Chapter II

Bad had known Skeppy for most of his life. The time without him, struggling as an orphan nether child was hazy. But he remembered the day he met Skeppy more vividly than all the others before it. Just two lost kids that found each other in a hellscape.

Skeppy never talked about his past, his relatives or even his home before he got into that portal. It was like their lives didn't really start until they met each other. They lived on the outskirts of towns, moving in abandoned houses or caves, never staying for long. They found out the hard way that humans are not kind to hybrids.

One night some people from a town that gave them food that same morning, came for Skeppy. They thought he was actually made of diamonds, they tried to cut into his skin… Bad didn't like to remember his friend's screams, or what he did to those people… They thought he was harmless because of his disposition, because he wore a cloak to hide his horns, because they thought two kids would be easy targets.

They trained together, learnt to fight back and to live on their own. They were travelling through the nether going from portal to portal trying to find a good enough place to settle; this was one of the shiny memories as well.

They got to an island that looked deserted enough at a first look. They got off in a forest biome, no paths through the birch trees, no chopped wood or trunks left strewn around; they were already getting hopeful.

Bad was walking ahead, Skeppy stopped him with a hand on his arm and signaled to shut up. When Bad really paid attention to it he heard it too, a branch snapping. Bad and Skeppy unsheathed their swords and walked carefully towards the noise.

They found a human boy, still a kid by the looks of it, gathering firewood; he was humming to himself and didn't look threatening in any way. Should they even approach? The whole point of their endeavor was to find an unhabituated piece of land and build their home, but there was no chance that this kid was alone… humans always gather in packs.

They followed him home. The kid didn't notice them. Where were his guardians? If Skeppy and Bad would have been murderers… Bad shuddered to think about it. The kid, carrying an armful of firewood made his way towards a lone cabin in a field. The house didn't look abandoned, but Bad didn't see anyone else.

They were hesitant whether to follow the kid closer since they would lose the cover of the woods. Bad turned to Skeppy uncertain; Skeppy shrugged.

"I have dinner inside!" The kid called.

Bad froze. Did the kid..? No…he must have spoken to someone in the house, of course he did, his parental figures.

"I can see you shimmering," the kid said turning and looking straight at them.

Bad turned to Skeppy that of course was glowing faintly in the dying light provided by the sunset.

"Who is inside?" Skeppy asked.

"No one. My mummy flew out to heaven and daddy… daddy is away too," the kid called.

Bad turned to Skeppy.

"Cut it with the puppy eyes!" His friend hissed.

"How long have you been alone?" Bad asked stepping closer to the child.

"A few months, I think… But I learnt how to cook now!"

"Bad!" Skeppy grabbed his hand. "What if it's a trap?"

"We need to check at least… I couldn't live with myself if we wouldn't."

Skeppy sighed long suffering, but followed Bad towards the house. The kid grinned at them.

The house looked messy, but it was expected for a kid living on its own. Bad took a seat at the table, Skeppy followed him reluctant.

"What were you making for dinner?" Bad asked.

"Mushroom stew. Found some in the forest this morning!"

Skeppy turned to him desperate. "The kid is going to poison us!" his eyes screamed. Bad ignored him.

"Sounds delicious. Did your mum teach you how to make it?"

"My dad did," The kid said, his cheery mood souring.

The kid poured them all a portion. Bad took a cautious bite, it was actually edible. Skeppy followed suit.

"The kid cooks better than you, Bad," Skeppy teased.

Bad kicked him under the table. The kid was laughing again. Well…in the end, Bad assumed they could stay a bit longer.

"I am Wilbur" The kid said.

"I am Bad and this is Skeppy"

"What kind of name is Bad?" The kid giggled.

"That is what everyone says first when they see him," Skeppy laughed.

They decided to build their own house near Wibur's, only because the kid was so adamant his father would be back. Over the years, he would drop into random conversation that his father visited the previous night, sometimes just to chat for a bit, sometimes he was hurt and Wilbur had to patch him up, but always gone before daylight. Skeppy and Bad never saw a trace of the man, Skeppy insisted Wilbur made it all up, but they never confronted him.

One time Wilbur was wearing a glossy black feather stuck to his beanie and said his father left it the previous night. An Avian hybrid. Bad didn't look at Skeppy purposefully to avoid his knowing glare. If Ore hybrids were rare, Avian were almost legendary.

But besides the stuff with his dad, Bad really liked Wilbur, he was a smart kid, independent and pretty handy with potions. There were 3 of them on a deserted island and life was good.

They were running out of red stone and Bad really wanted to build an automatic light system like Wilbur's house had. He debated with Skeppy for a few days and they decided Bad needed to take a trip through the portal to a biome they can mine in since their little island had depleting resources.

One of them had to stay behind with Wilbur. They couldn't leave him alone again and if something happened, there would be at least one of them left to care for the kid. Bad was more apt for nether travel since it was his native biome. They argued about it a lot, but in the end Skeppy admitted he was right.

Bad charged up his communicator, took enough food and water for a few days, his weapons and tools. Skeppy hugged him for a full 5 minutes by the portal, but Bad didn't comment on it. Wilbur was against him leaving and didn't come to wish him good-bye, but that was ok. Kind of…

Portal travel always made Skeppy dizzy, but Bad just walked through. The heat and brimstone in the air didn't affect him in any way even with longer exposure, Skeppy would cough for days… Bad built the first portal and was lucky enough to find a ravine in the first five minutes. It had a town nearby, but hopefully he could mine what he needed before the humans discover him.

It took him two days since he stripped the mine and took as much as he could carry, but he was not discovered and the mobs didn't pose much of a threat. He stepped through the nether portal and was turning around to dismantle it, when he heard a Ghast.

Ghasts were dangerous and one stray fireball could destroy his portal leaving him stranded. Bad moved faster, opting to leave the portal as it was since the home one was already built. He dashed towards the home portal when he heard the Ghast fighting something else. Fireballs being fired and screaming… was that a child's voice? Bad froze. For a moment he was a child in the nether, fighting hostile mobs and running for his life, a faint memory of fear and destruction. He turned towards the noise before he even made a conscious thought about it.

He found a wide area above the lava pools. There was indeed a Ghast floating above the fire sea and on the other side what looked to be a child. No chance it was a human, since he was literally controlling fire, but it looked human enough.

The Ghast sent a fireball straight at the kid, he jumped, but the Netherrack started breaking slowly under the impact and tickling into the lava. Could he survive in the lava? He was a nether hybrid, but he could be a magma, blaze, Ghast or strider…Not all of those are resistant to lava…

The kid screamed, Bad pearled to him. The kid looked at him and panicked harder, he was so young… Bad broke a fire resistance potion by their feet, just in time for the ground to completely crumble under them. Bad grabbed them kid's hand as they fell, it was still burning him… a blaze then...

Bad swam the lava still holding onto the child. His hand was no longer scorching him, so the kid must have stopped it himself. They resurfaced on the other side while the Ghast screamed about them floating towards another target.

"Thank you!" The kid said. His voice sounded raw and scratchy. Unused, Bad assumed.

"You welcome!" He smiled. The kid looked wary again, must be the fangs.

"You were trying to fight a Ghast?'

"They attacked me first!" The kid argued.

"They attack everything…"

The kid glared at him; his eyes were slightly red like coals that were getting heated by the fire slowly.

"I haven't seen one of your kind before."

"There aren't any more left, I am a demon hybrid."

"I am a blaze hybrid," The kid said.

"Where is your family?" Bad asked although he knew the kid was an orphan, nether kids usually were.

"I don't know. Lived in a piglin bastion for a while, but it got destroyed…"

"Okay, you are coming with me then!"

"Where?" The kid asked his hand engulfed by fire already.

"To the surface world"

"The surface world?"

"We will step through a portal and arrive at my house. In the overworld. Have you ever seen the sky?" The kid shook his head. "You will love it. What is your name?"

"Sapnap," The kid said.

"I am Bad. Come on, let me lead you home!"

When Bad took a leap of faith and grabbed the kid's hand it did not burn him. He called that a victory.

"So let me get this straight," Skeppy was trying very hard not to scream and awake the sleeping child that was occupying his room. Bad appreciated it since Sapnap was a ball of energy… that was on fire. "You went into the Nether and kidnapped a hybrid."

"I didn't kidnap him, he doesn't have any family," Bad whispered back furiously.

"That doesn't mean you can just take him! He is not a free sample in a bakery, Bad!"

"But he was lonely!"

Skeppy looked ready to raise his tone judging from his red face.

"He reminded me of how I was before I found you…" Bad continued.

That promptly shut Skeppy up.

"We only have two bedrooms," He sighed defeated after a few seconds.

"We can ask Wil to lend him a room till we can build him his own!"

"You realize it's not like taking a puppy in, he is a kid, a real one that can set fire to everything apparently,"

"I am aware, Skeppy!" Bad's voice had an edge to it.

"Fine, but you are walking him!" Skeppy whispered.

"He is not a dog!" Bad complained loudly. They heard a crush from the next room and the sound of a fireball swishing. Skeppy's glare could kill him as it was sharp enough.