Skeppy opened his eyes.

He was in a completely new terrain. Instead of the red, flaming fires and rock, hard ground he had gotten used to, the floor was soft and squishy. He looked down and saw long, mossy blue grass between his feet. Blue and orange mushrooms dotted the scenery, as well as tall trees of the same colors. A weird kind of landscape, if you asked him, but he didn't mind all of the blue, however unusual it was.

It was quiet and tranquil here. It almost felt like there would be a clean stream of water right next to him, impossible it may be. Skeppy sat down in the soft grass and relaxed a bit. He tilted his head at the branches and leaves above him, covering the ceiling of the dark, high ceilings of the Underground. He could still see the droopy stalactites through the leaves, though.

Purple eyes suddenly entered his vision of the leaves, looking down on him.

Skeppy jumped from his seat and backed up a bit. The tall, black figure with purple eyes stared at him. Stared at him.

Skeppy ran away before anything else could happen. The enderman watched him go, and if you looked deep enough behind those eyes, ones that were collected and harvested for thousands of years... you would see a bit of sadness at his departure. The enderman picked up a small grassy mound from the ground and hugged it close to it's chest.

Speed-walking now, Skeppy looked behind him from where he came from, seriously creeped out by this place now. He turned face front again and cam smack into contact with a tree. Only this wasn't a tree... Skeppy rubbed his head and looked up, meeting directly with the eyes of another enderman. And this time, they weren't friendly.

They started screaming, and as his fight or flight instinct kicked in once again, this time he decided that taking flight would be the better option this time. He dashed away, weaving through the trees, but somehow the enderman kept catching up with him.

"Why do you have to be so lanky?!" Skeppy yelled. "Why can't I be that tall?!"

Running ahead, he almost tripped over a boat, but luckily he hopped over it just in time. A second later, he heard a more louder pitched scream. He looked behind him.

There the enderman was, the one that was chasing him. Somehow, they got stuck in the boat, their foot caught in the seat between the paddles. Skeppy stared at them for a good minute, wondering if he should go and help him out. But another peril scream of the threatening enderman glaring eyes of steel at him told him that it was probably best to leave him to figure it out himself.

Breathing gasps of breath, Skeppy held his hoodie tightly. That was theee times he had ran for his life, three times! That wasn't a record or anything in his lifetime, but it's still weird that it happened thrice!

Skeppy leaned against a tree and groaned. Why hadn't he just stayed with Tech-?

A branch snapped. Skeppy opened his eyes and turned around. He saw another tall, dark figure next to a tree. Skeppy cursed and fell over on his place by his tree.

"Hey-hey-hey, it's okay, it's just me!"

Opening his eyes again, he saw the gentle expression of BadBoyHalo, reaching out his hand to pull him up. He hesitated before grabbing it.

"Are you alright? What did they do to the piglin?"
"I-I didn't see, they were just there."
"And did they steal anything from their person?"
"Well, no, I don't think so. One of them just... touched his face or something, I don't know."
"Hm..."

Bad hummed in thought. He went silent for a second, then turned and started walking in a direction, disappearing between the trees. Not knowing what else to do, Skeppy ran to catch up with him.

"Hey, do you know where Technoblade is?" Skeppy asked, concerned for his friend. Bad waved him off. "He's alright, I gave him a book to keep him occupied at the bridge. No one should bother him."

Skeppy frowned. "Why didn't you just give us entertainment at the beginning?"

Bad massaged his nose. "Do you think I'm going to set up a stage and play of Shakespeare's 'The Tragedy of Macbeth'?"

Skeppy considered it. "Possibly," he responded.

Bad sighed. Paying attention to the front of him again, he walked out into a clearing with a cliff at the very edge. He crouched down over it. Skeppy did the same, legs hung over the ledge swinging freely.

"So what did you do to those guys back there?" Skeppy asked. "You sliced the head right off of one."

Bad cringed. "I didn't kill them. I simply sent them off to solitary confinement. That's why I used the axe, it's supposed to send them there through enough hit damage. If that weren't the case, I would have used something safer with a much more merciful strategy."

Skeppy stared at him, confused how that worked, but decided to not question it. A few moments went by like that until Bad let out a breath Skeppy assumed he had been holding in.

"So... about you now."
"Hm?"
"What do you think of this place?"

Skeppy paused, carefully choosing his answer. He decided to respond with a question first before answering.

"Well... I heard some rumors."
"Have you now?"
"They're about you."

"What a surprise," Bad said sarcastically. "If it's about my meeting, I assure you it is of nothing related to destruction or world-ending crisis."

Skeppy looked at him skeptically. "Really? So what was it about now?"

"I was negotiating with the zombies about their eating habits," Bad responded easily. "It was getting out of control with them coming out in the day, so I tried to get them to only come out at night."

"And how did it go?"
"Bad. Well, as bad as I had predicted. They wouldn't negotiate without a valid reason. I'm thinking of giving them a punishment whenever they come out during daylight."
"That sounds like a smart idea."

Bad laughed softly. "I'm thinking of something to do with flesh."
"Ew."
"It's not gross, they actually provide some sustenance here. There's this really great dish called-"

"I don't think I want to hear it," Skeppy admitted. Bad pouted.

"So, um, about my question..."
"I don't know."
"Huh?"
"I know what you're implying."
"What am I implying?"
"You're asking me if I want to leave."

Bad adjusted the gemstone holding his cloak together uncomfortably. "Well, I wouldn't... say it like that; I mean, to be fair..." Bad stumbled over his words, trying to seem more lighthearted about them. "I'd say, 'Do you want to stay?'" Skeppy rolled his eyes. This guy's way with words was starting to confuse him now.

"Well? Do you?" Bad asked, more softly this time. "I mean, you don't have to answer if you don't want to, and I'm completely fine if you'd rather prefer the upstairs, it's justified anyways, and-"

"I think I'll stay here," Skeppy said finally. Bad looked at him hopefully. "Really?"

"For the time being, I guess so."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"It means that I want to stay."
"But...?"
"But I'll probably have to talk to Techno about it. He'll probably not care much, though."

Bad laughed, but this time it sounded more sad than happy, something Skeppy wanted to fix.

"I guess we should go back for him right about now, huh? I didn't leave him with a very long quality narrative."
"What did you give him?"
"The Sorcerer's Stone."