Ink Stains (MCYT Oneshots)

[R] Crimson Vines (Tommy & Badlands)

(A/N: request as a pic. uhh general warning for the egg, so if you don't like that sorta stuff then I suggest not real this chapter for your own good. alright, thanks!)

"Where are we going?" Tommy frowned, walking besides Bad and Ant as they led him to... somewhere. He had been hanging out with Tubbo and Ranboo — and at this point, his godfather had stopped trying to get him to stop 'hanging out with the enemies' — before Bad had taken him away. "And where's Dad?"

"Sam is busy at the moment," Ant stated, though there was something off about his voice. "Plus, we have a surprise for you."

"A surprise?" Tommy raised an eyebrow. "What's the occasion?"

"Nothing much," Bad chirped, leading him down a spiral of stairs that Tommy didn't recall seeing at their house. Maybe it was part of their 'surprise'? "Just- you could think of this as a coming-of-age ritual, in a way!"

"In a way," Tommy repeated dubiously, as they walked through a long stone hallway. "By the way, since when were your eyes red like-"

He cut off and gasped when he saw the room they were leading him to in fullest.

Dark red vines hung from the ceiling, as huge and long roots crawled over the ground. Red leaves and flowers bloomed from vines and roots, and slowly, Tommy traced their origin back to the very, very big... thing in the corner. The thing took up almost all of the corner space, and it was lit with some weird red neon blood-liquid thing.

It was scary, it was terrifying, and... his godfather and his uncle were pushing him towards it.

"Meet the Egg, Tommy!" Ant exclaimed. "Isn't it just so beautiful? Wouldn't you want to like it too?"

"Wha..." Tommy trailed off, and shuddered as he heard the Egg... speak in his mind. It didn't sound human, and he couldn't decipher most of the words, but the ones that he could decipher were bad. The Egg gave off a general aura of distaste and fear, and Tommy felt unease even as he was looking at it.

"I don't- I don't like this," he stammered, glancing at the... Egg? The vines? He wasn't exactly sure how to describe the monstrosity in the corner. "Is this what- is this the thing that you've been busy with?"

"Yes!" Bad smiled, and what used to be comforting now felt nothing but eerie. "The Egg needs the finest care, you see. I know you've been a little lonely, but trust me on this, you'll understand when you listen to it."

"I..." Tommy took a step back. "A-and Ant has been in- who else has been, uh, 'taking care' of the, uh, the Egg?"

"Well, as you can already see, me and Bad have been its primary caretakers," Ant began, gesturing to the Egg. "Ponk is... he has a different role to play in all of this, but he is with the Egg. Skeppy comes around sometimes, but just like Ponk, he has a different and more important role in all of this. We're planning to get Punz and Sam next, but-"

"But I suggested to bring you here first instead!" Bad cut Ant off, still having that bright smile on his face. "I would've asked Sapnap, but I couldn't find him anywhere, so I decided to come to you instead!"

Tommy looked at the menacing mess of red, and gulped.

"I think I, er, need some sort of permission form?" he laughed nervously. "I mean- Dad isn't here! And I don't- he usually makes me sign these, uh, forms that, like, let me do stuff and whatnot. Like parental guidance or permission or something I don't know I just don't-"

"No need to worry about it, Toms," the affectionate nickname made Tommy flinch as a hand landed on his shoulder. Bad winked at him playfully. "It'll be our little secret! Besides, I'm your godfather; I'm practically a second parent now, am I not?"

"That's the thing," the words were slipping out of his mouth before he could catch his tongue. "I don't think I know you all that well now. You're just- you're falling for the Egg's tricks. You're being manipulated! Can't you see?"

Bad's face hardened, and he and Ant shared a look. Both of them took a few steps closer to him, suddenly holding tridents, which made Tommy have the painful realisation that he had no weapons on him right now. "Very well then. Do you want to-"

"Tommy!" Tommy startled as he heard the scream, and a moment later, he felt himself being scooped up.

"Tommy, oh my god," Sam breathed, tugging his son closer to him as Puffy stepped into the room to stand besides him. Tommy clutched his shirt tightly, and squeezed his eyes shut.

Tommy buried his head into his father's chest, unwilling to look up even as he heard muffled talking. He didn't want to face his uncles, especially not after what had nearly happened.

"I want to leave," he mumbled. Eventually, he felt a breeze hit his skin, and shivered. "Dad, I don't want to get in there again."

"Yeah. Yeah, bud. You're not going back there ever again," Sam told him. And for once, Tommy didn't try to debate about it.