Bad peeked into the infirmary and saw Scar and George, chatting away. "Hey guys." Bad said, making his presence at the doorway clear to the two.

"Hey Bad!" George replied, propping himself up on his bed.

"How are you?" Bad asked, sitting down beside George. He had been attacked by Xisuma and his poison, and had gotten a good dose of it. Although the poison wasn't deadly, it had caused nausea and dizziness for days for George. Bad, who had also been struck with the poison, had only gotten a small dose, and his own nausea had only lasted a couple hours after awakening. George, however, had been unconscious for a day, and dizzy for three more.

"I'm feeling pretty good." George replied. "Not dizzy anymore. I probably will be able to get off this stupid bed today."

"Good." Bad said. "Dream said he wants us."

"Again?" Scar rolled his eyes. "We literally just recovered from a battle."

George shrugged. "He's just like that."

Bad watched George get up from the bed, making sure he didn't fall, but the brunette got up without wobbling and stood up, just fine. Bad kept close by as the three walked down the hallways to the meeting room, shooting Scar a thankful smile when the terraformer flanked George's other side, making sure he didn't fall.

The three entered the meeting room, and Bad glanced around. Everyone was present, except for them. Bad nodded to Dream and then took his spot beside Sapnap. George sat down next to Punz, and Scar sat opposite Dream.

Looking around, Bad realized how little forces they had. Six. Six people was all they had to go against the Queen's Entourage. In his head, Bad counted how many people Tommy had. Tommy. Tubbo. Philza. Grian. Wilbur. Bdubs. Mumbo. And Xisuma. Maybe even Ranboo. Nine people. Against six. There was no way they would win a fight, even if they did have powerful fighters.

Dream's mind seemed to be on the same track. "I realize that we are at a number disadvantage." He began. "But I still believe we can-"

"Dream, you know that we're not gonna win this war." Scar cut in, and Bad stared at the hermit for his candidness. No one talked to Dream like that. Well, no one except Techno and Tommy, but that's because Dream is equal to one of them and he just can't really stop the other one.

Bad saw Dream's mouth clench, and then he spoke. "Scar, you know that we-"

"Dream." Scar cut the masked man off again. "We're at a number disadvantage-"

"We have more powerful fighters." Dream countered.

"Number can overpower skill sometimes." Scar retorted. "You of all people should know that."

"There's other ways we can approach this, Scar." Dream said.

"And most of them will end up with us injured." Scar shot back almost immediately. "Dream, we're outnumbered, and we're in no state to fight."

"Scar-"

"Three of us were poisoned." Scar gestured to Bad, George, and Punz. "I was bonked on the head. You and Sapnap might be the only ones who came out of that fight not injured."

"Mmm?" Sapnap replied, his black eyes distracted. "Oh, yes, I was... um... I fell asleep when Wilbur sang the stupid lullaby."

Sapnap seems distracted. Bad noticed as the man played with the bandana in his hair. He turned back to Dream, who seemed a little dumbstruck.

"So, Dream, what's your plan?" George said gently, steering the conversation back on track. "Don't worry, Scar, I'm fine." He added.

Dreams blinked once. "Right. I know that we're all pretty banged up from that battle-"

"That's one way to put it." Scar muttered under his breath. Bad gestured for the hermit to stop, but Scar only rolled his eyes at the demon, smiling softly. Then Bad realized, Scar was only trying to unnerve Dream, or trying to prevent a fight with the enemy. Because if he was honest, Bad didn't think that they'd fight well either.

Dream coughed. "Scar, would you please-"

"Yes, Dream." Scar replied, and then leaned back in his chair as Dream began to talk again.

"As I said, I know we're pretty banged up from that fight, but I have a plan." Dream said. "Listen to me. If we do this correctly, no one will get hurt. From our side, at least." He added. "I'm planning a sneak attack."

Bad leaned forwards, interested. Sneak attacks were his and Sapnap's specialty. Glancing at Sapnap, Bad found his eyes intent, focused on Dream. If the man was distracted before, he isn't now.

~~~

Punz strung his bow, aware of the pair of eyes watching him. He pulled the string back and fired a single arrow, testing his bow. The arrow shot true.

"Nice shot." Dream said from behind him. Punz turned and gave the masked man a terse nod. "I hope you do as well as that in the actual fight." Dream patted Punz on the shoulder and then walked away, closing the door of the archery range behind him. Punz was alone once more.

He doesn't seem to trust me. Punz thought to himself as he strung his bow again. He then laughed drily to himself. Of course he doesn't trust me. I'm loyal to no one but money. He shouldn't trust me.

Almost bitterly, Punz raised his bow again and shot. The arrow landed center. You know, Punz, you really should be careful what you wish for. He thought to himself as he moved to a different target. Wishing for company... look where you got yourself. He let another arrow fly, watching it arch in an elegant curve and landing in the black dot in the center. Punz moved to another target. Forget it, Punz. You're a mercenary. You can't be loyal to anyone, remember? You're destined to be alone. He released the arrow, and with dismay, watched it veer off course, landing in the red zone.

Punz raised his bow to shoot another arrow, but found that his arm was shaking. He hissed to himself and refastened his bow to his back with anger. Clenching his teeth, he yanked out the arrows from the target one by one with a sudden jerk of his mind.

That is, all but the arrow lodged firmly in the red zone. Punz gritted his teeth and tried again, imagining a gust of wind pulling the arrow out. When it didn't budge, Punz summoned the arrows to him with a wave of his hand and stuffed them in his quiver unceremoniously, leaving the single arrow behind.

As he walked away from the archery range, the arrow in the red zone seemed to be taunting him.

You're destined to be alone.

WC: 1083

yeah i think i wanted some punz angst in there so yeah 

and yes, ik, it's boring as hell, but it's just a filler chapter and (i think) the next chapter will be much more interesting

'edited' on Jan 23rd 2022