling the truth…

 Skeppy clutches at his head, forces his body to curl into itself, tries to ignore the burning
sensation flickering across his wounds.

They are very selfish and vain creatures.

I want you to become my friend.

His fingers tangle in his hair and he exhales a shaky sigh, coaxing his body even tighter.
Wishes the voices to go away.

They will lure you into a false sense of security.

Skeppy I just want to help. Skeppy, you don’t have to pay me. I want to help my friend get
better.

He just wants things to go back to normal.

But he doubts they ever will.

Chapter End Notes

"Oh this chapter won't take long at all, I just need to catch the story up!"

Well, that was a big fucking lie.

Bad: tells Skeppy to be careful and let himself heal

Skeppy: immediately tries to get up as soon as Bad leaves

‘The Book of Fuck All.’ will be the name of my autobiography.

Okay, I had a lot of fun writing the 'Human' and 'Demon' passages for the book (and let's
face it, we've all at some point robbed the farmer villagers only to sell their crops back
to them). I also included actual Minecraft auto-sorters/flying machines because those
things are awesome. Whoever the author is, they definitely have differing opinions on
humans and demons though. I wonder how Bad ended up with the book?

Who did Bad met that was so important he ended up apologizing for wasting their,
"extremely important time?"

He’s not like other demons.

 Sense and Insensitivity
Chapter Summary

Bad's kindness will be the death of Skeppy.

Chapter Notes

I'm alive, no need to send out any search parties. I just gave myself a lot of story to cram
into one chapter, so I essentially chained myself to my laptop until everything was good
to go.

This chapter was going to be even longer, but that would've meant you guys would have
to wait even longer. So, I roughly cut it in half and hopefully you guys can expect the
next chapter within a week-ish since I already have the rough draft typed out.

Also, I see some new readers commenting on the last chapter so welcome everyone who
are joining us, hope you're enjoying things.

A lot of milestones with this chapter. It's chapter 30, with more than 3000 hits and 100
comments. Huge thanks to every one of my readers, whether they are just now reading
my story or have been here since chapter one, I couldn't do this without all of you. This
story still has a lot of chapters to go, so I hope you guys are strapped in for the ride >:)

See the end of the chapter for more notes

He lays there for a while, eyes studying the small pinpricks of light leaking in through the
blanket’s weave. Watches every exhale make the layers of cloth move up and down in tune
with his breathing. He doesn’t know how long he stays like this, watching the fabric move,
counting how long he can keep it up, keep it down, make it jerk back and forth in a style all
too similar to how he feels right now.

Back and forth, up and down, the silent dance of the blanket, of his breathing, of his life.

Up and down, back and forth.

He takes a small, shallow breath before slightly pulling the sheet back, just enough for him to
see his surroundings.

The once bright yellow of mid-day has darkened to a tawny yellow, a sure sign of
approaching sunset. An event that, were he back at the village, would have Skeppy bustling
about his house, finishing any preparations for his…nocturnal activities. But instead of
applying dirt and grabbing a pickaxe, Skeppy is an injured prisoner in the home of a demon.

Applying dirt.

Skeppy raises a hand to his face, rubbing a finger across the stones embedded in his cheeks.
Besides a sprinkling of blood from where he’d tried to pry them out earlier, the gems are
completely uncovered, almost as if Bad had washed his face while Skeppy was unconscious.
His fingertip starts to trace the paths, raking a groove across his cheek as he jumps from
diamond to diamond.

This one was a bit small, better use accenting than showcasing. This one had an odd shape to
it, probably wouldn’t take well to being manipulated. But this one? Bigger than the rest,
already had smooth edges? This one was perfect for-

He stops, forcing himself to bite down hard on his lip. A coppery taste fills his mouth as he
snatches his hand away, interlocking his fingers so tightly together he can hear his joints pop.

He doesn’t like those thoughts.

He fights the urge to hide his head, to curl back into the ball that he was just a minute ago.
Because no, that wasn’t going to happen again. Not because Skeppy had any certainty about
the future, but because he was promised no more. He was promised by a man he owed his life
to, a man who didn’t break promises. And besides, Bad-

Skeppy is ripped from his thoughts as a sudden rasp of door hinges announces that he had
company. Laying his head down as if he were asleep, he tries not to flinch as the door is
opened, forcing his body to relax. When the noise suddenly stops however, Skeppy
cautiously cracks one eye open, glancing sideways at the door. Where he sees a white eye,
peering through the cracked doorway to look at the figure in the bed.

Well speak of the Devil and he doth appear.

Bad is looking at him. Well, not so much looking at him, more like contemplating, the demon
seemingly frozen by whatever it sees laying in its bed. He doesn’t seem to notice Skeppy’s
attention, the eye quickly disappearing as Bad murmurs something so quietly Skeppy can’t
make it out, already starting to close the door before-

“I’m awake.” Skeppy calls out, pulling the blankets from his upper body so Bad could see
him. He’s not sure, but he thinks Bad might’ve jumped at the sudden movement, the door
jostling with an audible thud , as if Bad had smacked into it.

There’s a beat of silence, Bad undoubtedly wondering what to do. But after a few seconds-

“Oops, sorry if I woke you,” Bad whispers, opening the door wider to poke his head through,
“It’s just, it’s been a few hours and I was-”

“You can’t wake someone if they never fall asleep.” Skeppy interrupts, shifting his body into
a more upright position. It was bad enough to talk to Bad while the demon looms over him,
but Skeppy felt practically defenseless while laying on his side. Bad could easily yank him
from the bed before he could do anything.

“Oh, you never fell asleep?” Bad questions, mouth twisting into a small frown.

“Well I wasn’t feeling up to it,” Skeppy snaps, trying to ignore the jolt of pain his abdomen
gives as he props himself against the pillow mound Bad made. “So are you going to come in
or what?”

“Umm right,” Bad confirms, slowly entering the room, “how’re you feeling?”
Skeppy decides to not answer the question, his eyes locked on the basket Bad was carrying.
“What’s in there?”

Bad blinks, obviously thrown off by with Skeppy’s answer being a question of his own.
Hefting the basket’s base into his hands, the demon lightly tilts the container so Skeppy can
see its contents. “Well since it was almost suppertime I thought I could replace your bandages
and offer you some hot food.”

Against his better judgment Skeppy leans closer, trying to get a better look at what exactly
Bad had brought. A metal bowl is in the center of the basket, carefully holding together rolls
of white bandages tucked neatly next to one another, a few off-color rags folded along their
edge. Atop the rags sits a small pair of shears, the tool looking practically new if the still-
shiny edge was any indication. Bad even seems to have included a purple potion, nestled
deep in the cloth to keep it from jostling.

Blinking, Skeppy slowly leans back, eyes darting up to examine Bad. The demon doesn’t
look malicious, but Skeppy feels thrown off by his offer. If Bad’s words were truthful, then it
couldn’t have been long since Skeppy drank the potion with the earlier meal. It’s a little odd
that Bad would care enough to check-in after such a short while. Then again, maybe the
demon was being lying, and-

He’s not like other demons.

“...Fine.” Skeppy eventually concedes, more because of the growing pain in his torso than
anything else, but he pulls the blankets off him, allowing Bad to get a full look at him.

When Bad lets out a little hmm of surprise, Skeppy is suddenly reminded of his less than
graceful journey to get the demon’s book. A journey that resulted in him re-opening the
wounds under the bandages, feeling the warmth of blood spread across the cloth.

Fuck.
“Did you get up while I was gone?”

The voice isn’t laced with anger, isn’t heavy with the same chill that caused shadows to whip
around the demon. Still Skeppy shivers, wishing he could hike the blanket until it covered his
entire being.

“Um, no?” Skeppy tries, voice slightly shaky as he inwardly curses himself. Bad had told him
not to get up and Skeppy obviously didn’t listen. And now, Bad could all too easily see the
damage Skeppy had done to all his hard work. Skeppy starts to slowly tense, drawing his
knees up-

“Huh, I must've missed it earlier.”

And without another word Bad walks into the adjourning room, where, after a bit of
clattering, Skeppy can hear a water faucet being turned on as something is filled up.

He must’ve missed it?

Bad re-enters the room before Skeppy can do more than make a single, choked noise, the
demon now carrying the metal bowl freshly filled with water. Using his tail, Bad drags the
forgotten chair even closer to the bed before lowering himself neatly into a criss cross
position on the floor. With quick hands, Bad unpacks everything from the basket, lining the
items up besides him.

“So,” Bad begins, his upper body still very visible even as he sits on the floor, “where shall I
start?”

Skeppy gapes at him, mind needing more than a moment to catch up with the last few
minutes. Bad just watches on, the demon’s face perfectly neutral as he waits for Skeppy’s
reply. Only once Skeppy goes quiet does Bad seem to relent, his eyes softening as he looks
up at Skeppy.
“Tell you what,” Bad begins, already reaching for the potion bottle. “How about I start from
your leg and work my way up?”

Skeppy just nods a confirmation, taking the cue to stand. He carefully swings his legs until
they dangle against the side of the bed, allowing his torso to hunch forward so he doesn't
injure anything further. Yet as he slides his arms under himself to push away from the bed,
Bad quickly leans in to tap his shoulder, freezing his movements.

“No, no, no. You don’t have to get up for this. Here,” Bad nudges the chair beside him, “you
can rest your leg on it so I can get to it without you getting up again.”

He knows Skeppy got up.

Skeppy’s mouth suddenly feels dry as he works to push his left leg onto the chair, trying to
not let the odd balance topple him over.

With a small hum Bad grabs the shears from the pile, placing them besides Skeppy’s leg on
the chair. “I’m just going to do some slight adjustments, take off your bandage, and apply
potion to anything that might need it before wrapping it up again.'' Bad details, uncorking the
potion and mixing part of it with the water in the bowl. “Your leg wasn’t very damaged so I
doubt it’ll need anything special.”

Skeppy just nods, sucking in a deep breath as Bad lifts a hand up to his leg, gently turning it
so the bandaged area faces him. Cutting the knot keeping it together, he carefully begins to
unwind the used cloth, lightly humming as he piles the dirty bandages in the basket.

Skeppy clenches his hands together, unsure of what to do. Even with Bad’s humming the
quiet of the room is stifling and with the demon’s hands so close to his skin, it’s hard for
Skeppy to ignore the all encompassing warmth emitting from Bad, his natural heat
unintentionally seeping into Skeppy’s abused muscles, easing away some of the tension.

Desperate to do something, Skeppy voices his notice of a certain absence.

“Where’s Rat?”

Bad’s humming loudons as he lifts Skeppy’s leg, his head slightly ducked to look at the area.
The skin looks unbroken, with two red lines the only evidence anything had happened.
Nodding, Bad gently runs a freshly dampened rag over the skin and the redness fades to
match the dark tan of the surrounding area. “She’s currently in the kitchen finishing her own
supper. I didn’t want to crowd you with the two of us so I thought she should hang back for
the first few minutes.”

“Ah.”

Skeppy doesn’t know what else to say but thankfully Bad isn’t privy to conversation, the
demon now tracing where the lines once were, smiling in satisfaction. “Your leg looks good
to go, so I won’t re-wrap it unless you want me to.”

At the demon’s words Skeppy moves his leg experimentally, grimacing when the motion is
met with a pain worse than any cramp he’s ever had. “Are you sure it’s fine? It sure feels like
it’s still injured.”

Rather than seeming panicked at the words, Bad just nods, gently poking at Skeppy’s leg to
make him move it from the chair. “I’d be more worried if it didn’t hurt, your body did just go
through a traumatic event after all. Even with my magic and potions, it’ll take a while for
your body to realize it’s okay.”

Skeppy frowns, unsure of what to make of Bad’s words. The demon shuffles sideways,
positioning himself directly in front of Skeppy’s torse. With careful movements, Bad collects
the shears from the chair and brings them towards the bandages wrapped around Skeppy
(who tries not to suck in as the metal blades near his flesh). With a quick snick the knot is cut
away, and Bad once again starts to unwind the cloth.

Compared to his leg however, his torso has a few more problems.

As Bad starts to peel away bandages, he lightly tsks at the spots of blood blooming through
the white cloth (no doubt from where Skeppy had torn open his wounds). With every touch
that pushes into the wound, Skeppy reflectively winces, teeth already clenched together from
the onslaught of pain. “ Fuck that hurts,” Skeppy grits out, trying to not flinch away from the
demon’s claws currently picking at his bandages. And it could be his imagination, but he
thinks he hears Bad mutter “language” at his comment, though the demon’s position muffles
most of the word. As the last bandage falls away Skeppy ventures a glance at the injury,
already prepared for the worst.

Yet as his eyes dance over crusted blood and angry red skin, that fear slowly starts to dissolve
into disbelief. The injury is large, even with the healing magic and potions. But rather than it
being a literal chunk torn from his abdomen, the wound is practically a giant scab, covering
the entirety of where the spider’s fangs had been. Clotted blood lines the edges of the scab,
with deep cracks running through its entire being, evidently from where Skeppy had moved
around (and the tearing he had felt afterwards).

It definitely isn’t pretty to look at, but as Skeppy remembers the spider biting through his
side, the way he could feel blood gushing out from the new hole it had torn into his flesh,
only one thought comes to mind.

Bad is an excellent healer.

This thought is promptly dismissed when Bad accidentally jabs the rag into a particularly
tender spot, making Skeppy hiss in pain as he doubles over.

“Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” Skeppy demands through watered eyes, glaring
at the demon as he wards off future advances with his hands.

“Pretty much,” Bad answers, easily darting past Skeppy’s hands with the rag, “I’m just happy
humans have roughly the same anatomy as piglins.”

Piglins, was that something from the Nether? The book mentioned hoglins, maybe they’re
similar-

“And besides,” Bad darts his eyes up to meet Skeppy’s, a wry grin stretched across his
shadowed face, “I probably know more than you.”
That comment, while true, still makes Skeppy frown. “Well do you have to make it hurt so
much?”

“Sorry, I could numb you again.” Bad offers, claws now delicately picking away the bits of
fabric that had gotten stuck in the wound.

Skeppy just shakes his head, fingers digging into the bed to prevent them from smacking
Bad’s hand away. “No magic, I want a clean head for this.”

Though he can’t actually see Bad’s face from where it is hunched over his torso, Skeppy
imagines the demon frowning at his words, choosing to go silent as he once again continues
his efforts.

Compared to his leg, his abdomen takes longer for Bad to go over, the demon continually
switching between different rags and picking debris out from Skeppy’s wound. After a few
minutes Bad seems satisfied, leaning away to take in the full extent of the injury. Dampening
a new rag, he carefully places it across the area, visibly flinching when Skeppy grimaces.
With worried eyes, he looks up at Skeppy.

“Try and edge your arms out please.”

Skeppy complies, taking both of his arms away from his torso. With quick movements, Bad
encircles the rag with bandages, making sure to keep them loose enough to allow Skeppy to
move around. With a few small tucks the ends are knotted together and Bad moves onto to
Skeppy’s shoulder, this time standing and looming over the area.

Compared to the first two, Bad is a lot more vocal as he removes the wrappings, quiet hmms
filling the air as more and more cloth joins the pile. Skeppy almost wants to ask what the
demon finds so interesting, but having Bad’s head so close to his own makes his tongue stick
to the roof of his mouth. He doesn’t enjoy having someone look at him with the razor focus
Bad is currently displaying. Not that it seems to deter Bad, the demon’s face mere inches
away from Skeppy’s shoulder before seemingly realizing he should probably explain what
caught his interest.
“You’re healing surprisingly well from these.”

Skeppy turns his head, his ear now right next to the demon’s mouth. “This coming from the
demon who also said they were surprised I survived?”

Bad at least has the dignity to wince, his hands halting their ministrations as he turns to look
at Skeppy. “I wasn’t lying. That spider bit you three times Skeppy, and one bite is usually
enough to take down most things in the Overworld. And the force they use to deliver such a
venom can pulverize bones, yet,” and Bad lightly taps on Skeppy’s injured shoulder, “ your
shoulder bones’ were completely fine, didn’t even have any cracks from pressure. Your leg?
Barely a mark left. Your torso is a bit worse off, but it’s nothing compared to the mess of
sinew I had to dump half of my strongest potion over.”

Bad turns his head, briefly holding eye contact before getting back to work, the demon
carefully dabbing a rag around the area. Skeppy suddenly has a lump in his throat,
swallowing thickly as he tries to ignore the slight hisses he can hear as potion meets damaged
tissue. He squeezes his eyes shut, trying to block out the noise and the pain.

There are a few moments of silence, Bad continually darting around Skeppy’s shoulder, never
asking him to move or adjust. Then, a nail pokes at Skeppy’s chest and he cracks his eyes
open, looking up at Bad, who seems unsure. He nods down at Skeppy’s shoulder, his right
shoulder, before opening his mouth.

“When I was healing you the first time…I saw something on your other shoulder.”

There’s a vice around Skeppy’s heart, squeezing tightly at the demon’s words. He doesn’t like
to think about that mark, doesn’t like to remind himself of how he got it. Doesn’t like
anything about it.

You did this, all of this. Monster, monster! You’re not human, you’re just pretending to be
one! And you know what we do with monsters?
He had struggled, cried, screamed as the red-hot brand seared into his skin, the smell of
burning flesh permeating the air. His stomach had roiled, his body heaving, but all he could
do was spit bile onto the floor. The darkness came for him, wrapping itself around him like a
shroud. It enveloped him, licked at his wounds and devoured him whole. And he let it take
him, hoping that it would never leave.

And then he woke up…

“That’s just from an accident at my forge.” Skeppy lies, eyes glued to the floor as his nails
cut crescent shapes into his palms. He doesn’t like this. Doesn’t like feeling raw and exposed.
Why did he have to go into the forest? Why couldn’t he hide himself away like every other
villager back home?

“Are you sure Skeppy? Because to me,” and here Bad actually places a hand onto Skeppy’s
right shoulder.

The feeling of fingers grazing across the rough scarring of the brand are nearly as jarring as
being doused in ice water. Skeppy tries to hide his reaction, tries to prevent his mask from
slipping, but it’s impossible to disguise the sudden tension in his muscles, the small flinch
away all too obvious. But rather than continue his actions Bad withdraws his hand, quickly
moving it back to be in Skeppy’s sights. “Skeppy?” he asks, voice carefully controlled, as if
he was talking to a spooked animal.

Skeppy’s jaw clenches even tighter at the wary tone. Bad had recognized his panic and
reacted as if he needed to talk Skeppy down from shattering into a million pieces. He fights
down the urge to hide the brand, to clasp a hand against his shoulder, to edge away. There
was no point, Bad had already seen it, and the damage was done.

“Just,” Skeppy whispers, “just finish fixing my shoulder.” And then, for good measure,
“Please.”

Bad hesitates, pulling back so Skeppy could see his face. Skeppy never noticed before, but
with Bad so close he can make out the demon’s once shadowed features. The worried gaze,
the slightly crooked nose, two white fangs peeking out through a thin-lipped mouth. The
demon’s eyes release a soft white glow as they lock with Skeppy’s, Bad slowly shifting to be
eye level with him.
“I’m…sorry I grabbed you.” Bad begins, eyes now darting to the floor, “I saw your injury
earlier and was wondering if it needed to be healed so I thought I’d offer. I’m- I’m done with
your left one, it just needs to be wrapped up.”

Skeppy nods, unsure of where to look. “Well there’s nothing keeping you from doing just
that.”

Bad’s eyes dart up, surprise shining in their pale depths. “Are you-”

“It’s fine. ”

It’s not fine, but Skeppy refuses to tell Bad that.

Bad wisely chooses not to say anything, quietly nodding before returning his attention to
Skeppy’s left shoulder. “Can you lift your arm?”

Doing such an action really fucking hurts but Skeppy refuses to flinch as he raises his left
arm a few inches, trying to keep from trembling as Bad begins to wrap the entirety of
Skeppy’s shoulder, adding a few strips under his arm for extra security.

One final knot and Bad backs away, carefully taking in his handiwork. “I think I’m done for
now, unless you have any concerns-” he begins, getting cut off as Skeppy immediately starts
to shake his head, “Alright, then just drink this potion and you’ll be good to go.” Bad
instructs, holding up the half-empty bottle of potion from earlier.

Skeppy accepts the bottle with trembling fingers, watches the violet liquid slosh around its
glass prison. “What does this potion do?”

Bad barely even glances up, too busy packing everything back into the basket to properly see
what Skeppy’s doing. “It’s a potion to heal you.”
 “No, not that. I know it heals me, I’m wondering what it does.”

At the obvious unease in Skeppy’s tone, Bad looks up, carefully reaching over to pluck the
potion from Skeppy’s grasp. He lifts it up to the light, scrutinizing the potion with a tilt of his
head. “Well it’s a regeneration potion, used to restore a person’s health over time. In your
case the potion not only has ghast tear but also some glowstone to make it a bit more potent.
It’s duration shouldn’t last as long though, so you should be able to sleep with no prolonged
effects.”

Summary over, he hands the potion over to Skeppy, watches Skeppy turn it in his hands,
confusion evident on his face. Bad’s eyes soften, recognizing just how out of his element
Skeppy was. So, he decides to offer some help.

“I know you probably didn’t understand most of that but if you want I have some books you
can read about potions. I couldn’t help but notice your interest in reading,” and here, Bad
nods towards the book sticking half-way out from under Skeppy’s pillows, “and I think I can
find something to answer your questions.”

He smiles at Skeppy’s shell-shocked expression before looking around, eyes sweeping to

make sure he grabbed everything he brought. After a few self-assured nods, he once again
returns his attention to Skeppy, looking as if he’d just remembered something.

“But first, let me get you some food.”

And with that final statement Bad rises to his feet, basket in hand as he heads for the door.
Leaving Skeppy alone and confused, with the potion bottle still in hand.

Chapter End Notes

Skeppy is being real sassy to poor Bad.

Okay, so remember a few chapters back when Bad said he refused to quit on Skeppy?
Well, in order to make Skeppy warm up to him, Bad thought it would be a good idea to
basically be really nice to him, hence why Bad was extremely careful around
Skeppy...up until he grabbed his 'accidental' injury on his shoulder. Bad realized he
fucked up however, so at least he apologized (trust me, apologies are a big thing when it
comes to demons).

Bad does actually have some medical training, just not on humans. I like to think that,
since piglins have a basic society/grouping in Minecraft they have something similar in
this world. And so, piglins know basic medical care specifically pertaining to the Nether
(like how to use vines as bandages and treat burns). Bad of course, since he isn't like
other demons, is fascinated by such things (even if he doesn't ever need 'healing' like
any other Nether mob) so he bribed his way into learning piglin medical care through
lots and lots of gold ingots. While not exactly useful in terms of his own care, it gave
Bad a chance to actually apply the basics in real-life, thus why he's so prepared for
healing Skeppy after the attack. There's a bit more lore to this, but it's something for
another chapter.

Bad's torn between how to act around Skeppy. He obviously knows that Skeppy isn't
'fine' but if he acknowledges any issues Skeppy immediately shuts down, worsening the
problem.

Also, Bad knows more than he lets on, he just doesn't want to freak Skeppy out even
more, which is reasonable.

The next chapter should basically end this 'day' (finally) and I do plan on building a few
bridges before everything concludes.
 Reaching Out
Chapter Summary

Food makes things better...right?

Chapter Notes

Hello my beautiful readers and welcome to another chapter of: torturing two characters
just because I want to! But not to worry, this chapter is surprisingly light on the angst,
and heavy on the fluff (and I mean that literally).

This chapter is a bit of a long one (hence why I had to cut the last chapter in half) BUT I
finally got to finish the day so I'm happy.

3150 hits and some lovely new comments. I must say, your guys thoughts on the story
so far are my biggest incentive to keep it up. It's quite fun to watch you guys try to piece
together the bits of lore I sprinkle through the chapter and I promise that your ideas will
be addressed...eventually >:) Also, we hit more than 150 kudos (I still have no idea what
they are)!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Despite Bad’s instructions to drink the potion, Skeppy (remembering the vile taste of the
previous potion) instead chooses to examine the liquid, holding the container up to the light
in a mirrorment of the demon's behavior. Though the potion had a violet color unlike
anything Skeppy had seen previously (those in the village were more pink-ish) it seemed to
lighten up as sunlight hit it, almost glowing with a lavender hue. Small sparkles of something
seem to swirl in its depths, giving the potion an appearance best compared to the very
beginning hints of sunset, when the sky was starting to darken and the stars began to come
out.

In your case the potion not only has ghast tear but also some glowstone to make it a bit more
potent.

Skeppy lowers the bottle with a small frown. Glowstone, the word seemed familiar, but
Skeppy had no reference on the actual substance. He remembers a few traders that had passed
through the village a few months ago, but at the sight of his basic stall they immediately
turned away from his curious looks. They had instead gone to an actual jewelry maker,
waving around small bottles of shiny powder they claimed would enhance the look of any
necklace or ring.

They called it glow dust, is that anything like glowstone?

It would certainly explain the sparkles trapped in the solution, but Skeppy had no idea what a
ghast tear was. The stories he’d heard only involved things such as zombies, creepers, and of
course demons so were ghast’s an actual mob? If so, did that make its tears something similar
to the magical ingredients that had whole fairy tale protagonists dedicated themselves to
finding? But no, that’s not right. Those were fairy tales, nothing more than stories to
demonstrate how the good guy always won. They aren’t real , why would he compare them
to real-

A light knocking startles Skeppy from his thoughts, immediately turning his head to see the
source of the noise.

From the doorway Bad grins at him, tray in hand, before quietly entering the room. “Sorry
for the delay,” Bad apologizes (there he goes apologizing again), “lost track of where I left
this book.”

Skeppy is suddenly aware of a book coiled in the demon’s tail, gently waving back and forth
as if Bad were trying to show off his prize. Caught off guard, Skeppy drops his gaze, electing
to watch the ground rather than the approaching demon. That is, until a familiar flash of
white catches his eye.

“I see that you brought company.” Skeppy notes, watching the wolf follow at the heels of her
master. She looks…different somehow, though Skeppy has no idea what could’ve changed in
the few hours he spent ‘sleeping.’ As if noticing his attention Rat glances up at him, mouth
lolling open into what could almost be described as a smile.

“You don’t mind do you? She was done eating by the time I got back so I couldn’t exactly
distract her.” Bad comments, coming to stand in front of Skeppy.
Skeppy blinks, momentarily frozen by the question. Why did Bad care about how Skeppy
felt? Why is he apologizing? Why is he making him food? Skeppy doesn’t need the demon’s
pity, hell if it weren’t for Bad then Skeppy would’ve never ended up in this situation. He
raises his eyes, opening his mouth with the intention of telling Bad exactly where he could
stick his question.

But as he finally takes note of the nervousness emitting from Bad, Skeppy realizes that
maybe the demon was worried whether or not he cared about Rat being there. The venomous
words die in his throat, and all Skeppy can utter is a quick, “It’s alright.”

Bad beams at Skeppy’s acceptance, seemingly swaying side to side as he looks between
Skeppy and Rat. Not wanting to play into this bit, Skeppy merely glances at the tray before
looking up at the demon expectantly.

“Oh right, food.” Bad babbles, instantly stopping his movements. “Do you want to lean
against some pillows as you eat?”

He’s asking questions again.

“...Might as well,” Skeppy sighs, carefully drawing his legs back onto the bed as he clutches
at the potion, thumb pressed tightly over its open top. After a few half-hearted kicks his back
eventually meets the mound of pillows and he leans back, feeling somewhat relieved that the
action didn’t seem to aggravate any of his injuries. Yet again he looks at Bad, raising an
eyebrow as if silently challenging him to ask Skeppy to move again. But Bad just looks
pleased, the demon giving a small smile as he meets Skeppy’s eyes with no obvious
complaint.

“Potion first,” Bad reminds him, already shifting the tray to one hand in order to grab the cup
from its surface. He offers it to Skeppy, body ducked into a slight bow to keep Skeppy from
reaching up with, “Tea.” being the only clarification of its contents.

Skeppy accepts the cup, catching faint whiffs of something flowery trapped in its steam. With
a deep breath he raises the potion bottle to his lips, refusing to breathe as he quickly chugs
the container dry. Before his brain can register the taste he swaps to the cup, taking a large
gulp of the supposed tea, realizing his mistake as soon as he feels the liquid scalding his
throat as he swallows.
The instant coughing fit makes even Bad jump, Skeppy jolting forward as he tries to not
choke.

“Fudge Skeppy! Are you okay?”

Skeppy shakes his head, tears gathering in the corners of his eyes. “I’m-” Skeppy rasps,
before going quiet as the pain vanishes as quickly as it had come. He blinks, looking up at
Bad (who seems to be holding himself back from rushing towards Skeppy). Hesitantly he
swallows, confused when the action brings no pain, “I’m…fine, the tea was hotter than I was
expecting.”

The realization only seems to make Bad more anxious, the demon visibly uneasy at Skeppy’s
words. “Fudge, I forgot humans don’t handle hot temperatures well. I’m sorry!”

Skeppy just shakes his head, uncomfortable with all of the apologies Bad keeps throwing at
him. “I’m fine, I don’t feel any pain.”

The admission seems to appeal Bad somewhat, the demon nodding as if trying to reassure
himself before directing his attention to the tray in hand. “At least I know the potion’s
working.” he mutters, moving both hands to the sides of the tray. With slow steps he nears the
front of the bed, his tail making sure to keep the mysterious book airborne as he lets Skeppy
survey the items laid before him.

“Is that a stew?” Skeppy can’t help but question, eyeing the thick liquid with apprehension.

“Soup actually,” Bad corrects, looking down at the bowl, “I was told that chicken soup is
good for recovery.” he tacks on, carefully lowering the tray into Skeppy’s lap.

It doesn’t look like any chicken soup Skeppy’s ever had. The broth is thick with slices of
carrots, celery, and other vegetables Skeppy doesn’t recognise bobbing around with chunks
of chicken. Switching the cup for a spoon, he submerges it into the bowl, watching the liquid
slowly fill in the utensil. He brings it up to eye level, watching the steam billow around as he
blows on it once, twice, and then puts it in his mouth.

His eyes widen.

“Oh no, is the soup too hot?” Bad practically whispers, his hands nervously gripping the
underside of his cloak.

Skeppy just shakes his head, shocked into silence by the sheer amount of flavors he’s
experiencing. He dips his spoon again, raising it to his mouth without giving it a chance to
cool. It burns the roof of his mouth but the pain fades as quickly as it arrives so Skeppy keeps
shoveling soup into his mouth, trying to savor the taste.

It’s so good, nothing like the soups he’s made for himself. Nothing like the thin broth from
back then that had more water than substance. Nothing like the ‘throw together’ stew he’d
sometimes have enough emeralds for at the tavern back at the village (one time he pulled a
tail out of his bowl). Every spoonful was full of meat and vegetables, the broth was creamy
and spread a comfortable heat throughout Skeppy’s entire body, chasing away a chill he
didn’t know he’d been feeling. This soup eased his discomfort in a way Bad’s words never
did.

…there was also a lot of it.

Skeppy was less than halfway through the bowl and already his efforts were starting to slow.
He just, wasn't used to having so much food, nor having food of such obvious quality. He
takes a break from the soup, instead reaching for the cup of tea. The steam seems to have
dissipated so Skeppy takes slow sips, allowing the tea to fill his senses. It certainly had a
flowery quality, though Skeppy had no idea what it was. Still, it cleared his head, bringing the
world into a sharper focus as he drank.

Skeppy lowers the cup, letting out an audible sigh as he feels his body relax. The noise draws
Bad’s attention, the demon not-so-discreetly leaning over to take a peek at what Skeppy had
left behind. Though innocent enough, the action instantly makes Skeppy tense, unsure of how
Bad would react to him leaving such a large amount of food behind.
Will he force me to finish my food? I doubt he would listen if I told him I was full and I’m not
in a position to protest.

“I’m- I’m not done,”Skeppy blurts out, already reaching for another spoonful of soup. He
shoves it into his mouth, not even bothering to taste it before swallowing (so his past
experiences did have some uses). He probably still won’t be able to finish but this way at
least he can show he’s trying.

But Bad just waves off his attempts, lowering himself sideways onto the chair next to the
bed, “It’s fine if you don’t finish Skeppy, I can save it for tomorrow if you want me to.”

“...Tomorrow?”

Bad nods, “Yeah, I thought you were probably tired since you didn’t sleep this afternoon so
after you ate I was going to call it a night. Well, for you at least, I still have a few more things
to finish.”

That’s right, he wanted Skeppy to sleep earlier.

The mention of that afternoon seems to remind Bad of something, the demon visibly perking
up before whipping his tail around, the book still somehow wrapped up in the black
appendage. With well-practiced movements Bad unfurls his tail, depositing the book
carefully in his lap before once again hiding the limb from sight. He picks the book up,
running a hand over its cover before purposefully presenting it to Skeppy, adding a quiet, “I
hope you’ll enjoy this book.” as Skeppy accepts the tome, mirroring the demon’s brushing of
the front as he looks at the faded letters emblazoned on the cover.

Potions Handbook.

The book looks old (though nothing like the journal currently tucked under Skeppy’s
pillows). Its pages are slightly yellowed, tattered on the edges. As Skeppy flips through a few
pages almost fall out, their bindings obviously worn away by time. But the pages Skeppy
pause on seem full of information pertaining to potion work (though he’d probably have to
refer to the journal for a few things, what was a phantom membrane)?
He carefully closes the book (he doesn’t want to know how Bad would react if he damaged
his things) before looking up at Bad, the demon obviously awaiting Skeppy’s approval.

“...Thank you.” Skeppy concedes, laying the book beside him before returning his attention
to the food before him.

Bad smiles at Skeppy, his tail undeniably wagging , “I’m glad I could help,” he starts, before
raising a hand to his face to cover a small yawn .

“What, didn’t sleep either?” Skeppy snarks, eating another spoonful of soup. But rather than
ignoring such an obvious jab, Bad merely pauses, lowering his hand before responding.

“Umm, not yet I haven’t.”

The confession makes Skeppy freeze, eyes darting to the demon. “What do you mean not
yet?”

Bad turns away, as if suddenly embarrassed by the question. “I haven’t slept since before I
met you in the forest.”

Skeppy’s mind helpfully supplies that this means Bad hasn’t slept in days.

“Don’t you need sleep?” Skeppy asks, incredulous that Bad could possibly live without
something all humans are dependent on because sure, let’s give the demon one more thing
that makes him better than humans.

“Er, yes and no.” Bad confirms, hands returning to the fabric of his cloak, wringing the cloth
as his eyes dart everywhere but Skeppy. It’s weird, every other question Skeppy has had until
this point was met by the demon’s unbridled enthusiasm to answer, but as soon as Skeppy
asks about Bad himself, the demon seems to be much more reserved. No, reserved wasn’t the
right word. More like…conflicted?

At Skeppy’s silence Bad visibly squirms, obviously uncomfortable with the turn in
conversation. “That is- What I mean is sleep is important but I don’t need it, I just,” he
stammers, shaking his hands back and forth as if trying to cancel his own words. With visible
effort he controls himself, clenching his hands into fists as he closes his eyes, the white glows
absence making his face look strangely blank. After a second he seems to settle, opening his
eyes to look at Skeppy as if nothing weird had just happened.

“What I was trying to say,” he begins, the words smooth and sounding almost rehearsed, “is
that I don’t need sleep the same way you do. It just…helps things. Helps me keep things
running smoothly.” Bad adds on, raising his hand to tap a finger against his cloaked head.

Skeppy just looks at him, swallowing another spoonful of soup. How exactly is he supposed
to reply to something like that?

“Cool.”

Thank Gods Rat takes that opportunity to hop onto the bed, visibly interested in Skeppy’s
leftovers. She sniffs hopefully at the bowl before raising her brown eyes to Skeppy, giving
him the best, “Please, just a crumb?” look she can muster. She’s even wagging her tail for
good measure.

She’s good.

Skeppy can’t help but smile as he fishes a small piece of chicken from the bowl, offering it to
the canine. As her teeth near his fingers he almost drops the food on the bed, not wanting to
risk getting bit. But then a familiar voice echoes in his head…

She won’t bite you. Not even if you held her treat in your hands.
So Skeppy holds on, watching as Rat sniffs around his hand before slowly parting her jaws,
her tongue bathing his fingers in spit before she fits her mouth securely around his fingers.
He tenses up, ready to draw away at the first hint of pain but she doesn’t bite down, at least,
not on him. Skeppy can feel her adjusting, her teeth carefully edging until they’re only biting
into the chicken. So he lets go, watching as Rat draws away with the chicken perfectly
trapped in her teeth. A few chews and the chicken is gone, Rat now redirecting her attention
into leaving even more spit all over Skeppy’s fingers in an obvious attempt to thank him for
the treat.

A smile tugs at Skeppy’s mouth.

“Oh come on Rat, I just fed you.” Bad whines, startling Skeppy from the moment. The
demon doesn’t seem angry though, not with the smile already starting to form as he watches
Rat nose at Skeppy’s bowl yet again. He remains silent as Skeppy offers the container to her,
the small grin widening into a full on beam as the canine quickly dispatches whatever soup
was unlucky enough to still be in Skeppy’s bowl.

As Rat licks the edge of the bowl Skeppy hesitantly edges his hand out, fingertips brushing
against the very ends of her fur. Rat, obviously all for pets as well as treats, eagerly presses
into his hand, tail a blur as she climbs into his lap. Skeppy tenses for another moment, unsure
of how to proceed before he carefully sinks his fingers into Rat’s fluff, marveling at the fluffy
texture.

“She’s…soft.” Skeppy comments, fingers gently trailing through the wolf’s fur before
suddenly catching on a small knot, Rat jolting slightly at the slight tug on her fur. He
scratches behind the wolf’s ears to apologize before returning his fingers to her coat, though
this time a lot slower.

Bad hmms in acknowledgement, “Yeah, she just got a bath so she’s definitely soft but I
haven’t been able to give her a good brushing. I was going to do it once I had cleaned up,
unless…” Bad trails off, eyes darting between Rat and Skeppy.

Skeppy doesn’t bother asking for the second part of that sentence, his mind already focused
on finger-combing through the small knots littered through Rat’s fur. He can feel Bad’s eyes
on him, the white light making it all too obvious where the demon was focusing his attention.
“Skeppy, do you want to brush Rat?”

Skeppy’s fingers still.

“I’m- I’m not saying you have to!” Bad stammers, already backpedaling from the question.
“It’s just, since you seemed interested I thought-”

“Sure, why not.”

Bad’s words die down immediately, the demon obviously expecting Skeppt to put up more of
a fight, or to just object to the idea outright. He blinks, head slightly tilted as if wondering if
he’d misheard Skeppy. “Err, you want to comb Rat’s fur?”

Skeppy fights the urge to roll his eyes, instead focusing his attention back on Rat. “Yeah, it’s
not like I can do much from this bed. Might as well do something to occupy my time before I
go crazy.”

Bad blinks again before jolting to his feet, apparently needing a few moments to realize that
Skeppy wasn’t fighting him for once. Without a word he heads through the closed door
attached to the room before quickly returning with a wooden comb.

“You can just clump her loose fur into a wad, I’ll pick it up tomorrow. The brushing doesn’t
have to be perfect by any means, I just don’t want Rat to get matted so use your best
judgment for when you get all the tangles out.”

The words come out in a rush, Bad practically thrusting the comb into Skeppy’s hands.
Skeppy frowns at the small tool, examining the large, even spaced teeth lining one side.
Carved into the comb’s base is a design that almost looks like Rat, a small wolf running
across the length of the comb, swirling lines indicating the wind left in her wake. On the
other side is a more simplistic design, a proud looking horse tossing its mane back, its hair
permanently caught by the breeze.
“Did you make this?”

Bad blinks at the question, obviously not expecting Skeppy to show sudden interest in such a
basic item. “Umm yes I did. Carved it a while ago, I’m pretty happy it held up for so long.”

He pauses, obviously expecting Skeppy to build on the sudden question. But he just hums,
turning the comb back and forth in his hands. “...Okay then, I guess I’ll leave things to you
then.” Bad concludes, grabbing the tray from the bed. “If it’s alright with you I’ll leave the
door cracked so Rat can leave if you want her to.”

“Um, before you leave.” Skeppy interrupts, lowering a hand to the potions book beside him,
“Would it be okay if you left the window open? It doesn’t have to be a lot, just enough to let a
breeze in.”

Bad doesn’t seem thrown off by the odd request, just nodding as he crosses the room to do as
Skeppy asked. He even props the window open to keep it from slamming suddenly.
“Anything else I can help with?” he asks, once again turning to look at Skeppy.

“Could you- could you make some more of those lights? From earlier I mean.”Skeppy
clarifies, fingers curling around the book

This time Bad actually smiles at the request, shifting the tray to one hand as he raises his free
hand. “How many do you want?”

“Just one will do. But-” and here Skeppy hesitates, thinking back to the orbs changing color
with the snap of a finger, “do you think you could make it blue? Like earlier?”

“No problem,” Bad confirms, quickly forming a small ring midair. Unlike earlier, where orbs
emerged from the ring, the ring this time expands into a sole orb, its color the same light blue
that had hovered in front of Skeppy’s face hours before. With a quick gesture of his fingers
Bad sends the orb floating over to Skeppy’s side, the light gently pulsing as if saying hello.
 “When you want it to go out just poke it. If you need to move it, place your hand palm up
underneath it.”

Skeppy follows the demon’s instructions, cautiously raising his hand to rest under the light.
As his hand nears it he’s dimly aware of a faint warmth emitting from the orb and he slowly
draws his hand closer to himself, watching as the orb follows suit.

“If you need anything before I see you tomorrow remember that I left the bell on your table.
But if you can’t think of anything then I’ll head out.” Bad nods at Skeppy, moving to leave.
Once he enters the doorway however he pauses, glancing back at Skeppy.

“Good night.”

And he leaves, tail pulling the door almost-closed behind him.

Chapter End Notes

Good food can do some magical things.

First things first, Bad is even more sleep deprived than I am as I type these final notes.
He hasn't slept in DAYS which has messed with him more than he would care to admit
(it's why he broke down in the kitchen, he was mentally exhausted and unable to keep
things up). Of course, being a demon Bad doesn't have 'issues' the same way humans do,
but he isn't kidding when he says sleep helps keep things running smoothly.

Skeppy is obviously more comfortable with Rat which is understandable. After all, she's
not the one that knocked him unconscious, kidnapped him, and then forced him to be
her friend. Bad of course doesn't mind such obvious favoritism, he's just glad Skeppy
isn't screaming at him to get out.

Bad reeeeeally wants Skeppy's approval, I wonder why.

Poor Bad forgetting that not every creature has the amazing heat resistance he does (Mr.
'Who Needs Oven Mitts?')

For the book title I literally searched for Minecraft potion books and it turns out the
'Potion Handbook' is a real thing (though I've never read it).
Also, I Googled the differences between soup and stew and apparently stew has a 'gravy'
while soup has 'broth.'

The comb was hand-carved by Bad a while ago and since its an 'animal' comb he carved
Rat on one side, and Roberto on the other (for when the horse lets Bad comb out his
mane).

Rat in real life is apparently very polite at taking treats so I decided wolf Rat should act
the same way. Also, Minecraft wolves can eat a lot if you let them, so I decided the same
applied to Rat, though Bad does monitor what she eats (and refuses to let her near rotten
flesh).

Huh, odd requests there Skeppy.

 Food Before Conversation
Chapter Summary

It's the next day and it's time to talk!

Chapter Notes

Welcome back everyone, hope you're doing well. For this evening I've prepared a lovely
chapter consisting of memories, angst, callbacks, and fluff, lots of fluff. I hope you
enjoy and don't forget to give your compliments to the chef.

Now that that's out of the way, hello everyone, I hope you're ready for some 'Diamonds
and Demons.' This chapter took me a while to do because my imagination fairy was
sulking in the corner till I bribed them with chocolate. But it's here now and you lovely
readers can enjoy! And I still published within my two week limit so I can't be mad at
myself.

We've surpassed 3333 hits! A big thanks to everyone, both new and old and I hope that
you guys like the way this story is going. I promise that things will make
sense...eventually. All I'll say is that most of the overall lore is planned out, I just have to
WRITE the stupid thing.

Story details are at the end! And a hint at something!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

It’s the clinking of dishes that rouses Skeppy from sleep, he himself having little time to do
more than sit-up before Bad’s outline can be seen through the cracked door, the demon’s tail
raised up to the wood as if ready to knock. He must not know Skeppy’s awake because
there’s a small thud as the appendage hits, somehow weak enough that the door doesn’t even
move.

“You can come in.” Skeppy calls out, rubbing the grime from his eyes. There’s a small pause,
then the door slowly starts to push open, Bad’s head quickly glancing inward before fully
entering the room.
If Skeppy didn’t know Bad was tired he probably would’ve never noticed the difference one
night of sleep could do to him. Wouldn’t have known that sleep helps “Keep things running
smoothly,” whatever that meant. But now that he knows to look, it’s hard to miss the obvious
effects some rest seems to do to Bad. The demon looked…renewed, the light in his eyes
shining just a bit brighter as they dart around the room, his tail waving through the air now a
definite motion compared to yesterday’s lethargic pace. His whole behavior seemed polished,
movements smooth as he approaches the bed, the ever present tray of food balanced in his
hands

“Morning,” he greets warmly, coming to stand within reach of Skeppy, “Did you sleep okay?
I know Rat can be a bit greedy with blankets.”

Skeppy grunts, glancing down at ball of fluff currently curled against his side

He didn’t know how long it took him to fully brush out Rat’s fur but he refused to stop until he
could run his fingers through the soft strands without catching on a knot. To his surprise Rat
didn’t seem all that bothered by his actions, besides the occasional jolt when Skeppy
accidentally yanked too hard she made no move to leave the bed or make Skeppy stop. It was
only once he took the comb away, satisfied that he’d gotten it all, that she had shifted, rising
to her feet to look at him. He expected her to leave, to hop off the bed and go running back to
her master, but all she did was nestle against his hip with nothing more than a sigh, her eyes
already starting to close as he stared down at the tiny wolf in confusion.

“I’m not going to run again.” He’d said, running a hand through the wolf’s fluff, “You don’t
have to watch over me.”

(He knew it was pointless to run, his injuries coupled with the fact that he had no idea where
he was meant he was basically stuck in Bad’s house until he got better. And once that
happened…well he still didn’t know how to get home).

But Rat just sighed again, not even opening her eyes as she seemed to settle down even more.
So Skeppy ignored her, turning his attention to the book Bad had left with him. The leather
creaked as he flipped open the cover, the pages rustling against his fingers. After a moment of
consideration he reaches for the orb of light, drawing it close to hover right by his head, its
soft blue glow easily illuminating the words on the page in a way the last hints of sunlight
never could.
He leans back, letting the mound of pillows take his entire weight, lifting the book up to be in
easy view. Takes a deep breath, nose catching the faintest whiffs of the cool, outside air
keeping the room from being stuffy and thick.

Chapter One: The Potion Basics

He read the entire book before allowing himself to call it a night, lightly poking the orb
before falling asleep in the now dimly lit room.

“I don’t think she moved the entire night.” Skeppy comments, leaning over to poke Rat in the
side. At the motion she lifts her head, her bright eyes an indication that she’d been awake for
a while. Her tail picks up a steady rhythm as she rises to her feet, doing a few big stretches
before jumping down to the floor. Skeppy just yawns, raising a hand to his face as he does his
own, upper body stretches before returning his attention to Bad, “What time is it anyway?”

“It’s about mid-morning.” Bad answers, shifting the tray to one hand to grab a few items
from its surface, “I wanted you to get as much sleep as possible so I thought it’d be nice to
have a late start today.”

At Skeppy’s answering grunt Bad just smiles, his tail raising up to coil around a familiar
purple potion. “You know what to do.” Bad reminds him, passing him the bottle along with a
cup of water.

Skeppy doesn’t even come up for air, draining both the potion and cup dry in less than a
minute. As the beginning hints of warmth begin to filter through his body he returns the
containers, making sure Bad’s tail has a secure grip before letting go. With a nod of
satisfaction Bad lowers the tray to Skeppy’s lap before quickly retreating to the closed door,
the sound of running water filling the room before he returns with the cup refilled.

Accepting the cup yet again Skeppy looks down at the food before him. Somehow, even
including the enormous tower of muffins or monstrous bowl of soup, this is the most food
Skeppy has ever seen in one place. There’s a pre-cut steak, a plate of eggs, an entire loaf of
bread (with small bowls of what look like preserves sitting beside it), even more muffins, and
what Skeppy thinks is a bowl of fruit (though he doesn't recognize all of the contents).
Skeppy just blinks down at it, momentarily shocked into silence by the sheer magnitude of
food there was.

The things he would’ve done back then to even get a part of this meal. And here Bad was, a
fucking demon of all creatures, living like a king.

“Oh crud, you don’t have any allergies, do you?”

Skeppy swallows, grabbing the bread loaf and lifting it up.

It was still warm. Why is it still warm? Why does Bad care? Why is this not fair?

“Er, no. Not that I know of. It’s just, isn’t this a lot of food?” Skeppy gestures vaguely with
the bread, the loaf already starting to flake in his hands.

Bad blinks at him, as if the thought had never crossed his mind. “Oh that wasn’t my
intention. It’s just- I didn’t know what you liked so I thought I’d give you some options. I’m
sorry I didn’t mean to-”

“It’s fine.” Skeppy blurts out, already feeling annoyed at Bad’s continued apologies. Because
yes, he should feel sorry, but not because he gave Skeppy fucking options. He should feel
sorry that he kidnapped Skeppy, forced him to be his friend, and imprisoned him in his home.
None of this bullshit of faking sorries that hold no real emotion. The bread’s crust starts to
crackle under Skeppy’s fingers and he realizes he’s squeezing the ever loving life out of it.
Releasing his grip he instead tears the top off the bread, trying to ignore the steam wafting
into the air.

“Skeppy if you’re-”
“I’m happy with the options.” Skeppy interrupts again, shoving a tuft of bread into his mouth
so he had an excuse not to talk.

Yet again Bad wisely takes the hint to shut up, the demon instead focusing his attention on
the nightstand, where ‘The Book of Fuck All’ and ‘Potions Handbook’ rest side by side.

“Did you read the book?”

Skeppy grunts a yes, lowering the bread to instead pick up the plate of eggs, shoving a few
chunks into his mouth while pointedly ignoring the fork Bad included on the tray.

“What’d you think?”

Skeppy glares up at Bad, mouth too full to properly form words.

Not that he’d let that stop him.

“It was interesting.” He answers, food garbling his words to the point of near
incomprehension. He takes a swig from the cup and swallows, now picking up a muffin and
biting it in half. Judging by the spices it’s the same type of muffin Bad gave him yesterday
and Skeppy takes solace in the fact that he at least knows one of the foods isn’t potentially
poisoned.

“Hmm, if you thought that was interesting I have some other books you may like.” Bad
hums, fingers lightly tracing across the book’s cover

Skeppy’s eyes only flicker up for a second before he’s forcing his attention back to the tray,
trying to not show his intrigue at the demon’s words.

They will lure you into a false sense of security. After all, it’s easier to get something you
want when no one puts up a fight.
He prods the steak, already examining the edges for signs that something other than utensils
had cut through it but the sides are thankfully smooth, quite unlike the jagged look from
earlier. He picks a piece up with his fingers before carefully placing it in his mouth, his
tongue pressing it into the roof of his mouth to make it release its savory juices.

It’s been a while since he’s had steak.

“...Skeppy?”

Only now does Skeppy actually turn his head to look at Bad, the demon seemingly frozen in
place besides the nightstand. He chews for a few moments before swallowing, eyes taking in
Bad’s nervous appearance.

“Do what you want, I don’t care.” is all he says, his attention already returning to the steak
before him. Compared to the other foods that he flitted between, Skeppy doesn’t stop until
the entire steak is gone, the faint shine of grease on his fingers the only indication of its
existence. Slightly mourning its loss, Skeppy then picks up the bowl of fruit, the only thing
he had yet to try. A few things he could recognize, like the chunks of melon and apple slices.
But some…

“What are these?” Skeppy can’t help but ask, lifting the small red berry up to the light. It felt
firm underneath his fingers, but even he could detect the slightly sweet smell the berry
seemed to be emitting.

“Sweet berries, I got a few from a forest and added them to my garden.” Bad pipes up, the
demon having moved to stand beside his desk, shuffling through papers as if looking for
something.

“And these?” Skeppy asks again, dropping the sweetberry and lifting up a larger berry that
seems to be glowing.
“That’s a glow berry, I found some in a lush cave a while back and started my own plot
nearby. They’re not as sweet as sweet berries but their vines don’t have thorns at least.” Bad
informs, actually turning to look at Skeppy (and smiling at Skeppy’s dumbfounded
expression).

Glaring back, Skeppy pops the berry in his mouth, eyes involuntarily widening at the sweet
taste flooding across his tongue as his teeth pierce the berries soft flesh. The sweet berries are
somehow even sweeter, the berry itself giving a bit more resistance before breaking under his
teeth. Grabbing a small mix from the bowl, he crams the entire handful of fruit into his
mouth, all of the different tastes and textures clashing together as he chews. A drop of juice
runs down his chin but Skeppy makes no move to wipe it away, instead turning back to the
half-eaten loaf of bread, tearing chunks off and dipping them into the assorted bowls of
preserves. He can feel his fingers getting sticky from all the berry juice, but he can’t find it in
himself to care.

“Was everything okay?” Bad asks, approaching the bed once more with a few books in his
arms. He stands beside the nightstand once again, shifting the two books off to the side and
replacing them with those in his arms. Skeppy looks up and nods, using the pause to dip his
fingers into the remnants of his water cup before shaking them dry, effectively getting rid of
most of the stickiness.

Despite his obvious lack of table manners Bad doesn’t seem put off by Skeppy’s behavior, if
anything his confirmation of Bad’s cooking skills seems to bring great joy to the demon, Bad
lighting up with a wide smile as Skeppy takes a quick swallow from the cup. “Are you done
for now?” Bad questions, eyes skimming over the half-empty tray. While Skeppy finished the
steak, practically everything else is left half-eaten, with crumbs and juice splattered across the
tray from Skeppy’s messy eating.

Skeppy nods again, lightly clearing his throat before grabbing the tray from both sides.
“Yeah, I’m good for now.” he confirms, twisting towards Bad as he raises the tray high
enough for Bad to grab it.

And Bad does accept the tray, the smile still there as his hand’s replace Skeppy’s in holding
the tray aloft. But then it falters, Bad obviously caught off guard by something.

“...Do that again.”

“Do what again?” Skeppy turns to look at Bad. Turns, with his torso.

Skeppy freezes in place, ready for the pain to come tearing through his abdomen like it did
just yesterday. But there’s…nothing. No pain, at least not to the extent and severity of before.
A bit of soreness, yes, but it only felt as bad as the pain Skeppy would feel the day after he
overworked himself at the forge.

He had raised his arm up too. Both of them.

Cautiously, Skeppy raises his left arm, rotating it in its socket as he brings it upward towards
Bad, as if offering an invisible tray of food. And there’s no pain, only slight stiffness that
fades as soon as Skeppy turns his shoulder again.

“That’s…weird.” is all Skeppy can offer, returning his position back to what it was.

“Okay, you’re definitely healing better than I expected.” Bad comments, head slightly cocked
as if shocked by the recent development. “I thought you’d still be relatively immobile for at
least another day, and sore for even longer.”

Skeppy moves his shoulder again, not even feeling a twinge of discomfort. “No, I feel fine.”

Bad hmms, his tail tapping an unfamiliar beat on the floor as he looks down at Skeppy. “I
wonder if the fact you’re human has something to do with the efficiency of potions.” He
mutters, more to himself than Skeppy. His tail picks up pace, now whizzing through the air as
the volume of the tapping loudens, Bad undoubtedly excited by Skeppy’s fast recovery.

“Well I was going to wait until tomorrow to have you get out of bed but there’s no time like
the present!” Bad announces eagerly, practically bouncing up and down (Skeppy had a
feeling that if it weren’t for the tray in his hands Bad would be a lot more animated).
Get out of bed? Right now?!

“Oh, not right now I mean,” Bad quickly adds, no doubt noticing the panicked expression on
Skeppy’s face, “we’ll have to wait till I’m done with my morning chores. But in a few hours,
after lunch, we can work on getting you moving around again. And,” And here Bad’s eyes
develop a wild gleam of excitement, “you can finally get clean!”

Clean?

Suddenly Skeppy is all too aware of the blood still clinging to his skin, the oil matting his
hair, the juice still sticky on his fingers. If Bad’s been honest with time that means it’s been
days since Skeppy was last clean and he can feel the film of grime painted across his entire
body.

Clean.

“I wouldn’t mind getting clean.” Skeppy admits, self-consciously trying to finger comb
through the greasy mess that is his hair. And Gods his clothes, how long had he been in these
clothes? With all they’d been through, Skeppy was certain they’d be better off heading to a
firepit than any cleaning area. There was also the consideration of the blankets he’d been
sleeping under, the cloth no doubt having soaked up some of his blood and grime over the
past two days. “And maybe getting into something cleaner.”

Bad just nods along, his white eyes alight with enthusiasm, “I’ll take care of everything you
might need, just sit tight for a few hours and we can start once I get back.” His tail pushes the
stack of books towards Skeppy, making sure they’re in easy reach (though it’s not as if
Skeppy can’t move around now), “I think you might like these books though there’s no rush
for you to check them out. You can nap if you want or I can grab you something else.” Bad
offers, body already turning towards the door as if ready to run for whatever Skeppy requests.

But Skeppy just shakes his head, already reaching for the book on top of the stack, “I can
wait.” is all he offers, fingers lightly tracing over the leather bound cover. So Bad just nods,
body practically vibrating with newfound energy as he heads for the door, tail pulling it
almost closed as if a last minute thought.
 Skeppy eyes the design cut expertly into the book, an assortment of flowers and leaves
decorating the very edges of the cover. Apparently every book Bad owned was old, and this
book was no exception judging by the worn smooth edges. While now faded to an almost
evergreen, Skeppy can see hints of forest green paint chipped in the very corners of the book,
with the words The Elements of Herbology emblazoned on the cover. Flipping to the first
page Skeppy takes a deep breath and begins to read.

Chapter One: The Use of Medical Plants and Why You Should Care

Chapter End Notes

A few bit and bobs for you guys to consider:

I like to think that Skeppy in this world is an information sponge. Due to

certain...reasons, his education is rather lacking and he's really eager to learn what he
can, even if the information has to come from the demon that kidnapped him. Hence
why he refused to go to sleep until after he'd read the entire book, and why he doesn't
want to do anything other than read books. He does have other hobbies, but let's just say
people don't exactly trust him back at the village.

Honestly I'm using my own head canons for what sweet berries and glow berries taste
like. I imagine sweet berries to be similar to cranberries, but instead of tart they're
REALLY sweet. And glow berries would also be sweet but more in a fresh
blueberry/strawberry kind of way, with the softness of a blueberry.

LOL Skeppy thought Bad shredded the steak with his claws (like he did multiple
chapters back) and in reality Bad almost did, before catching himself.

Skeppy DOES have table manners, but he learned a long time ago how to eat quickly
without caring about what others thought. Might as well use such a talent against Bad.

Hmm...so far Skeppy's only been given foods that only need a fork or spoon, no knife to
be seen. I wonder why.

Okay, Bad's comment about potions and humans is because to HIM (remember, no
interaction with humans) humans don't interact with magic, thus they don't develop a
'tolerance' to it, meaning that magical items from enchants to potions are then MORE
effective on humans than they would be on actual magical creatures. Is this theory true?
Meh, who knows.

Next chapter: Skeppy hopefully gets cleaned up.

ALSO I am planning on having a chapter published on April Fools but I wouldn't say
that it's following the 'timeline' of this story (but that's all I'll say) :)
 Happy April Fools' Day!
Chapter Summary

What's this doing here?

Chapter Notes

This is what I was hinting at!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Skeppy releases the bow string, the arrow cutting through the air before lodging into the
target’s blue ring with a satisfying thunk. The small frown already etched onto his face
deepens as he takes in the arrow’s location, no matter how much he practices he still can’t get
any closer to the center of the target.

“Nice one Skeppy, that’s your fifth blue in a row!” Bad cheers beside him, the demon
alternating between instructing Skeppy and doing his own target practice, albeit with knives
(and a target much further away). Skeppy lowers his bow, trying to not show the frustration
on his face. He knows that he should be patient but it’s not his fault he just can’t seem to get
the hang of using the bow. He was literally built for close combat, not to pick off enemies
from afar, so what was the point in learning how to do this?

Because Bad doesn’t want to see me get hurt. Not when there was something he could do to
prevent it.

Skeppy sighs, rubbing a hand across his face before turning to look at Bad, the demon now
facing his own target, knife in hand. Compared to Skeppy’s jerky unsure movements to get the
arrow nocked and drawn, Bad moves confidently and smooth, his body angling back as his
right arm raises with a knife clutched between his fingers. He freezes in place for a second,
white eyes fixed firmly on the target before him. Then he breathes, throwing the knife as he
exhales, the blade practically whistling through the air as it sails towards the target, a
resounding crack being heard as it makes contact in the wooden object. Even from a distance
Bad’s accuracy is obvious, the knife only missing the bullseye due to the three other knives
already taking up the yellow center.

Show off.

“You know, maybe I should try knives.” Skeppy innocently muses aloud, running a finger
along the curve of his bow. Bad jumps as if he’d been hit, the cool knife throwing attitude all
but evaporating as he turns to look at Skeppy, confusion plain on his face.

“You want to try knife throwing?” Bad questions, his tail nervously swishing against the
ground as he takes in Skeppy’s passive interest. “But you’re getting so good with the bow!”

“Bad, there’s no way in hell anyone could ever call this good.” Skeppy argues, quickly
reverting back to his shooting stance and letting another arrow fly (though this one barely
clips into the blue ring). He turns back to Bad (ignoring the quiet ‘language’ thrown his way)
and gestures with the bow, rocking it back and forth in his hands. “Besides, if YOU can throw
knives around then so can I!”

“Hey, what does that mean!?” Bad demands, putting his hands on his hips as he looks down
at Skeppy.

“It means that you’re not the most coordinated person I’ve ever met.” Skeppy deadpans.

“Skeppy!” Bad huffs, throwing up his hands, “Fine, if you want to learn knife throwing then
be my guest.” He reaches for his sleeve of knives, passing the case to Skeppy, “But you’re
only allowed to use my training knives, at least that way you can’t hurt yourself.”

Skeppy just smirks in self-satisfaction as Bad let’s out another sigh (and then flips him off
when he’s not looking).

…
Turns out knife throwing is a LOT harder than archery.

“For fucks sake!” Skeppy cries out as yet another knife bounces harmlessly off the target,
falling to the ground to join multiple of its brethren. So far only one knife has actually stayed
in the target, the byproduct of when Skeppy accidentally let the knife slip from his fingers
when he was practicing the motions.

“Language.” Bad chides, the demon standing behind Skeppy so as to avoid getting struck by
any wayward blades.

“How is this harder than archery?” Skeppy demands, readying another blade in his hands.
Bad had shown him the basics, advised what to look out for as you prepare to throw. But no
matter how many knives Skeppy throws, none of them have produced the same accuracy as a
bow. “You make it look so easy!”

He thinks he can hear Bad laugh behind him.

“I make it look easy because I’ve been doing it for longer than I’ve been in the Overworld.”
Bad explains, edging into his line of sight. “But you? You’ve only been doing this for the last
hour.”

Skeppy huffs out a breath, turning to face the demon. “You said these were practice knives
yeah? So let me try a real throwing knife, maybe then I can get the hang of it.”

“Skeppy, you almost dropped a knife on yourself, I’m not giving you something that’ll
actually do some damage.”

“I’ll be careful, I want to see if having a real knife will make any difference.”

“And what if you hurt yourself?”

“I’ll heal. Knife please.”

Bad sighs, rubbing a hand over his face. “You’re not going to give this up, are you?”

“Nope.” Skeppy holds out his hand expectantly.

There’s a moment of silence, the duo staring back at one another in some kind of standoff.
Then Bad reaches into his cloak and pulls out two long knives seemingly from nowhere. With
no sense of grandeur he places one in Skeppy’s outstretched hand, a small smile flickering
across his face as Skeppy nearly buckles under the sudden weight.

“Gods, why’s it so heavy?”

“What Skeppy, I thought you wanted a real knife?” Bad smirks, spinning the second knife
around his fingers, “Well these are the knives I use.”

“That doesn’t answer why they’re so heavy, what did you make these out of?” Skeppy
demands, raising the knife to peer at its material. While the training knives seemed made of
one solid piece of iron, this knife seems to have a definite blade and handle made out of
separate materials. The blade itself is shiny and black, with an unmistakable razor sharp
edge all around its perimeter. The handle seems odd, a black rock like composition serving as
the main part, with small dots of something white lodged throughout the dark material. The
entire piece has a faint purple sheen to it, a quality Skeppy has learned that indicates
enchantments of some kind.

“The blade is obsidian, the handle is blackstone, the white dots are fragments of nether
quartz I embedded so the knife would be easier to see.”

“And the enchants?”

“Unbreaking, sharpness, and loyalty.”

“Loyalty? I don’t think I’ve heard of that one.”

Bad smiles, now throwing the knife into the air before smoothly catching it. “Technically it’s
an enchant that’s supposed to be for tridents, but I was able to modify it with enough
practice.” He tilts his head towards the knife in Skeppy’s hand, “Throw the knife as far as
you can.”

With a shrug, Skeppy complies, happy to be rid of the heavy object. But as soon as the knife
hits the ground (only a few feet from him) it instantly returns to his hand, making him stumble
at the sudden weight. He tries again, putting more power behind his throw yet it comes back,
though slightly slower. He looks up at Bad.

“Loyalty, it returns to you.”

Bad nods a confirmation, watching as Skeppy throws the knife farther and farther away, his
own fingers automatically spinning his knife around his hand. He looks down at it, observing
how the sunlight glints off the obsidian blade.

“It’s a funny thing,” he comments, twirling the knife through his fingers as he considers its
razor sharp edge, “the relationship I have with these.”

“What, are you guys well acquainted?” Skeppy snarks, giving his knife one last throw before
returning his attention to Bad. He expects Bad to sputter, to fuss over the way he worded the
question (or to get confused by what he meant). But instead…

“You could say that. After all, these knives were what ensured my survival in the Nether.”

The Nether. Where Bad’s from. His past, he never talks about his past.
“Oh yeah?” Skeppy prods, making sure to keep his tone neutral, his eyes fixed resolutely
away from Bad. “How’d they do that?”

Bad stills, his fingers no longer moving the knife. He faces the blade towards himself,
catching a glimpse of his reflection before it’s blotted out. “They were one of the few things I
could rely on. The amount of hoglins, ghasts, blazes I’ve killed with them, the number of
times I had to sit all alone in a cave, wiping blood from these blades. And through it all they
never cracked, never lost their sharpness. Always ready to be used. Even when I never
wanted to.”

His voice is a cold whisper now, a stark contrast to the sunny day they’ve been living in.
Skeppy doesn’t know what to do, doesn’t expect this sudden attitude change. He opens his
mouth intending to distract Bad with a light hearted joke but-

“And you want to know the funny thing? I throw them away. Every. Single. Time. When I use
them I throw them away, as hard as I can. And yet they always come back, always at my beck
and call. These two knives are more loyal than any of the ‘ friends ’ I had in that place, and
maybe that’s why I could never let them go. No matter who asked me, these were one of the
few things I wouldn’t let anyone but me touch.”

But he gave them to Skeppy so willingly.

There’s a dry chuckle, Bad tossing the knife hand to hand. “In a way these knives are a
reminder of the Nether. Made from its materials, bathed in the blood of its inhabitants, the
favorite tool of one of the most nightmarish creatures to ever exist. Maybe that’s why I try to
throw them away, so that I can get rid of every little reminder of that place. But.” And Bad
hurls the knife, the tool nothing more than a blur as it sails on a direct collision course with
the forgotten target, hitting with enough force to make the target explode into pieces. Skeppy
doesn’t need to look to know he hit the bullseye. “No matter what I do, I can never distance
myself. It’s a part of me whether I like it or not. And yet, I keep throwing.”

Bad lifts his hand, the knife having already returned. He eyes its blade, his body language
closed off and broken.

That’s why he’s so good at knife throwing. Because his entire life depended on it.
Silence falls between them. Skeppy swallows, unsure of what to do. Hesitantly, he edges
closer to Bad, watching for any signs of distress. Finding none he leans gently against Bad’s
body, letting the demon’s warmth soak into his skin.

“...you’re not a nightmare, you’re my friend.”

It’s whispered so quietly Skeppy at first doesn’t think Bad hears it. He licks his lips, ready to
say it again-

“Thank you Skeppy, you’re my friend too.”

Bad exhales, a rough shuddering sigh, and Skeppy waits for one more moment before taking
it as a cue to straighten up. When he looks Bad in the eye he doesn’t see the hurt from before,
but there is a lingering tiredness, as if talking about his past was exhausting. Skeppy smiles
up at him, and Bad returns with one of his own, his attitude already returning to what it was
before Skeppy ever asked to try using knives.

Skeppy looks down at the knife in his hands, the bits of nether quartz looking almost like stars
trapped in the endless night sky. “...I think I’ll try some more archery. As you said, I was
getting better with it.”

He knows Bad’s back to normal when the demon lets out a small snort, his shoulders shaking
with barely contained humor.

“This doesn’t have anything to do with your lackluster knife throwing does it?” Bad teases,
his warm tone the only indication he was joking. Skeppy ignores him for a moment, handing
the knife back before picking up his forgotten bow. With a deep breath he nocks an arrow and
faces the target.

“Hey Bad?”
 “Hmm?”

“Shut the fuck up.”

The arrow buries itself neatly into the red ring, but Skeppy is too busy running away from
Bad to notice, the sounds of his laughter echoing across the clearing as Bad yells about what
a muffinhead he is.

Chapter End Notes

I won't go it too much detail about what this was. Let's just say this could be something
that could've been, something that will be, or something that had nothing to do with the
usual story. I wasn't expecting it to get so angsty but that's just a bonus.

I literally had to search what throwing knives looked like, and how you throw knives so
that way this chapter could be semi-accurate.

I might answer some questions, who knows ¯\_ (ツ)_/¯

 Thanks to Them
Chapter Summary

Skeppy has some reflecting to do...

Chapter Notes

I'm alive! I'm just a little late!

Hi everyone, sorry this chapter took so long to do, reality wouldn't release its hold on me
for a while but I'm finally back! To make up for the longer time this chapter is a BIG
one in terms of size, and a bit of lore. It's also another Skeppy POV (I really need to do
another one of Bad's soon...) As a side note, I LOVED the reaction the last chapter got,
I'm considering making the 'what is this' chapters more frequent but I'm not sure yet.
Either way, it was really fun to write the last chapter and I'm happy you guys enjoyed it
:)

Also, we're at 3600 hits! I don't know how that happened so quickly but a big thanks to
you readers! I hope you guys are enjoying the story and you better be ready for some
upcoming twists!

Story details are at the end!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Skeppy’s about halfway through the herbalism book when the door starts to re-open, its
entryway momentarily clear before Bad makes an appearance, his arms full of a large bundle
of fabric. With slow, sweeping steps, the demon edges his way into the room, head poked
around the edge of the cloth so as to see in front of him. As his entire body comes into view,
Skeppy can spot a basket carefully held aloft by Bad’s tail, the container lightly swinging
through the air as the demon bends over to drop his items into the chair.

“What’s that?” Skeppy questions, jerking his chin towards the cloth. Rather than immediately
answer, Bad gives off a small hum of acknowledgement before quickly retreating into the
secondary room, the sound of cabinets being opened and closed carrying through the quiet
room. He appears moments later, with what appears to be two towels draped over his arm.
Giving Skeppy a small smile, he swivels his tail around to grab the basket from its hold,
carefully placing both items into the hamper.
“I was thinking that once you got clean you wouldn’t want to sleep on dirty sheets.” Bad
explains, passing the basket back over to his tail as he comes to stand beside the bed. “So I
fetched some clean ones to put on the bed once you were on your feet.”

Skeppy frowns, once again reminded by all of the grime currently coating his body. He has
plenty of experience with being dirty, cleanliness not exactly being maintained with his work
as a tool smith, but at least at the end of the day he was able to wash away the majority of the
soot and sweat that caked itself to his body. But now? He could feel the blood flaking off his
face, the uncomfortable stick of bandages pulling at his nearly healed flesh. It reminds him
too much of then, of a past that he’d much rather stay buried.

“I’d definitely appreciate staying clean.” he concedes, trying to ignore the fact that Bad’s tail
is practically wagging with the admission, “But that means I have to get clean first.”

Bad nods again, “While I was gone I made sure to grab everything you might need.” he
explains, raising the basket for emphasis. “I just need to make sure you can stand up on your
own, then I’ll show you the shower.”

Taking that as a cue to move Skeppy immediately throws the blankets off him, the action
making Bad jump back, as if surprised Skeppy could do things for himself. Despite himself,
Skeppy can feel a small sneer tug at the corner of his mouth. The fact that he could catch Bad
of guard was good, it showed that the demon wasn’t fully in control of things. Bad could
think what he wanted, but Skeppy would never stay here, never trust him…

Never be his friend .

Skeppy uses Bad’s brief shock to push himself into an upright position, already throwing his
legs off the side of the bed before the demon can collect himself.

“Careful Skeppy!” Bad chides, throwing his arms out as if to push Skeppy back down the
minute he tries to stand. When Skeppy flinches at the motion he immediately freezes, guilt
flashing across his face as his arms slowly lower back to his sides. “What I meant to say,”
Bad amends, voice noticeably softer (which only furthers Skeppy’s annoyance, he is not a
child), “is that you’re still healing, you should probably take things slow.”
Skeppy just glares at him for a minute before pushing himself off the bed, throwing his arms
in front of him as his shaky legs nearly give out under him. Yet, unlike earlier, it’s not pain
that accounts for their weakness, but more so the fatigue that comes with spending the last
few days predominantly in bed. There’s suddenly a hand on his uninjured shoulder, its
warmth seeping its way into his bare skin. He almost lets it stay, to accept the support it
gives. But then fingertips brush against rough scaring and he instinctively jolts, throwing the
hand off him.

“Don’t touch me,” Skeppy hisses, caught too off guard to act at least civil towards Bad. But
the demon doesn’t ignore the request, or worse, send Skeppy sprawling with a slap to the
face. He just backs away, digging his hands into the recesses of his cloak where they’ll be far
away from Skeppy.

“Sorry.” Bad stammers, obviously thrown off by his own actions. His eyes are wide, their
pale light seemingly filling the hood’s space. His lips are pressed thinly together, his
eyebrows pulled back as if having to hold in his own shock.

Skeppy ignores the apology, instead trying to force his legs into moving forward, their
shakiness slowly dissipating as his muscles learn how to work again. His feet drag slightly
against the ground and he nearly stumbles again, practically throwing himself forward so as
to not fall. Once he regains his balance he takes a few more steps, shuffling around till he’s
certain he won’t trip. He turns to look at Bad, the demon's hands now occupied with his cloak
as he watches Skeppy’s progress. Still, it’s hard to ignore the worry evident on his face.

Not that Skeppy doesn’t try, simply arching an eyebrow as he takes in the demon’s
nervousness.

“Shower?”

Bad lets out another jump at Skeppy’s comment, the demon seemingly shocked at how well
Skeppy seems to be moving around considering the numerous injuries he should still be
feeling the effects from. “Erm, yeah! Right over here Skeppy.”
Bad walks over to the secondary room, its door still open from when he had gone to get
towels. Skeppy hobbles after him, already starting to feel relieved over the fact that he was
going to be clean soon. As they both enter the room Skeppy spares a quick glance at the new
environment, eyes slightly widening at such a normal looking area. The bathroom itself was
relatively large, a feature that all rooms in Bad’s house seemed to share, yet despite the
obvious size increase to everything, the layout was quite similar to what Skeppy would
expect to find in the village.

The wall opposite the door was entirely composed of a shower, a red-ish tan shower curtain
pulled off to the side. To the left side of the room was a wall of cabinets, with a tall sink
nestled right beside the door for presumably easy access, yet where there should be a mirror
is instead a piece of cloth, pulled across the wall in a manner that makes Skeppy think it’s
covering something. There’s a toilet on the right side, and a large basket of some kind which
Skeppy figures must be for Bad’s dirty clothes. A small window takes up much of the right
side wall, a set of curtains currently pulled back to let the sun in. Small torches line the wall,
obviously there for when sunlight can no longer light the space to a suitable degree.

“You can close that once I leave.” Bad comments, the demon having noticed Skeppy’s focus
on the window, “I just like seeing the sun.”

Skeppy doesn’t say anything, quietly turning his head to look at the demon who seems to
falter under his directed attention.

“So… this is my bathroom.” he explains, slightly waving at the area. As if having a mind of
its own, his tail raises itself towards Skeppy, obviously offering the basket to him. Keeping
his face blank, Skeppy accepts the container, glancing down at the fluffy towels Bad had
added to it.

“The larger one is to dry off with, the smaller is to help you get clean. I didn’t want you
aggravating your damaged skin so I made sure to grab the softest towels I had,” Bad clarifies,
eagerly latching onto the safe topic of getting Skeppy cleaned up. He steps back, gesturing to
some bottles lined along the wall of the shower, “The orange bottle is shampoo and the white
is soap, feel free to use as much as you’d like. If you don’t like their smell just let me know
and I’ll try to make some that better suit your tastes.”

Skeppy blinks at the onslaught of new information, his fingers involuntarily tightening
against the handle of the basket. He doesn’t like this, doesn’t like that Bad is making more
opportunities for Skeppy to become indebted to him. He physically bites his tongue,
redirecting his attention to poking through the basket. There’s a small comb, a few bandages,
even a potion (which Skeppy assumes is if he gets hurt somehow), yet there seems to be one
rather important thing that is completely missing.

“Bad, there are no clothes in here.”

Compared to earlier events where Bad jumped at Skeppy’s voice this time the demon seems
resigned, looking away as if embarrassed. “Umm, I meant to tell you but your shirt kind of
got destroyed in the aftermath of the spider attack, and as you know, I had to… cut your pants
to get to your leg” (yes Skeppy knows, he can feel the tattered edges of his pants tapping
against his leg as they speak). “But I do have a solution!”

Skeppy blinks at him, “And that is?”

Bad nods down to the basket in Skeppy’s hands. “Just place your dirty clothes in there and
I’ll get them fixed up before you get out of the shower! I already asked Rat to be on standby
so she’ll bring me the basket and drop it off again, I’ll make sure to stay away while you
shower once I get the sheets replaced.”

“But I don’t have a shirt to repair.”

“Don’t worry about that, I promise that when you get out you’ll have a full set of clean
clothes to put on.”

Skeppy decides he’s better off not fighting the demon’s ‘solution’ so he instead nods and
turns his attention to the shower. Taking the cue that he was no longer needed (or wanted)
Bad starts to edge himself towards the door, calling out one final bit of information.

“If you need help just call out. Rat will be in the other room and she’ll come get me if you
have any trouble.”
Skeppy tried not to grimace at the thought of someone hovering outside of the bathroom,
even if it was only a wolf, but he was hardly in a place to make demands. And so he merely
nodded, standing silent as Bad gave him one last look-over. He was obviously conflicted over
something, probably worried over whether Skeppy could stay standing for long enough, but
he says nothing more before clicking the door closed behind him.

Skeppy doesn’t move, ears straining for any hints on what Bad’s doing outside the door. He
can hear things being tossed on the floor, probably the pillows and blankets that were on the
bed. There’s the flapping of cloth through the air, the swish of it being pulled tight against
something. A few more thumps, the sounds of pillows being fluffed and then…

“Alright, I’m heading out Skeppy.” Bad calls out, making Skeppy jump despite himself, “Just
a quick heads up, my shower can get really hot so try not to burn yourself. Rat’s out here
waiting for the basket so I won’t come back till you’re done.”

Muttering a few swear words under his breath, Skeppy can hear the door to the bedroom
creak closed and takes that as a signal he can finally get undressed (but not without closing
the curtains first). With quick movements he dumps everything out of the basket before
plucking at the bandages covering his shoulder and torso, piling the soiled fabric into the now
empty container. It takes a small struggle to remove the rest of his clothes, the soiled fabric
refusing to let go of his skin until he gives a few hard tugs. He’s almost tempted to destroy
the entire mess, but then he realizes that he’d have nothing to wear, and he’d rather not be
buck-naked in a house with a creature known for their ‘sinful ways.’

Resisting the urge to cover himself with a towel, Skeppy eases the door open just enough to
edge the basket through, the only hint of Rat’s presence being a small flash of white fur that
darts under the bed as soon as the door starts to open. He drops more than places the basket
onto the floor, slamming the door closed as soon as his hand is clear. Scooping up both
towels from the floor, he purposefully heads towards the shower, slinging the larger of the
two over the curtain pole.

It takes him a moment to figure out the shower, Skeppy having to tug on the odd handle
embedded into the wall before water starts to pour out of the showerhead, the air already
starting to heat up. Experimentally Skeppy sticks his hand under the spray, jerking away with
a loud, “Fuck!” as the scalding liquid collides with his skin.

My shower can get really hot.

Waving his hand through the air Skeppy continues to fiddle with the handle until steam is no
longer rising from the shower. Taking his chances he once again sticks his hand under the
water, relaxing as the hot, but not boiling water splashes against his skin. Without a second
thought he immediately jumps into the shower, feeling his tension locked muscles already
starting to relax under the constant heat and pressure. A small sigh escapes his lips, Skeppy
instinctively raising his face to meet the pounding water, allowing his hair to get hit. His
shower back at home was aimed lower, so the water hit more of his face than the top of his
head. But Bad’s is much higher than that, the water angling down in a way that reminded
Skeppy of the rain, evenly coating his entire top half.

Once his body is thoroughly soaked Skeppy reaches for the orange container Bad identified
as shampoo, screwing the top off the glass container and tipping it over his awaiting palm. As
the viscous liquid hits his skin, the air is filled with the hints of some kind of spice that
Skeppy can’t identify, one that reminded him of when people would dry herbs over the fire.
He can’t recall if he’s ever smelled it on Bad, but then again it’s not like he’s even seen the
demon’s hair so he probably gets a pass.

As the shampoo mixes with his hair Skeppy can practically feel the oil being scrubbed away,
with whatever’s in the orange liquid quickly removing the grime and leaving his hair feeling
soft and clean under his fingers. He runs his fingers across his scalp, a small frown playing
across his face as he clutches different clumps of hair in between the digits. It’s getting too
long, no one should be able to do that.

What are the chances Bad will lend him some scissors?

“Idiot, don’t give the demon more to lord over you.” Skeppy mutters, turning his attention to
the white bottle of soap. He dampens the towel Bad had given him before opening the
container and pouring it over the cloth. Compared to the shampoo the soap seems to be more
flowery in nature, with Skeppy smelling what he thought might’ve been sweet lemon, and
faint hints of something fresh. Making sure to not aggravate his still sore injuries, he quickly
scrubs himself down, paying extra attention to his face to ensure that he gets every speck of
blood off.

But then he brings the towel over his right shoulder, the cloth slightly catching while going
over the mutilated flesh that Bad seemed ever so fascinated with. He knows that it shouldn’t
bother him, that he should be numb to it by now. But the moment the demon touched the…
mark, it was as if every little thing Skeppy had been trying so hard to hide and been thrown
out into the open. Every part of his past, on full display to a creature that Skeppy never
wanted to meet. A past he wishes weren’t true. A past…

A past this demon seems hellbent to remind him of. A past that Skeppy has to. Keep. On.
Reliving. Bad continually digging his claws into Skeppy’s past like it’s a festering wound,
repeatedly trying to gouge holes into his flesh until it splits apart at the seams, never able to
return to what it once was, never able to heal, or at least become numb once again.

Skeppy lets out another sigh, letting his body fall to the ground, curling itself into itself to
form the defensive ball it’s ever so familiar with on the floor of the shower, letting the spray
of water beat against the back of his head as he buries his face in his arms.

He’s tired. Tired of being here. Tired of being controlled. Tired of the memories he’s being
forced to relive. He never wanted this, never asked for any of this! He just wants to go home,
but he doesn’t even know if that’s a possibility anymore…

He sits there for a bit, until the water has washed all the soap from his body, until his body
has become numb to the feeling of it all. He knows that Bad’s probably waiting on him, and
it’s that fact that has him rise to his feet, his hands noticeably shaking as he reaches to turn
off the water. Trying to ignore the shame coiling in his chest, he grabs for the towel he hung
up, quickly wiping away the water still clinging to his skin.

Now mostly dry, Skeppy walks back to the door, wrapping the towel around his body so as to
keep from dripping onto the floor. He doesn’t know how long he spent in the shower, but as
he opens the door the basket is roughly where he placed it, his attention briefly caught by
another glimpse of Rat before the wolf once again dives under the bed.

Did Bad tell her to stay out of sight?

Pushing the question from his mind Skeppy closes the door and starts to straighten up, back
letting out a cacophony of pops as his spine is finally allowed to stretch after days of being in
bed. He pokes through the basket, relieved to see that, true to Bad’s word, there does seem to
be a set of clothes in it. Pulling on his now cleaned clothes, Skeppy frowns when he realizes
that what Bad meant by ‘repair’ his clothes was to cut off the other leg of his pair of pants,
the clothing item now closer to shorts seeing as how both legs fall just barely beneath his
knees. Stuffing down his mild irritation, Skeppy’s attention is quickly captured by the last
item in the basket, a deep blue shirt that definitely wasn’t his. Lifting it up, he runs his
thumbs over the fabric, marveling at the soft texture of the shirt. Yeah, this certainly wasn’t
his shirt, which meant it could only belong to one other. Someone else, who was a demon and
also huge.

Even now, just by looking at it, Skeppy can tell that this shirt is going to look like a dress on
him.

Skeppy turns the shirt around, trying to get a gauge of its appearance. Yet when his eyes land
on parallel lines of patchwork all he can feel is confusion. Each is about a foot long and
somehow in a straight line, neatly pulling the fabric sides together with blue thread slightly
darker than the fabric itself, as if Bad had to rush the repairs. Yet while Skeppy has to admit
the stitches were done with excellent skill, he doesn’t understand why they’re there, what
could’ve caused such odd holes. It’s not as if there was anything that could leave such clean
marks on accident, it’s almost as if they were there for a reason, like Bad needed them to…

Bad has wings.

Skeppy wants to smack himself as soon as he comes to the realization. Bad has wings, which
means his clothes need to accommodate them. Surely all of Bad’s clothes had adjustments for
the demon’s wings and tail, Skeppy had just never taken such a fact into consideration. But…
why did he go through the trouble of sewing up his own clothes for Skeppy?

Because he wants Skeppy to owe him even more. The potions, the food, and now his own
clothes, Bad just keeps on adding things that Skeppy will need to repay .

Physically shaking himself, Skeppy resolves himself to putting on the shirt. After all, it’s not
like he has any other options. Turning the shirt around again, he bunches the fabric up until
he can slip it over his head, and it only takes a few curse words until his arms slide through
the sleeves of the shirt. Looking down, Skeppy grimaces when he sees just how big the shirt
is on him, falling far past his hipbone to the point where just a few inches of his now ‘shorts’
are peeking out from underneath the shirt.

He turns to look above the sink, expecting to catch his reflection in where a mirror would be
but slightly caught off guard by the piece of cloth that greets him instead. Curious about what
 it’s hiding, Skeppy pulls back the makeshift curtain, revealing what appears to be a normal
mirror that had no reason to be covered.

But Skeppy’s curiosity is immediately sidetracked the moment he lays eyes on his reflection.

He looks… drained, as though he had every hint of life stripped away from him. His
normally dark skin looks sickly pale, his brown eyes now bloodshot. The diamonds
embedded in his cheeks seem dull against the washed out backdrop of his skin, barely
catching the light even though they aren’t hidden by dirt. His hair clings to his skull, the
choppy ends only accented by the water forcing it to lay flat.

It’s been a while since he’s looked this bad.

Hesitantly he reaches his right hand under the hem of the shirt, raising it up to rest against his
ribs, feeling the jagged edge of the mark he knows will forever be there. It really has been a
while, and yet here he is, back to square one. He lets out a small scoff, his nails digging
slightly into the perimeter of the mark as if he could wall it off from the rest of his body.

People love leaving their mark on me.

Which begs the question, what kind of mark would Bad leave? Skeppy may not know the
demon’s end game, he just hopes it won’t hurt too much.

Chapter End Notes

Skeppy ain't doing too good, someone should probably check on him....

Meh, just a slight meltdown in the shower, totally normal!

Some world building:

So the orange shampoo I imagine to be made with a bit of blaze powder and there is a
reason behind this, I just can't reveal it yet. The white soap on the other hand is made
with 'lilies of the valley' which are an actual Minecraft/real life flower so I implemented
their actual scent into the story.
Yes that is Bad's shirt that Skeppy will be wearing, as a matter of fact its 'repair' is one of
the things that Bad was doing in the few hours he needed to get ready before Skeppy
could get clean.

Does Skeppy have another scar? And yes, there's a reason he refers to the brand on his
shoulder as a 'mark.'

Why does Skeppy need to have short hair?

What is it with Skeppy having 'debt?'

Also, the mirror was covered since a few chapters ago Bad had covered it before taking
his cloak off!
 Open Hostility
Chapter Summary

Not dead, but not alive

That's how Skeppy feels right now

Chapter Notes

I'm late, and I'm sorry! Reality got in the way of writing for a bit but I should hopefully
be able to fix my upload schedule a bit moving forward.

This chapter is from Bad's POV and is mostly a bit of filler/moving the story along. I
think the next chapter may involve a small time skip but I'm not sure. Either way,
Skeppy isn't doing too good in this chapter, but that's to be expected in this story.

Also, we're past 3825 hits! And we've gone past 120 comments! Thank you to every
reader/commenter/and everything in between, you guys are the reason why this story is
a thing. :)

Story details are at the end!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Bad’s fingers twist together, the thin digits alternating between each other as he stands out in
the hall. He knows he should be doing something else, can automatically think of at least
three things that need to be done around the house. But what if Skeppy needs him? Sure, he
had told Rat to be on standby in case Skeppy needed the demon’s help but she was such a
small wolf, and it would take a while for her legs to carry her to wherever Bad was, leaving
Skeppy all alone. And what if Skeppy had questions for him, or if the clothes weren’t to his
liking? Rat wouldn’t be able to relay messages between the two, she barely even seemed to
listen to Bad!

No, it would be much better if Bad waited in the hall, if only for the chance that Skeppy may
need his help.
And so he continued to stand in place, his fingers weaving together, tail tapping a rhythm
against the ground as he hovered near the closed door, the basket by his feet overflowing with
freshly washed items that needed to be put away. He had considered getting cleaned himself,
using the washroom downstairs as his clothes had dried. But then his mind had offered a
multitude of scenarios that could happen while he was indisposed and he had decided against
it, figuring the best time would be when Skeppy was tucked back in bed. At least that way he
wouldn’t have to worry about him needing anything.

There’s a slight rustle behind the door, the unmistakable sound of hinges creaking making
Bad raise his head in anticipation. Even with his advanced hearing he can barely hear
footsteps pad across the room, near silent as if their creator was used to making no noise as
they moved. Bad hesitates for a moment, quickly hoisting the basket into his arms before
raising his tail up to the door. He waits until the footsteps have ceased, taking a deep breath
and fixing a smile on his face before hitting the door once, twice.

The knock seems to reverberate around the hall, Bad instinctively holding his breath as he
waits for a response. He brings his tail closer, ready to use more force when from the room
emerges the words,

“Enter if you want.”

Those words alone make Bad pause, caught momentarily off guard by the cold tone used to
direct them. Bracing himself, he moves to open the door, giving a quick glance inside before
swinging the door wide open.

Skeppy is sitting on the floor, his legs drawn tightly to his body in a shape that should’ve
been giving him at least some discomfort, even without the injuries he’s seemed to be
completely recovered from. Nevertheless, as Bad enters Skeppy refuses to uncoil, rather he
raises his chin slightly as if to challenge the demon to comment on his odd contortion. Rat is
sitting beside him, body arranged in a loose sprawl on Skeppy’s right side, her condensed
fluff making her seem even bigger than normal. Bad can spot one of Skeppy’s hands
threading through her fur, though the other seems curled around his body, fingers splayed
across the left side of his rib cage.

“You know, the bed’s right there. Or perhaps I could interest you in a chair?” Bad jokes
lightly, trying to draw a smile from Skeppy. Instead the human just glares at him, brown eyes
burning with something as he looks up at the demon before once again returning his attention
to Rat.

Bad manages to keep the hurt off his face, abruptly turning to the dresser to begin putting
away the laundry. He thought he was making progress with Skeppy, couldn’t help but take
notice of the way his eyes had lit up at the sight of Rat. He thought… maybe Skeppy could
look at him with that same happiness.

Turns out he thought wrong.

Silence fills the room, Bad’s subdued footsteps occasionally broken by the sound of cabinets
opening and closing as he puts everything away. Quick glances to Skeppy’s stilled figure
prove that yes, he is wearing the clothes Bad gave him, though the demon’s shirt is
apparently long enough for Skeppy to pull over his knees, giving the impression that the
human was one giant blue ball. Bad frowns to himself, he knew that his clothes would be
bigger on Skeppy, he just really underestimated their size difference.

Brown eyes dart up to meet his and Bad freezes in place, realizing that he’d been staring at
Skeppy for at least a minute, the folded cloak in his hands stuck halfway between the basket
and an open drawer.

“Sorry- ” Bad begins to apologize, stuffing the fabric into the small space as he turns to look
at Skeppy. But as soon as he utters the first word Skeppy stills, eyes slightly narrowing as he
takes in Bad’s figure. He doesn’t maintain eye contact but keeps his sights set on Bad, eyes
dancing about as he takes in Bad’s arm, his tail currently waving through the air, his shoulder,
the tips of his claws… Unsure of what to do, Bad falls silent, his half formed apology dying
on his lips as he takes in the open hostility lurking in Skeppy’s eyes. His mouth goes dry as
he turns around, not wanting to see that hate being directed at him. Almost instinctively his
wings draw even tighter against his body, his joints practically creaking as they’re forced to
constrict even more.

Bad starts to shove the remaining items into the dresser, no longer caring if they ended up in
the proper spot. He doesn’t understand why Skeppy is looking at him so suspiciously, but it’s
dredging up memories that the demon would rather stay buried. He can feel the moment
before Skeppy opens his mouth, the entire room freezing as if holding its breath for whatever
he was about to say. He finds his actions slowing, his own curiosity temporarily overtaking
any ideas he had to keep things at least roughly contained. He’s braced for anything Skeppy
may throw at him, whether it be another insult or a request for him to leave the room (which
would probably do more damage than any well crafted insult could).

“Why’d you alter your clothes?”

…okay, he wasn’t ready for that.

Bad turns to look at him, letting his emotions show plainly on his face. Internally, he mostly
feels relieved, if a little perplexed about the subject. “Alter? Do you mean your shirt?”

Skeppy’s eyes dart away, experimentally running the hem of the shirt between his fingers.
“This isn’t my shirt, it’s yours. And I want to know why you changed it for me.”

Bad just shakes his head, confused by whatever message Skeppy is trying to convey. “I knew
you needed a shirt so I altered it to better fit your physiology. If it’s not to your liking I can
make-” The rest of his sentence is cut off by Skeppy violently shaking his head back and
forth, the gesture making the very tips of his hair swing through the air. “...okay then, I guess
you’re okay with the clothes.”

Skeppy frowns a little at that comment but doesn’t say anything else. He turns to Rat, letting
the wolf take his full attention as Bad empties the basket and puts everything away. His
fingers glide through her fur moving just slow enough to be stopped by any knot before they
catch and yank against the canine’s body. Rat heaves out a contented sigh , her entire body
seeming to raise off the ground as she takes in a deep breath before letting it all out in one
gust.

A small smile plays across Skeppy’s face, Bad’s is a lot more prominent.

“Lunch is ready, if you’re hungry. Or maybe I could show you around the house?”

Bad’s voice breaks through whatever happiness Skeppy had gathered, the small smile
instantly slipping from his face as he peers up at the demon, body still pulled into the tight
 circle from when Bad had first entered the room. Refusing to back down, Bad smiles back,
letting his tail wag out from behind him as he pushes the basket off to the side. “If you’re not
up for it you can eat in here again.”

And there it is, the slight tightening of Skeppy’s jaw, the way resolve flashes through his
eyes. Bad had noticed it earlier, the way Skeppy seemed to do the exact opposite of whatever
Bad expected of him, whether it be claiming he was fine, or walking across the room under
his own power. It was almost as if Skeppy was used to defying expectations, as if it was his
personal goal to prove everyone wrong when it came to what he could and couldn’t do.

Not that Bad was complaining, at least this way he could do something to help Skeppy…
even if it consisted of undermining the human’s efforts.

Skeppy glares at him for a moment longer before abruptly rising to his feet, uncoiling from
the ball he made with movements so sure that he must’ve done them a thousand times. He
stumbles slightly, wavering back and forth as if still unused to being on his feet before
centering himself, raising his eyes to look at Bad in a silent challenge for him to say
something about his incomplete recovery. But Bad simply nods, trying to hide his joy at
having Skeppy actually listen to him for once. He takes a small step back, gesturing towards
the open door. “I hope you like fish” (he doesn’t mention how he made sure to cook the fish
till it was so delicate it could be cut with the edge of a fork).

Not needing anymore encouragement Rat leaps to her feet, the wolf quickly padding out the
door and towards the kitchen. Skeppy’s eyes dart down to watch her leave, as if confirming
that the rest of the house was safe before he too heads for the door, breezing past Bad without
even a glance (and not noticing the smile Bad had tugging at the corners of his mouth).

Chapter End Notes

Oh poor sweet innocent Bad, what will we ever do with you?

He is trying so hard to make Skeppy like him, but he's only making things worse.

But then again, it's not like he's ever had experience interacting with a 'human' much less
one as messed up as Skeppy, so Bad isn't totally in the wrong here.
 Breaking Point
Chapter Summary

Yay, time to see what can go wrong!

Chapter Notes

Sorry for the VERY late update! I'm not dead, I was just sick for a bit and it took a while
for me to get the motivation to write.

This is another chapter with Bad's POV (and there's a reason for that) and it's basically
an entire day. Just a heads up, there is quite a bit of angst in this chapter, and Bad feels
that he is responsible for it. Of course, that's not exactly the case, but good luck telling
him that.

🌟 Woooo, this story has surpassed 4000 hits and 75,000 words! A HUGE thank you to

leave.🌟 :)
every single reader, you guys are amazing and I really appreciate every comment you

Story details are at the end!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Despite Bad’s best efforts, Skeppy refuses to engage in conversation as the duo eat their
lunch. Well, Bad eats, Skeppy just… pushes food around his plate. Bad doesn’t know what to
think of such behavior, when he asked if Skeppy perhaps didn’t like fish he was met with a
cold stare, Skeppy viciously stabbing at the offending meat as if to prove a point. All in all, in
the time it took Bad to finish his food and to give Rat her share, Skeppy had eaten a total of
eight bites, though two of them were solely composed of the sauce Bad had drizzled over the
fish.

From there things spiraled downwards, Bad’s own nervousness over Skeppy’s lack of
appetite apparent as he flitted around the kitchen, obviously torn between raising the issue, or
giving Skeppy his space. He had taken the plate from the table, pointedly tilting it towards
the human in a silent question of if he wanted anymore. When met with stony silence Bad
visibly wilted, his wings slipping from being tight against his back to slumping downwards,
similar to a scolded dog lowering its tail. He then mentioned showing Skeppy around the
house, trying to spark the same engagement he had seen when Skeppy first realized he had
books. At his words Skeppy had looked up at him, a flash of confusion dancing across his
face before settling back into a mask of detached interest. A deep breath, a slight tensing in
his shoulders, and three words.

“If you want.”

Looking back, Bad should’ve known that this wasn’t a yes, wasn’t even a maybe. But he’d
been so excited to show his friend where he lived that he had rushed to help Skeppy up from
his chair, practically forcing him into obeying the request. Skeppy had jerked away from his
outstretched hands and Bad should’ve drawn back, apologized for getting too close. Instead
he just stood in place, his tail the only source of movement as he practically looming over the
human currently struggling to stay upright.

Bad had rushed them through the kitchen and living room, his hands a blur as he pointed at
random objects and babbled nonsense about where he got them, or how he made them.
Occasionally Rat would dart through the room, her attention caught between watching the
duo and doing her own thing. And through it all… Skeppy stayed silent, only letting out the
occasional grunt or hmm, while never saying any actual words.

Bad should have noticed. Should’ve stopped. Should’ve given Skeppy the space he so
obviously needed.

Instead he pressed on.

Next he showed Skeppy the craft room, practically shoving him into the cluttered space. And
it was like a switch… flipped. Skeppy lifted his eyes from the floor, turning his gaze to look
around the disorganized room. No, disorganized wasn’t the right word to describe it more
like… used, the room having the same feel of Bad’s bedroom, with obviously treasured items
scattered throughout the space.

A worn workbench took up most of the space, its surface covered by a mix of papers, scraps
of cloth, and random trinkets that Bad would pick up and fiddle with whenever his hands
grew idle. A brewing stand is crammed onto its back corner, numerous ingredient containers
of contrasting sizes all knocked together, as if Bad had pushed them back with his arm
(which is exactly what happened). A bolt of cloth leans against the table, part of the fabric
having been pulled to rest against the countertop, its source being a small loom Bad had
handcrafted when he made this house only a few years ago.

The table, the loom, the potion cabinet, random stacks of books, papers pinned to the wall,
even Rat’s specialized corner where Bad had designed a small bed for her to nap in, Skeppy
looks at all of it, his pace slow as he maps out the room. Bad is quick to apologize for the
mess, halfheartedly trying to stack some of the more disorganized towers of books that seem
bound to fall at any time. He knows that things won’t stay tidy, but for Skeppy he’ll make the
effort.

Skeppy doesn’t seem to notice, or at least he doesn’t care. He ignores Bad’s words, his
attention drawn to the items resting on the table’s surface, eyes momentarily freezing on a
ripped piece of cloth laying on the table, a small spool of thread sitting next to it. Bad hadn’t
meant to leave the scraps of Skeppy’s pants sitting out in the open, but in his haste to return
the human’s clothes he must’ve forgotten to clean up. Skeppy takes in the small scene, his
gaze slowly sliding over the items before taking notice of one of Bad’s half-finished projects.

A necklace lays forgotten, the gold thread that composes it coiled impossibly fine around a
small wooden box. Small gemstones dot around the area, varying chunks of emeralds, lapis,
and redstone within easy reach, already primed to be placed into the waiting sockets. Skeppy
moves, his hand twitching towards the project before quickly being snapped back, as if he
didn’t know what he was doing.

“Have you made jewelry before?” Bad questions, his arms full of books that he’s currently
trying to organize by title. He himself wasn’t the best at it, his larger hands and incredible
strength made handling delicate stones a very fiddly affair. He could use his magic to make
gold thread thinner and stronger than anything within ‘human’ ability, but when it came to
actually constructing stuff he needed lots of patience, and very small tools.

Skeppy had frowned at the question, absentmindedly grabbing the hand that had reached for
the table. He seemed to consider the words, twisting his fingers together before dropping his
hands back down to rest at his sides.

“I’ve… helped make it before, though it’s been a while.”

“Do you want to try?”

Skeppy fidgets under Bad’s direct attention, so the demon immediately turns to look at the
books in his hands. There’s silence for a few moments, Bad carefully stacking the books back
up as he waits for Skeppy’s answer.

“It’d be nice to have something to do besides reading.”

Bad forces himself to remain calm, though at the moment all he wants to do is jump for joy
because yes, finally he knows something that Skeppy’s interested in! He drops the remaining
books into a stack (he’ll organize them later) and starts to guide Skeppy towards the exit, his
mind already planning all of the items that Skeppy may require in the future. He was excited,
so convinced that finally he was making Skeppy open up… so of course it makes sense that
it’s when Bad goes to the last door that things go wrong.

“All that’s left on our tour is the basement.” He announced, his hand already reaching for the
knob.

He wasn’t expecting the loud slam behind him as he touched the metal.

Bad had jumped at the sudden noise, whirling around to see Skeppy leaning, no, pressed
against the wall. His face was pale, his eyes wide with panic and mouth open in a silent plea.
As Bad watched, Skeppy slid onto the floor, half-formed words tumbling from his mouth as
he coiled into the ball shape Bad was ever so familiar with.

“No more. He said- But I- Not again. Never again!”

Bad froze, too caught off guard by Skeppy’s sudden switch in personality to know what to
do. He starts to move, but falters when Skeppy immediately flinches. He reaches forwards,
but freezes when Skeppy only begins to speak louder.

“I’m sorry- I know I’m not. But he said- Why am I?”

Every action Bad does seems to make Skeppy worse, the demon too scared to even move so
long as the human’s attention seems locked on him. But no, Skeppy isn’t focused on him,
he’s trapped somewhere else, a place where Bad has taken over the role as someone who hurt
Skeppy.

And Bad can’t do anything to help…

But Bad’s not the only one there.

As if magically summoned, Rat is suddenly there, physically shoving herself into Skeppy’s
tightly curled form. Through pure strength alone she manages to pry his body apart, wedging
herself in front of his torso, her face directly in front of his. A low whine builds in her throat,
the noise slowly overpowering Skeppy’s choked off words. She pushes her snout into the
hollow of his shoulder, her fur pressed against his face. As if unconsciously, Skeppy’s hands
reach for her, tangling into her fur with a ferocity that’s sure to hurt. But Rat does nothing,
not even as Skeppy begins to run his fingers through her hair with enough force that Bad can
spot small chunks of fluff rise into the air. Skeppy doesn’t uncoil but he at least stops
speaking, his face completely hidden in the white pelt of the wolf clutched in his arms.

Only then does Rat shift, turning her head to look up at Bad, her brown eyes seeming to hold
more wisdom that a wolf should ever know. Because of course she should know how to
distract Skeppy, how to bring him back to the present, in a time where no one can hurt him.
After all, she’s gotten plenty of practice with Bad.

Go, her eyes seem to urge Bad, because why should he stay? He can’t do anything to help,
instead, he’d probably make things worse. And such a fact hurts Bad, hurts in a way that so
very few have been able to hurt him before.

Bad flees.

He runs outside, staying hidden away as he lets his hurt build until it’s bursting, until he can’t
take it anymore and lets out a scream, punching a nearby tree so hard it explodes into a
splintery mess, a swarm of birds shooting up from its branches and into the night-streaked
sky.
 And then he’s by himself, with a wrecked tree, and yet another reminder of what a monster he
is. Alone in the woods, with night fast approaching.

Leaving his friends all by themselves.

He drags the tree back to the house, trying to ignore the shame he can feel coiling in his gut.
Leaving the tree by the woodpile he slips into his home, not knowing how to feel when he
sees no one inside. With silent steps he edges his way towards his room, chancing a quick
glance inside.

Skeppy is laying in bed, blankets hitched high enough to cover most of his face. Rat lays
beside him, raising her head to look at Bad as the demon looks through the open doorway.

Bad smiles a greeting before letting a small sigh slip past his lips. He really wasn’t good with
this whole ‘friends’ idea, was he?

His eyes roam around the room, quickly landing on the stack of books that he had collected
from Skeppy. Already he can tell that the human had finished one, and seemed to be about
halfway through another one. At least Bad could feel some gratitude in knowing he wasn’t
completely depriving Skeppy of things he enjoyed.

“It’d be nice to have something to do besides reading.”

Bad frowns at the memory, well maybe he wasn’t even doing that very well. Remembering
his plan from earlier he quickly heads to the craft room before once again returning to place a
box at Skeppy’s bedside. Its contents? A coil of gold thread, and a small box of gemstones.

And in the morning, if Bad just so happened to see a new bracelet fastened around Skeppy’s
wrist, well, who could blame him for allowing himself a small smile before going about his
day?

Chapter End Notes

*Sigh* What to do with these two? Everything just seems to be getting worse. If Rat
wasn't there, who knows how things would've ended?

First things first, Skeppy IS actually opening up to Bad, it's just when he does, Bad
immediately does something that makes Skeppy close up again. Thankfully Rat has
basically assigned herself as the middle ground between the two, hence why she seems
strangely okay comforting a person she met only a few days ago (and there's a reason for
that).

Skeppy and Bad also have quite a few similarities, though they haven't actually had the
opportunity to discuss them with one another. What are they? Well, that's a story for
another chapter. But even still, things ARE going to improve...eventually.
 Early Breakfast
Chapter Summary

The impossible CAN happen!

Chapter Notes

Hello everyone! Hope you guys are doing well :)

Good news, this is a chapter with Skeppy's POV! Both cause I missed doing his
viewpoint, and I wanted to mess with Bad a little (you'll see what I mean). I've also
noticed that the story has been dragging a bit, so hopefully I can crank things up a bit in
both chapter length and story speed!

Dang, one chapter later and we're past 4,200 hits! You readers are the best and I love
reading each and every comment you leave. Hope that you guys are liking the story so
far!

Story details are at the end!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

The world is quiet when Skeppy wakes up and to be honest, he doesn’t know if that’s a good
thing or not. For a moment he allows himself to dream, to imagine that instead of laying in a
demon’s bed he’s back home at the village, back in his own house where he can lay in bed
and mentally leaf through the tasks of the day.

But there’s a weight by his legs, Rat having once again chosen to harass the human for pets
before falling asleep at his side. Faintly he can hear the sounds of dishes clattering together, a
whisper of a voice that can only belong to Bad being drowned out by whatever the demon is
doing.

Skeppy lets out a low groan, raising his right hand to rub tiredly at his eyes. A flash of light
accompanies the movement and Skeppy’s attention is drawn to the golden metal looped
around his wrist, put there by himself only hours before.
It’s an ugly thing, Skeppy’s lack of experience evident in the way the once fine strands of
gold are now mashed together, forming a rough braid of bright yellow against his dark skin. It
seems rather durable though and manages to form a solid band around his wrist, the metal
already warm from Skeppy wearing it as he slept. Slipping it from his wrist, Skeppy raises
the bracelet into the air, letting the early morning rays catch against the reflective material to
send small specks of light dancing across the room. For a moment he wishes he had added
gemstones to the plain band, knowing how even a few could better accent the obvious high
quality of the metal. But he’d never been taught such a technique, it was surprising that he
even knew how to make the most basic of bracelets. Then again, it’s not like he was exactly
trusted with such materials.

His eyes danced over the containers that laid before him, each holding different measures of
gemstone, all eagerly waiting to be placed in an awaiting piece of jewelry. He paid little
attention to the lapis or redstone, recognizing them for the common stones they were. But
when he noticed the emeralds he stopped, quickly recognizing where he had seen those gems
from. For while everything else was already cut and primed to be placed, these emeralds
were rough and unpolished. His fingers were outstretched before he knew what he was doing,
only to be sharply pulled back as sudden pain blossomed over them, a resounding slap filling
the air as he recoiled.

“Don’t you dare touch what isn’t yours!” Her shrill voice shrieked out, her hand already
raised as if prepared to land another blow across Skeppy’s apparently thieving hands. But he
just darted away, injured hand pulled into his chest as he moved away from her work area,
excuses dying on his lips as any attempts he makes to explain himself get rather quickly shut
down. He just didn’t understand why those emeralds were on her work table. After all, he
was the one that found them.

And that was the thing, the very notion that seems to have settled itself into Skeppy’s head.
The idea that Bad was giving more than those at the village ever did.

Skeppy had been awake when the demon had stepped in the night before, the sound of the
door opening and closing making him react with instinctive fear to tug the blankets over most
of his face. But rather than storming into the room, demanding what the hell made Skeppy
freak out earlier Bad had seemed to be as apprehensive as Skeppy felt, soft footsteps being
the only indication of the demon’s location before the bedroom door was eased open slightly.
Skeppy had kept his eyes closed, but his body was braced for whatever blow would rain
down upon it.

…and there never was one.

Rat had shifted beside him and Skeppy had to force himself to breath. He heard a small sigh,
and then footsteps had faded away. He thought that he had lucked out, and that the demon
had decided to finally leave him alone. Only to have a knot of fear form in his chest as
footsteps quickly approached him, a small thud resounded from his bedside. And that was it.

Skeppy forced himself to wait at least twenty minutes before daring to crack an eye open, his
breaths forcefully slow just in case he had to fake sleep once again. There, on the bedside
table, was a box. A box that, once Skeppy finally got enough courage to open, contained a
spool of impossibly fine gold thread, and various kinds of gemstones. He hadn’t meant to
make a bracelet with the thread, just wanted to see how tough it was. But once he started…it
was like a spark had lit inside of him, driving him to stay up for as long as it took to finish the
bracelet. Only once he was able to slip the finished product over his wrist did Skeppy finally
concede to his exhaustion.

The exhaustion that came from a taxing day. Being pushed around by an overexcited demon,
moved between rooms as if he were nothing more than a doll simply made to take up space.
The craft room was the only space Skeppy found remotely interesting but Bad had decided to
cut things short there, declaring that Skeppy had to see the basement.

Stale air, the smell of rotting blood. Pressing his face against the thin gap in the wall,
desperately breathing in the fresh air that came with the breeze.

It was always dark when the sun set, they never gave him another light source. For some
people, that would’ve instilled a fear of the dark. But Skeppy? It only made him welcome it,
for when there was darkness, they wouldn’t come.

He had panicked yesterday, when Bad wanted to show him the basement. He doesn’t know
how long he was out, only that when he came back the sun was starting to set, and Rat was
tightly wrapped in his arms. He didn’t know what to do so he’d simply gone to the only place
that had a semblance of safety, practically wrapping himself in blankets as Rat curled herself
around him. His eyes had burned yet he refused to cry, willing tears away at such a simple
act. He shouldn’t be like this, shouldn’t-

When a sharp pain shoots through his fingers Skeppy jolts, his hand having instinctively
clenched around the bracelet till a jutting thread stabbed him in the finger. Slipping the band
back over his wrist Skeppy sighs into the open air, wishing that things didn’t have to be this
way. Wishing, not for the first time, that things could be normal for him.

Pushing himself upright, Skeppy has a sudden thought that makes him smile.

Shit job or not, he would’ve liked the bracelet Skeppy had made.

Come on mate you put honest effort into it, anyone can see that. Besides, even you can admit
that it’s nice and shiny.

Skeppy could’ve made a wad of golden thread, and he still probably would’ve gotten
approval. Shiny stuff seemed to have that effect on him…

Shaking his head, Skeppy swings his feet over the side of the bed and stands, gently twisting
his torso as a cacophony of cracks and pops escape his tired joints. He doesn’t know how
Bad will respond to him being up and about, but Skeppy’s realized that he doesn’t care what
the demon thinks. Besides, he loathes the idea of having to wait for Bad to decide when to
give his ‘friend’ food. As if sensing Skeppy’s intent Rat jumps from the bed, her brown eyes
shining with eagerness as she quickly runs out the door and towards the kitchen, Skeppy
following her (though a lot more hesitantly).

Bad was indeed in the kitchen, the demon humming low under his breath as he stirred
something on the stovetop, his back to the human. As Skeppy watches, Bad cracks eggs one
handed into a pan, his tail wrapped around its handle while his second hand carefully makes
sure they don’t burn. The whole scene reminds Skeppy of when he’d first arrived at the
demon’s house, Bad making the steak and eggs in an attempt to get all three occupants fed.
Of course, that all went to shit the moment he’d decided that Skeppy needed a knife…

Skeppy edges closer, making sure to stay out of the demon’s field of view. While all previous
eggs had been scrambled, Bad seems to be making something akin to an omelet this time,
with a mix of veggies already thrown into the eggy mixture. With a quick side-step Bad grabs
a bowl of meat from the countertop and sprinkles what looks like shreds of steak rather heavy
handedly into the pan, replacing the bowl with an empty plate.
 With a few coaxing noises he folds the omelet in half, sliding the spatula securely underneath
it before suddenly tensing with such intensity that Skeppy automatically holds his breath as
Bad seemingly freezes before him. Then, as if nothing had happened, Bad snaps into action.
In one smooth motion he flips the omelet high into the air, giving himself plenty of time to
catch it with the plate, making a quiet “Mmm,” sound as he dusts it with some sort of herb
before giving it a final once over.

He places the completed plate on the counter, joining two plates previously unnoticed by
Skeppy. Bad backs up slightly and pulls the door of the oven open, carefully reaching inside
to pull out two slices of bread that had been slowly toasting. Yet, rather than turn to place the
bread with the omelets, Bad instead fully turns around… and only then does he take notice of
Skeppy.

“GAH!!” Bad yelps, his shock making him accidentally throw both pieces of bread into the
air. Whatever finesse he had with the omelet seems long gone as, rather than grabbing the
toast from midair (or simply letting it drop onto the floor) he flails at it, somehow managing
to backhand both pieces while they’re still falling. One is merely swatted back onto the
countertop, skidding a few inches before coming to a stop. But the other one is sent flying
towards the wall, hitting with enough force that it bounces off and lands a few feet away, at
which point Rat runs up and promptly starts to devour the unfortunate slice of wheat.

Bad stares at Skeppy for a few moments, an emotion that seems rather close to
embarrassment flashing across his face as he looks at the mess he just made. “Umm hi
Skeppy,” he greets, eyes darting around the room before eventually landing on the plates of
food. Almost desperately he grabs one, showing it to Skeppy as if it were a peace offering,
“Breakfast is ready?”

Now it’s Skeppy’s time to freeze in place, his brain trying to catch up with what had just
happened, trying to process something it never thought it’d see. And all of it, from Rat
happily eating toast that had been slapped by Bad, to the way the demon had so desperately
tried to act as if nothing had happened made Skeppy do something he thought he’d never,
ever do in this household.

He laughs.

Chapter End Notes

Okay, I felt that with all the scaring Bad had unintentionally been doing to Skeppy, that
it'd be fair to let a little bit of revenge happen (though Skeppy's was also unintentional).

Quite a bit of backstory/memories in this chapter and they should provide a few clues
for you guys to consider. Are they important? Well...that's for me to know, and you to
find out.

Even still, I wonder what you guys think of these reveals ;)

Things are happening, and for once there won't be any 'one step forward, two steps back'
kind of thing!
 Adventure is out there!
Chapter Summary

Skeppy finally gets to do some exploring

Chapter Notes

Hi... I've been gone for a while. My last update was more than two months ago and
while such a long break wasn't my intention certain things popped up that demanded my
attention...and then I never spent any time working on this story. And for that, I'm sorry.
To make it up to you amazing readers, I made sure to make this chapter VERY long,
with POV's from both Bad and Skeppy.

Just as an additional thank you, I saw that this story has surpassed 4,666 hits! In all
honesty, it was reading your comments that helped me write this chapter, giving me the
fuel to push through my annoying writer's block. An enormous THANK YOU to every
single one of my readers, not only for clicking on this fic, but continuing with it, even
though it has the worst posting schedule.

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Bad gives the plate one final rinse before setting it to dry, allowing a glance over his shoulder
as he turns back to the sink.

Skeppy is sitting at the table, fingers playing with the bracelet around his wrist as his foot
taps out a nervous beat against the wooden floors. Rat paws at his leg and he absentmindedly
reaches down to scratch behind her ears, a small smile forming as she begins to lick his hand
as a form of thank you.

He looks… better than yesterday, a bit of color restoring his skin to a warm brown, rather
than deathly pale. It’s odd to think that only a few days ago he was barely alive, with Bad’s
magic being the only thing holding him together. But now? It’s more as if Skeppy were
recovering from an annoying illness, one that only needed a few days of bed rest before he
was back to his normal, if slightly weakened, state. It’s odd to say the least, but then again,
Bad doesn’t exactly know how quickly humans recover, so such an event could be considered
completely normal to Skeppy. All he seems to need now is a bit of sun, if only to remind him
what the outside looked like.

…a bit of sun.

Bad chances a look outside, taking in the clear blue sky that seems ready to stay for the entire
day. And Skeppy had proven more than capable of standing without assistance, maybe he
would…

Bad physically shakes his head, trying to dispel the thought before it can fully form. No, he is
not going to force Skeppy into doing something, just because he wants to do it. If yesterday
taught him anything it’s that Skeppy isn’t-

This time he bites down on his lip, forcefully willing himself to think of something other than
all of his screw ups. With a small sigh he heads back towards the table, making sure that
Skeppy can see him approach. Rat of course merely runs around his legs, a near-grin
plastered across her muzzle as she looks up at him, tail already wagging in preparation for
what’s to come.

“I have some chores to do outside,” Bad begins as a way of greeting, bending over to pick
Rat up (she of course dives into his arms the moment his hands reach for her). “But I should
be back soon, if you just want to wait around the house.”

Skeppy startles at the information, squinted eyes finally looking at Bad, rather than his
bracelet. “You’re fine with leaving me alone?”

“Well, I just thought –” Bad starts, taking a half step forward before remembering that he’s
not quite in a place where getting closer to Skeppy is a good idea. “I assumed that you would
like some time to look around, maybe read some more.”

Personally Bad thought Skeppy would jump at the opportunity to separate himself from the
demon, to not have to worry about him being nearby for at least long enough to start doing
something as normal as reading a new book. But instead Skeppy looks up at him with an
almost pained smile, the barest hints of some unknown emotion flickering briefly across his
face.

“You would think that, wouldn’t you?” Skeppy whispers under his breath, quickly running a
hand over his face before rising from his chair. “Can I come with you?”

Bad’s surprise must show on his face as Skeppy seems to immediately regret the words,
casting his eyes down as if preparing to be rejected, for Bad to simply mock his request and
walk away. And it’s suddenly very clear that maybe, just maybe, Skeppy doesn’t want to be
alone.

“It’ll be nice to have some company.” Bad admits, trying to keep his tail from wagging too
eagerly at the idea. With a small nod he gestures towards the door, letting Skeppy take the
lead while he quickly shifts Rat to perch on his shoulder, the wolf now looking like a still-
alive stole with her front claws set resolutely in his cloak’s fabric. Hands now free he opens
the door (trying not to giggle at Skeppy’s slack jawed expression) and ushers the both of
them outside, making sure to grab a bag by the entryway.

Yet again Skeppy finds himself cursing whatever fuckwit made the sun so bright, eyes nearly
closed as he finally experiences sunlight after spending so many days inside. His steps slow
as he finally makes his way outside, not trusting his very vague memories of the environment
to keep him upright in the time it takes his watering eyes to adjust.

There’s a tap against his back, Bad accidentally brushing against it as he too makes his way
outside. Were he not already distracted by clearing his sight, Skeppy probably would’ve
snapped at the touch, but instead he stumbles forward, only letting out a small grunt of
discomfort.

And then Skeppy can hear Bad moving, the sound of footsteps circling around him till Bad’s
standing at his left. For a moment he braces, expecting to be shoved along whatever path the
demon plans to take, his spotty vision be damned. But instead… a shadow casts itself across
his face, felt through the coolness across his skin, the sound of shifting fabric reaching his
ears. Hesitantly he lowers his hands and opens his eyes to full capability, chancing a glance
up.
He’s met with the view of Bad’s wing blocking out the sun, perfectly framed to give Skeppy
plenty of time to adjust without needing to squint. Blinking, he turns to look at the demon,
feeling a small relief when he isn’t met with pale eyes. Instead, Bad seems to be staring off in
the distance, treating such action far more discreetly than Skeppy would think possible from
a creature known to be flashy in behavior.

“So now what?” He asks after a minute, more than confident that he can ‘live’ without Bad’s
help. As if sensing this Bad’s wing immediately begins to fold down, quickly retreating to its
tight arrangement against the demon’s back.

“Now, we check on the animals.” is all Bad says as a way of answer before starting to move,
positioning himself besides Skeppy as the duo move around the side of the house.

Compared to the first impression Skeppy got of the house (in the brief moment he had looked
around before entering) he never saw just how big the area was, even without the building.
Tucked towards the back left of the house is a garden bursting with more plants than Skeppy
can recognize, with a multitude of fruit trees and flowering bushes dotting the edge, all
ladden with an overabundance of produce that Skeppy is sure magic must have had a hand in
creating. As Skeppy watches, Bad pulls a few apples down from a tree, lifting one of the
fruits to his nose with a sigh of contentment before allowing Rat to give it a sniff, and
nodding seriously at the bark he receives in turn. Rolling his eyes at such an odd display,
Skeppy’s attention is immediately diverted upon laying eyes on a small, porch-like extension
built onto the side of the house, practically blending into the greenery with all of the creeping
ivy sneaking its way up the support beams. As he slowly takes in the sight, a soft breeze
blows across his skin and heads towards the structure, generating a multitude of soft chiming
noises in its wake.

“Skeppy?”

He freezes in place, suddenly realizing that he’d been unconsciously moving towards the
source of the sound. Turning, he tries to play it off by walking towards the perimeter of the
garden, “Just wanted to get another look at everything.” He lies, words spilling with an ease
only learned through years of practice.
And of course Bad believes him, his face lighting up with a smile best described as ‘positive,’
hitting Skeppy with enough force that he almost wants to shirk away. Instead, he replies with
a smile of his own, though this one is more forced on the edges.

After tucking a few ‘Rat approved’ apples into his bag, Bad then gestures towards a small
path that leads into the woods a bit further down from the garden, no doubt the very path
they’ll need to take. As Skeppy dutifully follows, he silently resolves to see just what is up
there.

The two of them walk under the shadows of trees for less than a minute, the sunlight creating
a dappled look wherever its rays shine through the leaves. Though Bad doesn’t say anything
explicitly, Skeppy knows that he’s eager to show whatever lies ahead (if both his and Rat’s
wagging tails is any indication). Yet as they finally emerge into the clearing, even Skeppy has
to admit that his breath catches a little as he finally lays eyes on what Bad was talking about.

You see… Skeppy doesn’t have much experience in handling animals. Whether they were
farm or comfort he never had the chance to be raised with them. Of course, the fact that all
but one of his ‘guardians’ didn’t allow pets didn’t help matters, but at the end of the day,
animals were a commodity that he simply couldn’t afford to experience. And if there even
were a time that Skeppy took notice of a pet, whether it be a sheep or cat, the villager would
make sure he never got close to them in case he would somehow ‘curse’ them (whatever that
meant).

So all of his experience with animals came from how people around the village would do
things with their animals, such as keeping their farm animals in small lots, fenced relatively
close to their owners' homes. While certainly understandable in its design, the freedom of the
animal wasn’t put into much consideration, especially due to the possibility of some wild
animal getting to it if it was kept too far away.

The demon’s way of confining its animals was… very different from the villages. In fact,
besides a small barn and coop, Skeppy wouldn’t have assumed the area was a farm at all. The
clearing appeared naturally formed, with far more than enough ground giving way to form a
sort of rough circle. Dotting the border were what appeared to be stone fence posts of some
kind, without any fences actually installed to connect them. It almost looked like someone
had laid the groundwork for a fence and then given up halfway, leaving behind their work to
weather away over the years. Yet despite the absence of a barrier, a multitude of cows and
chickens milled around the clearing, seemingly taking no heed to the newcomers.

“Can you hold this real quick?” Bad asks, already passing the bag into Skeppy’s hands. With
a small, reassuring smile, Bad heads towards the barn, easily weaving around the animals
rather than pushing them out of his way. As he walks, his freed hands dart out to scratch
affectionately behind a cow's ears or smooth down a chicken’s back. Rat of course clings
resolutely to his shoulder, and seems to get jealous if the demon spends too much time on one
animal, letting out a few high pitched barks that even Skeppy can hear from far away, much
less having the canine right by his ear. Yet through it all, Bad never throws her to the ground
or yells in pain, merely giving her a few scratches as a way of apology before moving on.

Once he reaches the barn doors Bad ducks into the building, only seen in small glimpses as
he walks back and forth presumably collecting something. Left alone, Skeppy slowly takes in
the animals around him, feeling more than slightly unnerved when a cow begins to walk
towards him, before getting distracted by a close blade of grass. Edging forwards, he lifts his
hand slowly towards the animal, ready to pull away if the cow so much as sneezes. Finding
no reaction, he runs his fingers over the cows back, marveling at the surprisingly smooth
texture…before immediately yanking his hand back when the cow starts to walk away.

Sighing, Skeppy watches as the cow retreats, leaving him on his own little island in the sea of
animals. He’s about to go looking for Bad, to see just what the demon is up to, when he takes
notice of an animal that most certainly wasn’t in the field when they first showed up.

A horse. A horse that seems to be watching him, head cocked as if confused by something.
As it seems to take notice of Skeppy’s attention, the horse flicks its head back, nostrils flaring
wide as it scents the air before slowly venturing towards Skeppy.

“Uhhh, Bad?” Skeppy calls out, unsure what to do in this situation. He looks back at the barn
and sees Bad dragging out a large bale of hay, a burlap sack clutched in hand. As the demon
looks up, Skeppy is immediately distracted by the horse suddenly filling his view, the
creature easily towering over him as it begins to nose at the bag Bad had handed to him,
carefully nibbling at the material as if trying to rip it apart.

“Bad?!” Skeppy practically screams in alarm, trying (and failing) to hold the bag out of the
horse's reach, too scared to try and push it away.
Instantly Bad is by his side, single handedly holding the horse back while delicately
removing the bag from Skeppy’s ironclad grip. “Fudge, sorry, sorry, sorry.” He repeats,
quickly pulling an apple out of the bag, “It’s been a few days since Roberto’s had a treat, so
he was probably impatient waiting for the apples.”

As if trying to prove his point, Bad offers the offending fruit to the horse (which was named
Roberto for some reason), letting out a small giggle as the apple is completely devoured in
one bite, Roberto sniffing for more. This time, while Bad does pull out another apple, he
holds it away, making the horse let out a small huff of annoyment.

“No more till you apologize to Skeppy,” Bad admonishes, waving his finger as if disciplining
a small child. Apparently eager for another snack, Roberto immediately turns to look at
Skeppy (who tries not to shrink away from such an intense gaze). In all honesty, he would
never think that an ‘apology’ was deserved, especially from a horse of all things. How would
something like that even apologize in the first place?

Yet as Skeppy watches with rounded eyes, Roberto begins to lower himself, his head ducking
down till the white of his forehead is eye level with Skeppy. With a small turn, Roberto is
locking eyes with him, a steady stare that seems to hold more wisdom than any horse should
ever have the curse of bearing. There’s a beat of silence, and then Roberto is moving again
though not to raise his head up, but to lower even more, adjusting so that the tips of his ears
are now presenting plainly to Skeppy.

“He wants you to pet him.”

Skeppy’s eyes flick over to Bad, noting how both him and Rat seem to consider such a
display ‘normal’ for the steed, if Bad can easily guess what the next step is. Hesitantly he
reaches out, daring not to breathe as his hand finally makes contact with the horse's head,
gasping softly as he’s finally able to feel the difference between the rough texture of horse's
mane compared to the smoother hairs of its main coat. He puts a little more force behind his
petting, using his nails to circle around the horse’s ear and scratch at those hard to reach
areas, Roberto practically leaning into his entire body.

…and then Roberto is leaning into him, Skeppy having to forcefully step back as the large
animal almost pushes him down in his search for more scritches behind the ears. Skeppy
laughs a little, a small, breathless sound as he looks up at the horse, now more than happy
that Roberto was impatient.

As if reading his mind, there’s suddenly an apple at Skeppy’s elbow, Bad carefully offering
the very fruit he had used to make Roberto apologize.

“Do you want to feed him? All it takes is one treat and you’ll be friends for life.”

Compared to his earlier hesitation, Skeppy all but grabs for the apple, wanting to cement this
new-found friendship with a creature he hadn’t known existed only ten minutes ago. Copying
Bad’s motions, Skeppy holds the fruit with a flat hand, offering it to Roberto with a small
smile that grows as the horse carefully eats it whole, the soft hairs on his nose tickling
Skeppy’s palm as he checks to make sure none is left.

There’s a sudden presence by Skeppy’s feet, Rat having finally left her perch on Bad’s
shoulder to now crouch in front of an animal that only seems to make her diminutive size
only ever more obvious. Yet rather than display a ferocity Skeppy would expect from a wolf
(or the crazed whinneys from a panicked horse) Rat merely weaves around Roberto’s front
hooves before lowering into a front legged bow, tail no more than a wagging blur. Roberto
stares down at her, watching as Rat dances back and forth in front of him, the wolf not
seeming to care that he could easily step on her. While first acting aloof at the wolf’s attempt
to initiate play time, the steed’s resolve quickly crumbles and the two start a quick game of
chase across the clearing, somehow perfectly avoiding all of the other farm animals.

…leaving Bad and Skeppy alone.

There’s a beat of silence, the duo electing to watch the animals play for a moment, to act as if
they too didn’t have to worry about anything more than beating the other at a simple game.
To not have to worry about what the future may hold, or how their actions have affected the
present. Nevertheless, every act must come to an end, and this leaves our two individuals in a
clearing, surrounded by nothing but animals, and only having each other for company.

“So…” Bad begins, trying not so subtly to look over at Skeppy, “Do you want to feed the
other animals?”
 And Skeppy should say no, should use this chance to try and figure out just how far away the
village is, to think of different ways to escape from this nightmare.

But then he looks out at the area surrounding him, the way that all the animals seem well
cared for, the white blur that is Rat as she and Roberto take another lap around the treeline.
He feels the breeze ruffle the shirt Bad had given him, the sunlight warming his skin. It’d
been a while since he’d worked outside…

He looks back at Bad and nods, trying to ignore the way Bad beams at him, how his wings
briefly flutter and his tail begins to wag.

And Skeppy tries to tell himself that Bad’s happiness is fake, that he himself feels no
enjoyment as the demon shows him how to throw seeds for the chickens to peck at … but
even he can’t convince himself to believe such an obvious lie.

P.S: This is how I imagine Rat would ride on Bad's shoulder :)

Chapter End Notes

Is that progress I smell!?

*Wishes I could draw so I wouldn't have to read old chapters to remember what
characters look like*
I've seen fanart of Bad using his wings as umbrellas and I went, "That but with
SUNLIGHT!"

Speaking of, I wonder why Skeppy is so sensitive to sunlight...

Skeppy: hears pretty noise, immediately tries to find source of pretty noise.

So fun fact: I was going to have Bad and Skeppy discuss why a few animals are
'missing' from the farm...but then timing issue made me have to trim all of that away. It
should be addressed in later chapters though!

Also Skeppy, has NEVER handled a lot of these animals. Ignoring the fact that the
villagers wouldn't allow him near their homes (much less their livestock) I like to
imagine that they're also quite expensive to own, so of course poor Skeppy would never
be able to afford something as simple as a cow. So basically, petting Roberto and being
allowed to feed him was like a dream come true. :)
 Memories are overrated
Chapter Summary

A flashback that may answer some questions, or perhaps create a few.

Chapter Notes

Uhhhh, hi. It's been awhile. My last post was more than five months ago, and I kinda
dropped off the face of the planet. Things were crazy on my end...and then I got a
notification about a comment. And I realized I left my readers in the dark. So I'm back
now, don't know if I'm gonna vanish again, but I'll try my best not to. It's kinda insane I
was gone long enough for my '4,666' hits to now reach 5,755.

I will say, I do have an story line in mind for this fic and I will probably never stop until
it's finished. So thank you to my readers, for being the literal reason for why this chapter
exists. I know the upload schedule is far from routine, so again thanks for sticking with
it. And if there are any new readers, welcome and I hope you enjoy the ride. :)

See the end of the chapter for more notes

He’d been traveling through a warped forest when it happened, the relative calm being
suddenly pierced by a loud shriek of a dying mob. Following the noise he’d quickly come
across a small hunting group, piglins roughly gathered around a fallen hoglin bleeding from
multiple wounds. Though now dead, it obviously didn’t go down without a fight judging by
how one of the piglins seemed to be leaning against a nearby tree, prodding at their own
bloody leg.

Bad should’ve moved on then, having no interest in trying to claim the kill for his own. He
should’ve turned away and headed back into the forest, to let the vines cover his tracks before
the piglins even noticed he was there. Maybe if he did, things would be different.

And yet…he didn’t. He just watched.

The piglins had muttered to themselves, snorting and slapping each other across the back as
they looked at their kill, clearly happy with the end result. A member broke away from the
main group to tend to the injured hunter, pulling a collection of vines and leaves off the
nearby trees before kneeling to examine the injury. Bad had watched confusedly as the piglin
poked at the leg, quietly grunting as it seemed to be working some kind of paste into the
wound. He didn’t understand any of it, couldn’t comprehend the purpose of such actions. The
warped leaves were pressed into the injury, strips of the piglins own tunic torn off to make
cloth ribbons to wrap around the bundle. As a final touch a stick was tied to the leg, vines
tightly looped around to hold it in place.

Even now, after an unintelligible amount of time, he still remembered the exact steps.

Seemingly satisfied, the two piglins had grasped hands, the injured hunter slowly being
pulled to stand, a quiet squeal of pain escaping its clenched jaw as they finally put weight on
the appendage, while still leaning heavily on the other. And yet despite the jostling the
construct held firm, allowing the duo to slowly move to regroup with the others.

At least, until Bad decided to make an entrance.

“Why did you do that?!” He practically shouted as he shot from the treeline, his appearance
instantly sending the group on high alert. Panicked grunts and snorts filled the air as they
tried to make a formation, raising golden axes threateningly while shuffling around the
hoglin carcass. Because of course, most demons would be more interested in the fresh meat
than what the piglins were doing. Or worse, be more interested in getting meat from the
piglins directly.

“Fudge, I’m not here for that!” he’d protested, waving his hands back and forth as he
immediately tried to reverse his momentum, trying to show he truly meant no harm. “What
you did just then,” he’d pointed to the injured piglin, instantly retracting his hand when the
action received a grimaced snarl from the individual. “Can you show me what you did?”

The question was met with open hostility, eyes narrowing as the group visibly looked him up
and down. And honestly, looking back he couldn’t blame their skepticism. He was a demon, a
creature that was practically pure magic. It took a lot to even hurt a demon, much less cause
an injury that wouldn’t instantly be healed by the magic running in their veins. The fact that
he was showing an interest in something that’d have no benefit for him was certainly…not
something a normal demon would do.
Sensing their obvious distrust, Bad had used the only thing he could think of: bribery.

“I’ll pay if you want!” he’d offered before reaching into one of his pouches and pulling out a
large handful of gold nuggets to show to the group. Instantly their eyes were drawn to the
metal, axes slightly lowered as they regarded him with something other than suspicion for the
first time. Noticing their interest he’d nodded, “I want to learn what you did and why. If you
teach me, I’ll pay you all of this and more.” To exacerbate his point he’d pulled another
handful of gold pieces from his storage, the piglins attention now fully on watching the metal
fall from his fingers. “All of this and…. I can carry your kill?” He added, gesturing to the
hoglin. When that offer was met with raised axes he immediately shook his head. “Okay, no
touching your kill, got it. Just lots and lots of gold, for a quick lesson.”

Momentarily convinced he wasn’t after their food (and no doubt drawn to the gold); the
piglins had quickly shuffled together to talk quietly, never truly letting Bad out of their sight
as grips remained tightened on axe handles. Eventually an older looking piglin (who Bad
would later learn to be the captain of the hunting party) emerged from the group, their
overabundance of scars proclaiming them of having gone through an unfathomable amount
of adventures and undoubtedly proving their talent for surviving…unique encounters. When
they spoke it was with a voice rough from breathing in ash and smoke their whole lives, the
words slightly tilted as if they needed to be carefully considered before being uttered aloud.

“You can follow us till we reach our temporary camp. Our healer has agreed to let you watch
them work. If you’re lying to us, we kill you. If you try to do anything out of line, we kill you.
If you try to follow us home, we kill you.”

Despite the ominous threat, they all knew they were empty words. Even if the piglins knew he
was coming and weren’t down a fighter their best efforts to fight back would be pointless. Any
normal demon could easily overwhelm their forces, and Bad was far from that. Still, he had
nodded, offered some of his gold to the captain ‘so they’d know he wasn’t lying’ and quietly
followed them to fall in line within the group, making sure to keep his movements open and
non-threatening. And if the piglins behind him never lowered their axes well, that was just
something to keep between themselves. If anything the group must’ve just viewed him as a
weirdo for having paid so much gold for what must’ve been quite common knowledge
amongst piglin communities. He should’ve asked them what they thought of that first
encounter when he had the chance, but of course now such a scenario wouldn’t be possible.
 Nevertheless, as the hunting party finally headed out with an extra member, past Bad couldn’t
help but feel a small thrill. He’d been so excited to learn , to see what things were like
outside of the demon community that’d he’d thrown himself at the first opportunity he’d
manage to quite literally stumble upon.

Looking back, he was so naive to think it would end well. To think an event that started
without fighting would end the same way.

So, so foolish …

Chapter End Notes

Sooooo, this was a Bad flashback. You may be wondering how he learned how to deal
with injuries. Well, piglins taught him. Of course, this point in the story he had to
literally bribe his way to having them teach him but if you know anything about Bad, it's
that he has a real knack for growing on you.

I find it interesting how in game, hoglins and piglins will fight each other and I figured
that from a story perspective, hoglins are probably the best source of meat for piglins.
Of course, you can also get meat from killing piglins so I like to think that demons aren't
picky about which mob they have to kill to get a good meal. Honestly they'd probably
kill piglins to steal their hunts, and then leave the food there to rot simply cause they
can. Cause again, most demons are selfish jerks in this fic, and they only look out for
their own self-interests. But of course, that's MOST demons, not all of them. ;)

No real determination for when the next chapter will be published. I'll do my best to try
and revive this story though.
 Chipping Away
Chapter Summary

Something has to give eventually. The question is who's gonna break first?

Chapter Notes

Hello everyone, hope you're ready for quite a bit of angst this chapter. Because not only
do I have a new chapter, but it's a lot longer than recent chapters for a good reason. >:D

Honestly it's so weird to go from a few months of no posting, to trying to get back into
my old posting schedule. It's like I have to oily rusty gears before I can crank out
chapters. Except the rusty gears is my writing mindset.
But hey, here we are at chapter 40 with over 5,900 hits. This chapter is very story
heavy/explains some things so I hope all of my amazing readers enjoy. :)

See the end of the chapter for more notes

The days pass by quicker than Skeppy would expect, or even prefer. Living with Bad is just
so… busy compared to being in the village, so many new things to try or learn.

No, he’s not living with Bad, he’s being held against his will.

But still, things are so different now. Back home most of his time would be spent around his
house, either making new items to hopefully be sold at his market stall or completing his
daily chores like tending to his (rather pathetic) crops and checking ore stocks. There was
simply no point in trying to improve things, so he simply focused on getting through the day
while waiting for night to fall.

Bad is nothing like that.

Everyday when Skeppy finally emerges from Bad’s bedroom (which he seems to be
indefinitely borrowing) the demon is always wide awake and working on breakfast, humming
away as he presents Skeppy with his food. Though Skeppy never thanks him, Bad simply
smiles and feeds Rat before making a plate of his own and joining Skeppy, never eating until
he’s sure Skeppy is too. (One day Skeppy decides to test Bad by refusing to show himself till
more than an hour has passed from their usual meal times. The demon simply rises from the
couch and heads back into the kitchen, pulling a still-warm meal out from the oven. Without
even acknowledging Skeppy’s tardiness, Bad makes up the plates and sets the table, waiting
for Skeppy to join him before starting to eat).

Skeppy is also never forced to do anything, Bad merely voicing his plans for the day as they
ate. Sometimes Skeppy would prefer to stay inside, dedicating his time to pooling over
whatever books the demon had pulled out for him the night before. He’d study sketches of far
off lands, trace the shapes of strange letters he had no way of understanding, read about
potions he’d never imagined possible.

When he felt up for it however, Skeppy would nod to Bad’s words and follow him outside
after breakfast, chuckling as Rat would quickly chase after the duo to make sure they didn't
forget her. He’d stand quietly as Bad worked, watching the demon tackle the outside work
with the ease of someone who’s been doing it their entire life. He even once walks around the
area, taking the chance to look at where the chiming noise is coming from (some sort of
balcony filled with cushions and shiny windchimes). Never once does Bad ask Skeppy to
help, seeming perfectly happy to have someone to inanely chatter to as he weeds the large
garden area. Still, Skeppy can’t help but see the grin sent his way when he finally decides to
kneel down and help the demon’s work. As he sinks his fingers into the soft dirt, he tells
himself the help is only because he needs to do something as a form of payment.

As if randomly summoned, a small object embedded in the dirt is suddenly grasped by his
fingers, the item instinctively being grabbed as if he’d known it was there this entire time. A
cold spike of dread shoots through his very core, condensing itself into a heavy weight in his
stomach. He pulls out the object and looks down to see a small gold nugget now nestled in
his palm.

He shoves it into his pocket before Bad can look over, forcing a smile onto his face as he tries
to act interested in whatever plant Bad’s evidently just pulled up. It must be somewhat
convincing if Bad’s smile in response is anything to go by. Skeppy absentmindedly scratches
at his itching arm before returning to weeding, hoping the one nugget will be the only
‘valuables’ found today…

By the time they’re done, Skeppy’s pocket is filled with a handful of random ore, some still
clinging to the dirt they were just pulled from. That night, he pours over each piece before
shoving them into a small pile behind the objects Bad has framed around his room, praying to
whatever gods that Bad never finds them.

Another day they go to visit the animals again, Roberto making a reappearance as he and Rat
start a game of chase around the clearing, Bad laughing and cheering them on as he goes
about feeding the other animals. Skeppy merely watches, eyes sweeping across the field
when he suddenly decides to voice an observation he’d noticed when he first looked around
the area.

“You don’t have any sheep.”

It wasn’t phrased like a question but Bad nods all the same, tail coiling around himself in an
almost embarrassed manner as the demon cuts into a hay bale and starts spreading the wheat
around for the nearby animals.

“There had been sheep when I first started, but then Rat started to follow me out here and…”
he trails off, loosely gesturing towards the wolf in question with hay still in hand. A cow
apparently decides this was an invitation for a hand feeding and chops down on the offered
grass, neatly grabbing every stalk. Bad simply smiles and scratches the cow behind the ears,
his tail quickly grabbing some hay from the ground to replace what was just eaten.

Skeppy arches an eyebrow, “And?” he prods, unsure of what Bad was getting at.
“Adventurers bring their wolves into the village all the time, and they act fine around sheep.”

The statement makes Bad pause, his tail now tapping a steady beat against the ground as if an
indication for the demon’s thinking process. “The ‘wolves’ that the adventurers had, did they
wear collars?”

“Yeah? It’s a general rule that if a wolf doesn’t have clear ownership then they can be killed
or claimed by other people.”

Bad hums a low note as he spreads the last of the hay,“The wolves you’d seen must’ve been
tamed then, if they had collars and left sheep alone. Rat isn’t tamed at all, so she instantly
kills any sheep she sees.”
Skeppy mulls over Bad’s words, thinking of Rat’s neck not covered by any cloth, her red eyes
that he’s never seen in any wolves at the village. The general ferocity she’d displayed when
they first met each other in that cave, something he’d never expect from something so small.
“She’s not tamed?”

Bad shakes his head, eyes now following the white blur running around the clearing. “We
became friends before I knew that taming was a thing and after I did, I never wanted to force
her into becoming my pet. Rat decided to stay with me, and I want her to be able to reverse
that choice. If one day she chose to leave…well, I’d certainly shed a few tears. But at the end
of the day she can leave whenever she wants and I never want to change that.”

Skeppy tries to ignore the way that sentence makes something dark coil in his stomach,
fingers idly picking at his face. “Leave whenever she wants huh?”

Bad must not hear the poison that drips from his words (or chooses to ignore it). He simply
nods, slowly turning to take in the clearing. “I don’t want to trap animals solely for my own
benefit. Even the protection circle I have set up around here,” Bad points to the rough stones
Skeppy had originally thought were old fence posts, “protects all of these guys from hostile
mobs, while still letting them leave whenever they want.”

And now that darkness is being made solid, combining with the previous weight in his
stomach to form something toxic that claws at his very insides. He opens his mouth, ready to
let Bad know just how much those words piss him off…

But then Rat finally catches Roberto, the steed letting out a loud whinny of dismay as Rat
begins barking in obvious delight. And Bad begins laughing .

The noise surprises Skeppy. Sure, he’s heard Bad chuckle or cheer, but that’s nothing
compared to the full on body laughing the demon is currently doing, physically bent in half
with his arms holding his sides as if trying to contain himself. Noticing Skeppy’s obvious
shock, Bad straightens himself momentarily, wiping tears from his eyes before looking at
Skeppy… He looks at him and Skeppy swallows the words he wishes he could spit into Bad’s
face. Because when Bad looks at him it’s with hopefulness, happiness crinkling his eyes as a
smile etches itself across his face before once again breaking down into a fit of giggles. And
for once, Skeppy doesn’t stop himself from joining in.
 That night he stares up at the ceiling, fingers reaching to meet Rat’s fur as the wolf sleeps in
the crook of his elbow, her mere presence a comfort to him now.

“I want you to become my friend.”

This shouldn’t be happening, he shouldn’t be okay with all of this. Yet if what happened in
the clearing is anything to go by, then even he has to be honest.

He likes being here.

…he feels like accepting the truth should’ve had a bigger effect, that it would’ve
instantaneously cleared up any of the lingering worries he still has about the whole situation.
Reaching up to scratch his neck he thinks about the rough gold bracelet that now adorns his
wrist. Made entirely of materials Bad had given to him, yet never asked for anything in
return.

He still feels resentment for what Bad had said to him earlier. The fact that the demon
considered the feelings of animals yet didn’t care about those of a human honestly made
Skeppy more mad than he’d care to admit. The words he’d planned to scream at Bad still
remain in his mind, the rotten feeling still lingering in his gut. Yet despite this Skeppy simply
sighs into the night before closing his eyes, more than ready to let sleep overtake him so he
could forget those emotions in the first place.

And to be honest it was a sensible plan. If left alone that dark feeling would’ve no doubt
dissipated in time, cooled and been chipped away, like burning lava being made into stone.
Such vile poison would’ve been nipped in the bud before it even got to spread…

But this isn’t a story of what could’ve been, it’s what did happen. And in this case what
happens next is a dream. Well, that’s not totally accurate. It wasn’t a dream, it was a
nightmare .

Chapter End Notes

Yay a cliffhanger, my favorite!

Seriously though, some stuff is going to be happening in the next few chapters. When
will those chapters be posted? Well, I don't know. I do promise to keep trying to get back
to my old posting schedule though.

Story explanations: in game untamed wolves DO in fact kill sheep while tamed wolves
are perfectly fine. Since Rat is untamed it's why Bad doesn't have any sheep in the
general animal pen he has (he'd rather travel to find sheep instead of keeping them in an
area where they could die). It is funny how both tamed and untamed wolves will chase
after skeletons though (but tamed wolves will teleport back to the player if they go out
of range).
End Notes

Comments are much appreciated as is constructive criticism. :)

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