The fools do their jobs, making people laugh.

      Or, in every tragedy, there are always happy moments to remind you of what could have been.

"Oh, this is my jam!" 

Skeppy grabbed an invisible microphone, lowering his head dramatically as the familiar beginning notes began playing from the thumping jukebox in the corner. 

Tonight, I'm going to have myself a real good time 

Bad tried to suppress a giggle as he watched Skeppy mouth along with the words, face dusted with white powder from the quartz they were using to build their mansion. 

I feel alive, ah-ah-iveee

Skeppy croned into the microphone, trying to do a backbend reminiscent to a rockstar's. 

And the worlddd

Bad let out a little laugh, swinging his legs on the edge of the quartz slab he was sitting on as Skeppy fell over, hastily straightening himself again. 

I'll turn it inside out, yeah. And floating around-

Skeppy's blue sleeves were rolled up, exposing his tan forearms. His beanie clung to his black hair desperately as he emoted into the microphone. 

In ectasy. So,

Skeppy suddenly grinned at Bad, stepping towards him in tune to the beat, shimmying his shoulders. 

Don't stop me now. 

Bad fully burst out in laughter now, holding his stomach as Skeppy continued to make his way towards him. 

Don't stop me. 

Suddenly, Bad felt himself be pulled out of his seat, Skeppy holding onto his hands. 

'Cause I'm having a good time

"Skeppy wait-" Bad couldn't stop giggling as Skeppy swung him around. 

Having a good time!

Bad tripped a little, but Skeppy kept him steady as he moved his arms up and down excitedly. 

I'm a shooting star, leaping through the sky

Bad's face hurt from smiling so much, but he just couldn't stop. 

Like a tiger, defying the laws of gravity. 

Skeppy brought him around the messy construction sight, grinning. 

I'm a racing car, passing by like Lady Godiva. 

Bad gasped as Skeppy suddenly picked him up, spinning him around in the air. 

I'm gonna go, go, go 

Skeppy was now singing along with the song, offkey, and at the top of his lungs. Bad didn't care anymore. He joined in. 

There's no stopping me! 

The quartz slabs were left forgotten in the corner. Bad could feel the rough callouses on Skeppy's hands as he danced enthusiastically, dragging Bad along with him. He giggled when Skeppy twirled him, making him dizzy. He stumbled about a bit, only guided by Skeppy's hand as they continued to jump up and down to the song. 

Skeppy suddenly let go of his hand, grabbing a nearby broom. He sank to his knees, strumming it and nodding his head vigorously. Bad almost fell over with laughter, side splitting as Skeppy pretended to do an epic guitar solo. 

I don't want to stop at alllll

Bad stumbled again, and Skeppy caught him, dropping his air guitar as the music slowed. 

La da da daahh

Skeppy wrapped his arm around Bad's back, leading him into a sort of slow dance.

Da da da haa

The whirling had stopped, and now they were just shuffling in place, the world disappearing. 

Ha da daaa ha ha haaaaa

Skeppy leaned his head on Bad's shoulder as they swayed, the music starting to fade. 

Ha da daaa ha da da aaa

Bad smiled at him softly, breathless. Skeppy's brown eyes twinkled back. 

"Encore!" 

Bad turned, cheeks red as he saw Sapnap and Karl applauding loudly, George smiling next to them. Skeppy twirled Bad again, bringing him into a bow. 

---

"No, we are not playing WAP, Skeppy." 

"Ok, ok fine." Skeppy laughed, unwrapping his sandwich. He ruffled Bad's hair as he scowled. "Anything for you." 

"C'mon, George. Cheer up a little." George was taking small, little bites of his sandwich, staring into the dark sky dejectedly. Sapnap poked him in the side teasingly. "Dream will come back eventually. It's not the end of the world." 

"But it feels like it." George sighed dramatically, accenting his point by harshly chomping a potato chip. 

"Look, I miss him as much as you do but I'm not sitting and moping around! We're our own people. We don't need Dream." Annoyance snuck into Sapnap's voice, and he chewed his sandwich faster. Karl patted his back softly. 

"But you don't though." Geoge slumped in his chair. "You don't miss him as much as I do."

"Seriously, George." Skeppy licked the remaining salt off his fingers. "It's not that bad." 

"But it is!" George put his head in his hands. "How would you feel if Bad left, huh? You wouldn't be this calm." 

"Oh no, I'd be very happy if he left." Bad shoved Skeppy, crossing his arms. "Ow!" 

"Well, I wouldn't miss you either. Not one bit." Bad turned away from him, tying the drawstrings of his hoodie and tucking his knees in. 

Skeppy pouted, slipping into a high voice. "You wouldn't?" 

Bad turned around so quickly, he could've gotten whiplash. "Oh no, I would, I would miss you muffin!" 

Skeppy smirked devilishly as Bad's concerned face morphed into anger. "Oh MUFFINS! I fell for it again." 

Bad got up angrily. "I'm done with you!" 

Skeppy's eyes filled with panic as he actually began to storm off. "No, no wait- Bad I would miss you- I would miss you a lot- please come back, don't leave-" 

Bad let out an exasperated sigh. "Fine." 

He plopped down next to Skeppy, who smiled nervously. "D-do you want the rest of my sandwich? 

"Yes...... " Bad took the sandwich in shame, eating it quickly. Skeppy relaxed. 

George threw his hands up in the air. "Do you see what I mean?" 

Skeppy was about to reply with a snarky comment, but a small rustling made the group suddenly become on edge. A man popped out of the bushes, leaves in his light brown hair, nearly tripping over his long red cape. 

"Oh." Sapnap gave a small, little wave. "Hey, Eret- I mean erm- Your Highness-" He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "Sorry." 

"It's fine, Sapnap." Eret adjusted his crown just as awkwardly. 

We all know who's really in charge. 

"You can call me Eret if you want to." 

It was nice to pretend, though. 

"Well," Sapnap cleared his throat, trying to break the nervous tension. "I need to get this guy to bed." He tilted his head toward Karl, who was struggling to keep his eyes open as he nuzzled into his multi-colored hoodie. 

"But I'm not tireddd Sap-" His curly brown hair fell into his eyes as they began to close again. He yawned, leaning over onto Sapnap's arm. 

"It was nice hanging with you guys," Sapnap grunted as he boosted Karl onto his back. "And George, at least try to be a little happy. It's your day off." George nodded slowly as Sapnap lumbered off quickly into the darkness, Karl a distinct lump on his back. 

"I-I'm going to go too. Probably have to get back." George's eyes flitted up to Eret anxiously before he picked up his water bottle, walking off into the night too. 

"Well." Eret watched him leave with sad eyes. "I sure know how to clear a room." He sat down with a sigh. 

"Why don't they like you?" Skeppy looked at the empty seats. It was only him and Bad left now. "You seem like a pretty nice guy to me." 

"When you abandon your family," Eret glanced at Bad leaning on Skeppy's arm. He smiled sadly. "It's hard to be accepted into a new one." 

"But they'll try. They'll try to pretend. But it's just not the same." Eret slumped forward, taking off his crown. In the moonlight, the crown looked cheap and plastic. It looked fake. "And then you start wondering why you even left your family in the first place." 

"Poor muffin." Bad reached over to pat him on the arm. "It's ok." 

"Yeah." Eret rubbed the jewels on the side of the crown. Paint peeled off of them. "It's fine." 

Late-night crickets filled the silence, and soon even Skeppy couldn't bear the sadness. He drifted back into the mansion, the bright light flickering on. 

But Bad stayed. 

He didn't mind. 

"You see what I mean now." Eret sipped his water, staring at a small firefly buzzing near his foot. "People hate being around someone who just can't be happy." 

"I don't hate being around you." 

"Really?" 

"Yeah." 

They both watched as the firefly flew away. "You're a really good person, Bad." 

Bad smiled happily, drinking the last of his water. "Thanks." 

"Do you mind helping me out with something?" Eret laughed nervously. "I get if it's too late-" 

"Sure!" Bad crushed his water bottle, tucking it into a trash can. "What is it?" 

---

Bad lugged the heavy sack over his back, huffing. He dragged his feet around the city, feeling his eyelids start to droop as the moon shone above him. 

C'mon, muffin. You promised him.

A shock of pink hair caught his eye, and he smiled excitedly. He spurred himself towards the figure, the bag weighing down on his back.

As he walked closer towards him, the figure seemed to retreat farther away. Bad walked faster, and the figure walked faster. 

And then suddenly, Bad was running, and the figure was running just as fast. The stars twinkled above them as Bad booked it as fast as he could. 

Right when Bad thought he couldn't run any longer, the figure stopped. Bad almost collapsed, his hands on his knees as he breathed heavily. He suddenly felt the cold touch of a sword on his chin, and he looked up in shock. 

"Why are you following me?" 

"I-uh-" Bad stared down cross-eyed at the diamond blade. "I wanted to give you this!" 

He held the bag in front of him, breathing heavily as he smiled weakly. Techno stared at it suspiciously. "It's food! Chicken!" Bad's face dropped for a second. "You like chicken, right? I made sure it wasn't pork-" 

"Why are you giving it to me?" Techno looked at the bag like it was a ticking bomb. "Do you want something?" 

Bad looked at him in confusion. "Uhmm, no. I-I just thought it would be a nice thing to do. Look if you don't like the chicken, I can get something else-"

"Why are you being so nice to me?" 

"Because I want to be." 

Techno just stared at him in disbelief. "Look, please just take the chicken. People worked hard for it." 

Techno took the bag gingerly, peeking inside. Chicken filled the small sack to the brim. Enough to feed them for weeks. Months even. 

"Y-you must want something back, right? You're doing this for a reason. You want something, don't you-" 

"I'm giving this to you because you're a good person, Technoblade. Tommy, Wilbur, and you need it." 

"There are no good people." 

Techno tucked the bag under his cloak, turning around to leave Bad alone, under the stars. 

"But thanks anyway." 

---

"You doing ok, Big Q?" 

Quackity glanced over at Tubbo, who had just appeared beside him. He shrugged, looking back out over Manburg, leaning on the cold railing of the White House balcony. 

"I'm holding it together. How are you doing?" 

Tubbo ignored his question, persisting. "Are you sure?" 

"Don't worry about me, kid." Quackity patted his arm, laughing weakly. "This fat ass has buns of pure titanium." 

Tubbo burst out laughing. 

But his eyes weren't into it. 

"Hey-" 

"Quackity, the president wants to see you." 

And then suddenly, Fundy's paw was leading him away from Tubbo. He glanced back, seeing the small boy leaning against the railing. He wasn't looking at Manburg. He was looking at the stars. 

How are you doing?

 "Hello, Quackity." 

Quackity heard the door shut behind him. Schlatt was sitting at his desk, looking at him expectantly. 

"Schlatt we need to talk-" 

"Yes." Schlatt sighed, standing up. "Yes, we do." 

"Quackity, there's something I need you to understand." Quackity felt Schlatt's hand on his shoulder. 

"I'm fucked up." 

Quackity looked over at Schlatt in surprise. 

"I'm messed up. And because I'm fucked up, I want other people to be fucked up. But I don't mean to be like that. Do you understand that, Quackity?" 

"I-I don't think-" 

It was my votes. 

"Some shit's happened to me, ok? And I get angry sometimes. But I can't help the way I am." Schlatt's eyes seemed sad. And angry. And filled with emotions that Quackity couldn't quite process. 

But he knew that someone was sad. 

And Quackity knew he could do one thing. 

He could make people laugh. 

"I understand." Quackity smiled at Schlatt warmly. "This fat ass is all-knowing." 

Schlatt face lit up again, and he let out a chuckle, patting Quackity's arm. 

"You know, I wouldn't be able to do this without you, Quackity." 

And you wouldn't be able to do this without me. 

Quackity tried to brush aside the looming premonition as he tried to smile at Schlatt. "Thanks." 

Are you happier?