~Once Upon a Skephalo~

~Chapter 9~

Bad was in his room, taking the flowers out of his basket and trying to arrange them when he noticed something. There were voices coming from nearby, further down the hallway. He frowned in confusion. The only people in the mansion besides him and Skeppy was Spifey, so who were the people talking? He grabbed his basket and peeked out into the hall. The voices seemed to be coming from just around the corner. He followed them, turning at the end of the hall to find-

"Dream?!" Bad stared ahead in shock, but Dream wasn't alone. Standing beside him were George and Sapnap, two of Bad's other friends. All three of them were clad in shining armor, with sharp swords in their hands. "What are you guys doing here?"

"We're here to save you, Bad," George answered solemnly as Dream walked over and pulled Bad into a hug.

"C'mon," Sapnap said, gesturing for Bad to follow, "let's get out of here before anyone notices!"

"Wait, guys, we have to be careful." Dream looked at his two comrades, his green eyes sharp and focused under his helmet. "We don't know where that diamond guy is - he could attack us at any moment. Don't let your guard down."

"Calm down," Bad giggled, amused at how serious his friends were, when he was perfectly fine. "I don't need saving. I'm fine. I just have to stay with Skeppy for nine more days, and then I can go home."

"Skeppy? Is that his name," George asked, frowning.

Sapnap growled, brandishing his sword. "I can't believe he would kidnap Bad like that! When I see him, I'm gonna- I'm gonna-"

"Guys! Seriously, I'm okay!" Bad held his hands up, as if to show that he wasn't hurt. "I just have to stay here nine more days, that's all."

"Come with us, Bad, then you won't have to wait at all," George said, crossing his arms.

Dream stepped forward, putting his hands on Bad's shoulders and looking him up and down. He spoke, a protective tone entering his voice. "He didn't hurt you, did he? I swear, if he-"

"No! He never hurt me!" Bad interrupted. He stepped away, shrugging Dream's hands off and clutching onto his basket. "Skeppy's a good muffin," he insisted. "In fact, I've gotten to know him, and I think we're pretty good friends now." Bad smiled.

Dream frowned at Bad's words, and George stepped over, speaking quietly to Dream.

"I don't trust this. This Skeppy guy probably has Bad brainwashed or something. I say we take him and leave before we get caught." George motioned over his shoulder in the direction of the doors.

"You might be right." Dream frowned as he considered George's idea. "Let's give Bad a chance first, he might just be confused. If we can get him to listen to us, he might even be able to help us leave this place," Dream mumbled back.

Sapnap stepped to the side, hands on his hips. "Come on, Bad, surely you don't think that guy likes you! He kidnapped you for stealing a flower."

"Yeah," Dream chimed in, turning away from George, "he tossed us in a dungeon and imprisoned you for two weeks. All because of a stupid flower! He's psychotic!"

"No! Skeppy's not like that... Look," Bad held out his basket, attempting to convince his friends that Skeppy wasn't evil. "He fixed my basket. I mean, I guess he was the reason it broke in the first place, but... He fixed it for me! See? He's a nice muffin. He even let me go out to his garden and take as many flowers as I wanted."

"Dream," George said, alarm in his voice, "this isn't working. We need to leave before we get caught; we don't have time for this."

"You're right," Dream sighed. Then, to Bad, "We're leaving. Hurry up and come with us, or we'll take you ourselves."