Nadwe moved quietly through the forest. He hadn't stopped walking since Dino had shoved him away. If no one wanted him there, then he was not going to stay. Nadwe had never really enjoyed how the friend group had constantly been babying him, or how they teased him, calling him names and telling him he was wrong even if he wasn't.

It was annoying... Well, sure, it was nice to have back up if L4FF decided he wanted to give them another round of torture, but the gang had bullied him before that, too. He wasn't four! He was fourteen— almost fifteen, now! And how come Muffin was never bullied about his age? He was younger than Nadwe!

'It's so unfair!' Nadwe thought. 'Everything is unfair!'

Nadwe's entire life was just mistreatment and shunning. He had been orphaned at a young age, nobody ever trusted him to do anything right, and all his friends were overprotective of him, but not of Muffin. Of course not! Muffin got a free pass to everything! And Laff? Oh, let's not get started on him. 

What had Nadwe done to deserve this? Nothing! Not one thing! He had been a good friend, he never tried to provoke Laff in any way, and he always helped Meme wherever he could.

As that thought ran through his head, Nadwe paused in his steps. 'Meme...' Nadwe had thought that for once his luck had changed. For once he'd really mattered to someone. Oh, how wrong he was. Always too busy to take care of him. Too busy to even ask how he was doing when they saw each other! Nobody appreciated him. Not one person in this entire world could give him a single tick of their time.

'Well, that's not true. Muffin was there for you. Blaza tried to help you. Sometimes. Woolf helped you with vampirism. Meme... Well, that's a bit more complicated...' Nadwe argued with himself.

He cared about his friends, even if they were annoying at times. That was the only reason he wanted to go back... But it was also the reason he'd left. 'What would happen if I did go back there? What happens if I don't?'

Nadwe shook his head. 'No. Dino's right. I put my friends in danger when I'm around them, and they'd rather I be gone anyways. I'm sure Laff— No, L4FF— would be happy if I fell asleep, and never woke up,' he decided.

Nadwe, lost in thought, didn't see that the forest would cut off just a little bit further ahead.

Three steps.

Two steps.

One step.

Nadwe tripped on the roots of a tree and tumbled down a fairly short cliff. He tried to turn into a bat, but sunlight fell over him, and the smoke that curled inward turned to flames. Landing on his stomach, Nadwe shrieked and scrambled to the closest patch of shade he could see.

Nadwe wasn't entirely sure if it was a shadow or not, as his vision had suddenly become very blurry, and the usual nausea effects were starting to kick in. Luckily, he was right, and within the minute, the sick feeling wore off. All the while, Nadwe was still burning.

He patted out the flames, but his skin still felt like it had been plunged into acid more than a few times. Not like Nadwe could do anything about it. It was what he deserved for turning to vampirism for help.

For once, Nadwe had actually forgotten he could turn into a bat, or call on super strength, or cast webs onto others to freeze them... He'd also forgotten that he could burn in sunlight. Man, he was being so forgetful these days.

Nadwe sighed, then let out a small chuckle at his next thought. 'Maybe I should keep a memory book.' Like in that one show he used to watch at the orphanage. What was it called again? DreamSMP or something? Not like he'd ever be as good as any of them. Nope. He probably wouldn't even make it to Socks' level of fame. Honestly, it was hard to believe Socks had even gotten a role in any kind of show. What a stupid, childish dream of a claim to fame.

Another sigh. Looking out across a long stretch of prairie grass, Nadwe could see the sun setting quickly. The little bell in the back of his mind rang. It was safe to leave the shade he stood in. Turning into a bat, Nadwe flew out over the meadow that stood ahead of him.

|—o–O–o—|

Light glowed somewhere in the distance. 'Wonder what that is,' Nadwe thought, quickening his wingbeats. He hadn't been this far out before. After a couple minutes of flight, Nadwe could see that the light came from a village that sat in the crevice of a mountain. A waterfall rushed down the side of the rocky area.

Nadwe dove down into the small pool at the bottom of the cascading water. The cold wetness seeped into his fur and soothed his skin, which was still searing with pain. He let out what would've been a sigh of relief. Instead, bubbles floated up from his snout until they reached the surface and joined back with the rest of the oxygenated air.

And yes, it was oxygen that left his lungs. Not carbon dioxide, which was what humans were supposed to breathe out. See, Nadwe didn't actually need to breathe. In theory, he could stay under water for the rest of his life. There were many things Nadwe didn't need to do.

Breathing, sleeping, eating. None of that. He simply did it because he enjoyed it. It felt good to do those things. It made him feel further on the normal side. Nadwe only needed one thing to survive: Blood. The rest of his body had adapted to that lifestyle. It might be a bit horrid, but Nadwe was okay with that.

Flapping his wings, Nadwe slowly rose to the surface of the pond. He peeked his eyes over the top of the water, thinking.

'I could make this a vampire village...' Nadwe squinted his nocturnal eyes. If he did, he'd have a home.

Nadwe's pupils slitted as he scrunched his snout in disgust. 'No! That's exactly what Dino said I would do. I'm not a villain!.. Right? No. You're not, Nadwe. You're a good person... bat. Whatever. Just leave the stupid villagers alone.'

Nadwe rose out of the water, bursting upward toward a cliff on the mountain. Eventually reaching it, he glided down until he was only a small drop away from the floor and turned back to a human.

A cave stood on the edge of the mountain. It made a tunnel to the other edge of the stone, allowing Nadwe to see the pine forest that stood on the other side of the rocky spires. With a sigh, Nadwe walked inside, proceeding to flop down on a small, convenient ledge that stuck out from the wall.

'Dino's wrong... I'm not a bad guy... I'm not...' Nadwe's mind echoed before drifting into sleep.

(/==^o^==\)

Joocie stood. It was about an hour after the rumbling stopped, which meant it was probably safe for him to leave the small cave he was in. Beginning to walk out into the tunnels beyond, Joocie suddenly felt Patches rub against his leg. He looked down to see the cat smiling at him... Well, it looked like it was smiling at him, so he smiled back.

"You comin' with me?" Joocie asked. The cat gave a small head bob and Joocie took it as a yes.

"Come on," he said.

Suddenly, Patches dashed ahead into the darkness. Joocie gave chase, running after the fuzzy animal. The calico tail of Joocie's companion was only just visible as it slipped around the bends in the tunnels.

"Wait!" Joocie yelled. "Don't leave me!"

Eventually, Joocie burst into brightness. In front of him stood a giant cavern with pillars spread all through it. The other walls weren't visible from Joocie's viewing point. Patches sat a few feet away, licking their paw. They ran it over their head, looked up at Joocie, and let out a loud, happy meow.

Joocie sighed. 'Am I ever going to get out of this place?' he thought. The area was huge!

Joocie looked to his right, put on a determined look, and started walking. Patches watched him for a moment before bounding after him. Suddenly, the liquid in Joocie's head spilt forward as his foot was yanked back.

Joocie looked down to see Patches tugging at his pant-leg. The cat let out an irritated growl, pulling even harder. Joocie sighed once more. Finding a way out of here was going to be tough.

'At least I have a friend...'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

{CHAPTER NOTES}

Summary: Nadwe thinks over his friendships and his worth in those friendships. He also thinks a bit about his past. Eventually, he finds a village beside a mountain and falls asleep in a cave at the summit of the mountain. Joocie finally finds his way out of Dino's tunnels, seeing the Pillared Cavern for the first time. Patches tugs at his pant leg, but Joocie only finds it endearing, unable to understand that the cat could possibly want something. (Word Count: 1463)

[NEW NOTE]: I initially did a horrible job of communicating the fact that DSMP was a show, so it seemed like I was breaking the fourth wall in the old version, even if just a bit. I also initially made it seem like Socks was this big famous guy in the M&M universe but he's not. He was just a side character in a low rated comedy show that ended up getting cancelled a couple episodes in, if you were wondering.

(Old Note): HEY THERE PERSON! Okay, all jokes aside, I'd like to quickly say that I do NOT view Nadwe as "unable to reach Socks' level". I wrote it that way for story purposes and mood. I think Nadwe is a great Youtuber, and I hope he does get to Socks' level one day along with all his friends. Anyways, secondarily: School has started again so I'm going to be a bit busy with that. Uploads might slow down a bit, but maybe not! Chapter summary: Nadwe- Nadwe thinks about what Dino said and finds a village. Joocie- Joocie gets out of the tunnels only to be met with a new challenge. Patches tries to drag him in a different direction, but Joocie doesn't understand and ignores the cat's efforts to make him turn around. (Word Count: 1345)