-Chapter Twelve: A melody of reformation (I'll hold it all more loosely)-
Bad could barely contain his anger as he punched the wall, making a large hole in the wood. "What do you mean it didn't work?" he demanded hotly.
Techno huffed, sounding slightly annoyed. "It just didn't. Don't get all huffy about it. You didn't even want it in the first place."
"You raised my freaking hopes, Techno! No one should do that!" Bad yelled, wanting to punch the wall again, but the blood on his knuckles stopped him from doing so. "You don't know how badly I want him back."
"I want him back just as badly as you -"
"No, you don't understand how I feel! You knew him for a week, no more! I knew him enough to love him! You just liked him because he helped you stoke the fire!"
"Quiet, demon! I don't want to hear PETTY excuses!" Techno yelled, stomping the ground for effect. The sound of splitting wood filled the air, but neither flinched, just staring at each other.
"You're useless." Bad hissed, brows furrowed as he turned around with a flourish. "Thanks for nothing."
"Don't come back here again, Bad. You're not welcome in these parts anymore." Techno snarled lowly, following him and throwing his satchel at his chest. Bad grabbed it before it fell and angrily shoved it onto his shoulder.
"Don't think I ever want to come back."
~--~
Skeppy slid out of Bad's grasp, falling to the ground with a sharp "oof". Pain spread across his shoulder blades, and he gasped in pain, screwing up his eyes.
He opened his eyes slightly to see Bad get thrown to the side, holding his wings in pain. Skeppy hurried to get up but got pushed to the ground right where his back ached.
He turned to see a familiar white - goggled gaze grinning back at him, and he huffed in annoyance. "Why won't you just stay away?" he demanded.
The blue figure's grin seemed to grow wider. "We want what we hunt, prince. You're simply just in the way." He raised a red - tipped spear to Skeppy's neck. Skeppy gagged, the scent of dead blood cells filling his nose. "Perhaps we should just save you from any further strife."
A black and red blur flung itself into the figure, and they yelped, crashing to the ground in a flurry of snow. Skeppy saw the face of Bad, mouth pulled back in fury as he raised a claw to swipe at the figure's face. But soon after an orange blur leaped onto the both of them, grabbing long black ears and pulling back.
Bad howled in pain and tried to reach behind him to grab the orange figure, but they stayed just out of reach, laughing maniacally like this was all just a huge game. The flicker of flames made the snow melt underneath the three, and the blue figure clambered away, watching with contentment outside of the flames.
Skeppy yelled and staggered to his feet, rushing to get to Bad, but flames blocked him off and seared his hands. Skeppy drew back, hissing in pain and looking down at his reddened hand.
He looked around frantically. There were three. Where was the green dude? The blue figure was still just watching, the fire lighting up his glasses like a pyromaniac. He screwed his own eyes shut, the fire burning his retinas.
A loud cackle sounded behind him, and he scrambled blindly away, opening his eyes to pure white. He held back a choked scream and he tried to find his way around, but all he saw was white. Was he buried in snow? No, it was too bright for the evening.
He heard another laugh, and he whipped around, arms raised. "Bad?" he called out desperately. "Bad?!" Beyond better judgement, he reached in front of him where there was sure to be flames, but his hand flapped in empty air.
"Skeppy!" He heard a distant voice call, and he began running towards it, way too grateful for the small speck of black slowly getting larger. Wings swept out to cover him as whizzing zipped past them. Skeppy buried his face in the cloth behind him as he whimpered slightly. "What's going on?"
"It's okay, Skeppy." a rough voice hissed, and Skeppy scrambled back, hands still clutching what wasn't black and red, but instead black and GREEN.
A familiar smile was above him, and he fell to the ground, feathers brushing his face as he tried to hold himself up, mouth gaping at the figure in front of him. "What's going on? Where am I? Why is it all white?" he demanded in a flurry, panicked.
The figure cackled, spreading out his arms to gesture to the whole of the empty abyss. "This is your limbo, Skeppy." they announced, looking proudly over nothing like it was something. Skeppy shook his head, his hair smacking his face and covering his eyes.
"No. I'm not dead." Skeppy announced, starting hyperventilate. His hand hurt. His feet were sore. He felt like he was being poked with millions of little needles, all over his body and across his face, speckling his cheeks with spots of blood. He rubbed his cheek, drawing his hand back but seeing no blood. He felt sick.
Now it felt like it was pouring down his head.
The figure just watched with slight curiosity as Skeppy struggled to grapple the world around him. "Where's Bad?" he finally choked out, eyes barely focused and mind reeling.
The green figure shrugged. "Sapnap is taking care of him. I trained him well."
"You're actually going to kill him?" Skeppy demanded, suddenly leaping up with hot adrenaline as he stood in a protective stance.
"Of course I am, little prince. That was my whole goal all along." the figure laughed, holding his belly like it was the greatest joke in the world. "God, you humans are so oblivious. I thought George made that clear."
Suddenly the figure cocked his head to the side, as if listening intently. Skeppy just stood there panting, keeping his gaze trained on the thing.
"Your boyfriend. Even in pain he still cares about you." the figure chuckled, shaking his head like he didn't understand. "That's funny. Demons aren't capable of love."
"He - he's not my boyfriend." Skeppy stuttered, slightly flustered, then quickly changed back to the matter at hand. "And I'm his friend! I'd call for him if I was in pain!"
"And maybe that's the key," the figure murmured with a growing, despicable grin. "To his demise."
Skeppy's eyes slowly widened, not really catching on but knowing well enough that something would happen. "Wait, no -"
Suddenly his world was turned upside down, and the burning white slowly drifted away as he flipped and flipped and flipped, finally landing on hard ice with a crack. Skeppy gasped in pain, gripping his midsection as bolts of pain shot through it.
Out of his wavering eyesight, he could see the green figure dust off his gloved hands before walking to the circle of fire. He flicked his wrists and made the flames peel away to reveal a battling "Sapnap" and Bad, biting and hissing.
The moment the green figure approached the two, Sapnap broke away, leaving a panting Bad to pick himself up. "Dream…" the demon choked out. "What is going on?"
"I've finally figured it out." Dream announced gleefully, rubbing his hands together in anticipation, mask off to show a dark grin. "I know why I haven't killed you."
Bad raised his head, his fur darkened by blood and sweat. "What do you mean? Are you finally admitting you're too weak to beat me?" Skeppy hated the small string of hope Bad was laying down.
Skeppy stood up and tried to limp over to Bad, but Dream raised his hand and pushed him back to the ground, keeping him trapped against the snow by an invisible force. "Bad!" he tried to yell. "Bad, help!"
Bad's ears perked and he spotted Skeppy, scrambling his feet with his wings outstretched. "Let him go!" the demon demanded, panic plaguing his voice.
Dream only smiled wider.
"You see… even after all of these years tracking you and researching you and figuring out many methods to kill you… I was always built on the fact you weren't capable of caring."
Skeppy screamed silently, the slow pressing against his chest making his vision blurry. This couldn't be happening.
The green figure placed a hand on Sapnap's shoulder, and the orange figure's head jerked up, as if even more attentive than before. Dream tutted thoughtfully before turning his head back to Bad, circling around him. "Yet here you are, unusually attached with a…" Dream started laughing. "A human, of all species!"
Bad turned around, following Dream's every move with a full face. "So what?" he snarled.
"Follow the clues, you decrepit creature!" Dream yelled, spit flying and making Bad wince and screw up his eyes. "Sorry. Outburst." Dream chuckled, loosening his shoulders. "But seriously, how can you be so oblivious yet survive all these years?"
Bad just watched him, occasionally glancing over at Skeppy who was still struggling. "Bad… Bad, please I can't breathe." Skeppy choked out, the crushing in his chest getting painfully tight.
"I'm coming, Skeppy." Bad said, starting to run over to him but a wall of flames barricaded the smaller from the demon. Skeppy cried out in pain, the sudden flames causing the hair on his head to singe. Bad yowled in frustration, and Skeppy could just barely see past the wall of flames to see him turn around and snarl at Dream. "I said let him GO!"
Dream just laughed, stepping through the flames to Skeppy, picking him up by the back of his shirt and raising him up. Skeppy limply struggled, but he was so weak from loss of breath no punch did anything.
"Bad… I know you love him. Would you do anything for him?" Dream asked.
Bad nodded, white eyes wide in panic and fear. "Please don't hurt him."
Dream summoned a sword in his hand, its handle as twisted as the green figure's heart. The blade glittered in the fire, and its edge cut through the ice nicely.
Bad froze.
The fire disappeared.
Skeppy just hung limply, no more energy left in him.
"And that was the end of our hunt." Dream smiled, before the blade was through, and a scream was the last thing Skeppy could hear.