Summary: based in a hero AU where the Trio are "villains" (with good intentions but bad actions) and the Dream Team are "heroes" (trying to stop the Trio), and Bad realizes that the line between good and bad is much more blurred than he thought

(some good ol' angst for the soul (thank the sanders sides fandom and their dark side logan au for inspiration :'))

(tw: arguing??)

   ~*~

Dream was shaken from his daydreams by a knock at their meeting door. George and Sapnap looked up from their argument.

"Come in!" Sapnap called, looking slightly confused. "Door's open!"

"I don't even think there's a lock," George muttered, earning a jab in the ribs from Sapnap.

The door slowly swung open, revealing a familiar figure in a dark gray cloak. "H-hi," Bad murmured, smiling at them softly.

Dream was quick to jump to his feet, whipping out his thin sword and getting in a fighting stance. Sapnap and George were right behind him, pulling out their own weapons and glaring at Bad.

Bad raised his hands in defense, eyes going slightly wide. "W-wait! I'm not gonna hurt you I swear!"

"How are we supposed to trust you?" Dream snapped, taking a step towards him.

"Yeah, you're literally our opponent," Sapnap added, raising an eyebrow suspiciously. "You're probably just trying to distract us from your actual plan!"

"I promise! I don't even have any weapons on me!" He raised his arms to show the checkered gray sweater underneath his cloak, giving them a desperate look. "See?"

George lowered his weapon, glancing from the others to Bad. "Well... then why're you here?" he asked curiously.

Bad sighed, fidgeting with the bottom of his cloak. "I wanted to talk to you guys about something."

Dream glanced at George and Sapnap, then back to Bad. "I don't know if we can trust you-"

"I say we do," Sapnap interrupted, making all eyes turn on him. George gave him a weird stare. "What? It probably won't do much harm to just hear him out."

"Sapnap! What the hell do you mean it won't do any harm?! He's evil!" Bad winced slightly at George's words. "We can't trust him!"

"For god's sake you two," Dream groaned, rolling his eyes from under his mask. "George, let's just hear him out. If anything goes wrong, we'll have our weapons right here okay?"

George scoffed and fell back into his seat, crossing his arms indignantly. "Whatever. Just don't blame me when everything goes to shit."

Dream sat back down in his chair, putting his katana back in its sheath. "So," he started, looking up at Bad who was still nervously standing in the doorway. "What'd you wanna say to us."

"Well I-"

"Sit down dude," Sapnap interrupted, plopping down in his seat. "You seem so high-strung." George elbowed him in the ribs with a sharp "shut up".

Bad hesitantly nodded and made his way over to one of the rolling chairs, pulling out of and sitting delicately in it. "Uh, well," he began once again, glancing nervously between them all. "I just wanted to say that I um... w-wanted to join you guys."

He grimaced, pressing his lips tightly together and looked away, clenching his fists as if preparing himself for something. There was silence for a few moments before George spoke up:

"...you're kidding right?" he asked with a slight chuckle, smiling like he didn't want to believe it. "This is a joke? Skeppy just wanted you to go and prank us right?"

Bad shook his head quickly, still not meeting any of their eyes. "I really wish it was," came a quiet whisper.

Dream tilted his head slightly. "Well if you're serious about this, then why now? Did something happen?"

Bad grit his teeth, memories of the other day flooding his mind.

"What do you mean no?!" Skeppy exclaimed, slamming his first on the table. "We've been doing this for months Bad, what's so different about this one?!"

"There's nothing different!" Bad yelled back, glaring at the shorter. "I just don't want to hurt people anymore!"

"Oh so you're just going to let these people hurt others then?! Huh?!" Skeppy challenged, leaning over the table and getting closer to Bad.

"No!" Bad yelled. "But there's a better way than just killing them! We could just give them to the police, like the Dr-!"

Skeppy slammed his hand on the table again, cutting Bad off. "We are not going to be like them," he hissed, narrowing his eyes. "And don't you ever compare us to those assholes ever again."

A6d was staring at them now, the argument having caught his eye. It wasn't unusual for the two to have arguments but it usually never got to swearing.

"Language!" Bad yelped, glaring back at him. "And don't call them that! They're trying to help the city just like us!"

"Pfft! "Language!"," Skeppy mocked, rolling his eyes. "They're not helping the city, they're just trying to stop us from helping! They're just self-centered pricks who think they're in the right just 'cause they got money! We're the ones in the right!"

Bad glared at him, pressing his lips into a tight line. "Well I'm starting to think that maybe we aren't," he muttered, looking down.

Skeppy stared at him, eyes wide with disbelief. "Are you kidding me?!" He turned to A6d who was now idly scrolling through his phone. "A6d! Help me knock some sense in Bad!"

A6d sighed, putting down his cellphone. "You know Skeppy," he started, french accent as strong as ever. "He's right. Killing people doesn't look that great to the cops."

Skeppy let out a frustrated groan, spinning on his heels and shoving his face into his hands. "You know what?!" he exclaimed, looking up at them. "I'm so done with you two! If you wanna go off and be goody-little-two-shoes with those pricks, then be my guests!"

Bad straightened up, fist shaking slightly from being so tense. "Fine," he said, his voice frighteningly low. "Maybe I will."

Skeppy spun back around to stare at him, eyes wide and angry expression having fallen. Even A6d had a look of astonishment. "B-Bad you're joking right?" he said, cracking a nervous smile. "I was just kidding! You don't actually have to leave or anything-"

"Yes I do!" Bad burst out, stomping his foot hard against the ground. "I don't want to kill people anymore! I'm tired of constantly feeling guilty for trying to "help"! I want to actually help people, not keep hurting them!"

There was silence between the three. Skeppy grimaced and a cold glare flooded his eyes. "Okay," he said, his tone void of any infliction. "If that's what you want, then fine. I'm not gonna stop you. But just know that if you do... you're going to regret it."

Bad nodded shakily, his breathing growing rapid as he tried to stop tears from spilling. "I love you two with all my heart," he breathed, his voice cracking slightly. "But I can't stay."

"Goodbye."

Bad gave a shaky breath, barely even aware of the nails that were digging into his palms. "Something did happen, yes," he admitted. "But that's in the past. Right now, I just want to actually help people, not harm them."

Dream nodded, taking it in. "Well... I guess you can join."

Sapnap smiled, leaning back in his chair. "Sick dude," he commented with a grin. "Welcome to the team."

"That's all you gotta say?" George remarked dryly to Sapnap. "But yes, welcome to the team Bad."

   ~*~

i somehow busted this out within like 2 spontaneous hours wtf

(im praying that my writing powers are back, please gods i want to write again)