~Once Upon a Skephalo~

~Chapter 1~

Bad walked along the dirt path, humming happily as he swung the basket at his side. He was traveling through the forest to meet his good friend, A6d. Occasionally as he walked, he would stop to admire a cool-looking tree or a pretty rock along the path.

"I'm going to see my friend, I'm going to see my friend!" He sang. "I'll bring him a basket of goodies, because he is my friend~"

He continued walking for a bit, until he came upon a clearing to his right. Entering the clearing, he saw a large, open meadow full of flowers. An old, mossy stone path curved through the meadow, leading up to a grand manor at the back of the clearing.

"Woah..." Bad breathed, awed at the sight, "These are such pretty flowers!"

He bent over a nearby rose bush, taking a whiff of their sweet scent. He cupped one of the plump blooms in his hand, admiring the deep red pigment in the petals.

"This rose would look so pretty back at home!" Bad plucked the flower from the bush, tucking it into the red lining of his black cloak.

As he was admiring some of the other flowers, a bush rustled nearby, startling him. He quickly looked around, but the meadow was empty. It was probably just a rabbit or something. He went back to looking at the flowers.

Bad was still a bit nervous after the scare, so he started humming to himself again, in an attempt to calm down. Maybe he should get back to the path and keep heading to A6d's house.

He turned around to leave the meadow, and was met face-to-face with a pig-man. Bad yelped in surprise, holding a hand up to shield himself.

The pig-man laughed. "I'm not going to hurt you, silly." Bad peeked out from behind his hand. "Oh, but you should have seen yourself; you jumped a foot into the air!"

Mildly embarrassed, and also still a bit frightened, Bad said, "You should've told me you were standing there!"

"Sorry," the pig-man apologized. "I was just enjoying your singing. It was actually very pleasant."

"Thanks," Bad said, proudly accepting the compliment. He took a step back to get a better look at the pig-man.

The pig-man was wearing a dark red, button-up shirt and simple black pants. He leaned on a long diamond sword, which was pointed into the ground. He had the appearance of a pig, but the way he walked, talked, and moved was no different from a human. In fact, he was taller than Bad.

The sight of the sword was unsettling, though, and Bad backed away warily. "You're not going to attack me, are you?"

"No, of course not." The pig-man casually lifted his sword. "This thing here, it's for fightin' off monsters." He turned and demonstrated by slashing at the air. "You don't look like any monster I've ever seen."

"Well, I'm not a monster!" Bad said, crossing his arms. "I'm just going to visit my friend, that's all."

"Oh, really?" The pig-man turned back to face Bad. "Does your friend live in the mansion up there?" He pointed at the manor behind Bad.

"No," Bad said. He walked past the pig-man and back to the dirt path. "My friend lives that way." He pointed down the road. "He's sick, so I'm bringing him some muffins to make him feel better," Bad said, holding up the basket.

"That's nice." The pig-man said. "Well, I should get going, but good luck on visiting your friend. Oh, by the way, there have been rumors that some evil guy named Technoblade is hanging around the forest, so be careful, okay? I hear he's real dangerous."

"Don't worry," Bad smiled confidently. "I'll be careful. Thanks for the warning."

They parted ways, and Bad continued to walk down the path, happily singing as he went.